I've always had a great appreciation for the visual arts. I studied graphics and photography at high school through to college before branching into interactive media at university. This helped me launch my career and introduce me to a variety of design programs and web applications.
I love a bit of healthy competition and thrive in an environment where I am challenged by my peers to be better every day. I approach each project with the intention of making it better than the last. I am quick to try new approaches and styles, even if that means learning something brand new to get it done.
I am looking to focus my knowledge more on UI/UX principles. I like the purpose that solving a problem and knowing that it has a positive effect on the user gives me. I relish the feeling that working on in-depth projects allows and the satisfaction of seeing my designs put to use in the real world.
Three programs that have stayed with me since leaving university are Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I picked up After Effects at my first agency role where there was a need for video editing and motion graphics.
Since the start of 2021, 90% of my day-to-day is spent using Figma. Figma is an amazing tool for designing websites, collaborating with peers, managing project files, and effective at bringing ideas to life with its nifty prototyping features. I still prefer the pathfinder options in Illustrator over Figma for manipulating and combining vector shapes, and Photoshop is still my go to tool for image editing and compositing.
I am also very familiar with WordPress site management and various theme builder plugins for developing websites. Recently, I have been using Webflow, which I find very easy to use with my understanding of HTML and CSS. This site is built on Webflow!
Throughout my design career, I've had the pleasure of working on my own and in several different design teams - all in varying sizes, working styles, and team dynamics. These teams have included in-house and agency design teams.
A digital marketing agency in Suffolk where I work as a website designer. 90% of my role involves designing brochure and e-commerce websites for local and national companies. The other 10% includes ad-hoc design tasks to support the marketing team and the occasional logo for a client. This role has given me direct experience with agile and waterfall project management processes and methods, which has improved my ability to collaborate effectively with my team and stakeholders.
For nearly six years, I worked as a graphic designer for a full service agency in Newmarket, Suffolk. Dealing with globally renowned clients, this fast-paced role taught me to work under pressure, exposed me to lots of different project types working alongside a team that has all levels of industry knowledge and expertise.
A local company that specialises in data centre training. My role was to redesign and manage their UK and international websites, often liaising with external sources to improve their bespoke CRM and events management system. I was the in-house designer thus being responsible for all print and digital collateral.
A manufacturer of lockers and storage solutions for offices, offering traditional and contemporary designs. As part of my role I created the graphics to be used in their catalogues and on their website.
For my first job in the industry, I designed emblems ready for printing or embroidery on to workwear and school uniforms.
During my first year I was introduced to many areas of digital media including web and graphic design, 3D modelling and photography to name a few. For the next two years I explored Adobe Flash, creating a number of interactive websites and presentations using motion and shape tweens, frame-by-frame animation and ActionScript.
