Personal Statement
When I was younger and deciding “what to be”, I struggled with the thought of finding something that would play to my strengths, as I knew I had two very different paths I could pursue. My creative side, nurtured predominantly by my father the Artist, my mother the TV & Film Producer, and most of my extended family all of whom work in creative industries. And my logical side, helping me excel at Maths and Science, while also igniting an interest in Technology, problem solving and how things work. Since entering the digital world and discovering Front-End Development, I know that I have found something that perfectly suits both sides and compliments all my capabilities.
I believe this is what sets me aside from other Developers, as while many may not be interested in the creative side of things, I love it. I’ve also found it extremely helpful when working with Designers and other Creatives. It has always benefited the process of interpreting their visions, working together and ultimately finding the right digital solution. Being proficient in Adobe Suite means I’m also able to assist in design, from preparing digital assets to creating my own designs and concepts for a project.
While working as part of a large team, I’ve learned that having this balance can make productivity flow a lot smoother. I particularly found this helpful when working with clients, as I can comfortably “translate” the tech talk, which is often found confusing and can easily hinder a project. Therefore, I do my best to ensure the client is fully understanding everything throughout the Development process, while also reassuring them that their needs are being understood and met. I believe all my previous job experience, prior to Development, has been greatly beneficial here, as I was largely client facing in the past and trust that this has only added to my arsenal.
One area all my jobs have had in common is problem solving, which is something I greatly enjoy, and I think is one of the most important skills needed in Development. I’m highly organised and consider myself a perfectionist, which can frustrate me at times, but ultimately means my work both looks and functions beautifully. When first pursuing Development, I found it came naturally to me because I’m a fast learner and always eager to master a new skill. While I’m proud to say I’m self-taught I know there is still so much more I can learn, and I’m looking forward to doing so, especially in an industry that is constantly expanding and evolving.
When I was younger and deciding “what to be”, I struggled with the thought of finding something that would play to my strengths, as I knew I had two very different paths I could pursue. My creative side, nurtured predominantly by my father the Artist, my mother the TV & Film Producer, and most of my extended family all of whom work in creative industries. And my logical side, helping me excel at Maths and Science, while also igniting an interest in Technology, problem solving and how things work. Since entering the digital world and discovering Front-End Development, I know that I have found something that perfectly suits both sides and compliments all my capabilities.
I believe this is what sets me aside from other Developers, as while many may not be interested in the creative side of things, I love it. I’ve also found it extremely helpful when working with Designers and other Creatives. It has always benefited the process of interpreting their visions, working together and ultimately finding the right digital solution. Being proficient in Adobe Suite means I’m also able to assist in design, from preparing digital assets to creating my own designs and concepts for a project.
Read more
One area all my jobs have had in common is problem solving, which is something I greatly enjoy, and I think is one of the most important skills needed in Development. I’m highly organised and consider myself a perfectionist, which can frustrate me at times, but ultimately means my work both looks and functions beautifully. When first pursuing Development, I found it came naturally to me because I’m a fast learner and always eager to master a new skill. While I’m proud to say I’m self-taught I know there is still so much more I can learn, and I’m looking forward to doing so, especially in an industry that is constantly expanding and evolving.
When I was younger and deciding “what to be”, I struggled with the thought of finding something that would play to my strengths, as I knew I had two very different paths I could pursue. My creative side, nurtured predominantly by my father the Artist, my mother the TV & Film Producer, and most of my extended family all of whom work in creative industries. And my logical side, helping me excel at Maths and Science, while also igniting an interest in Technology, problem solving and how things work. Since entering the digital world and discovering Front-End Development, I know that I have found something that perfectly suits both sides and compliments all my capabilities.
Read more
While working as part of a large team, I’ve learned that having this balance can make productivity flow a lot smoother. I particularly found this helpful when working with clients, as I can comfortably “translate” the tech talk, which is often found confusing and can easily hinder a project. Therefore, I do my best to ensure the client is fully understanding everything throughout the Development process, while also reassuring them that their needs are being understood and met. I believe all my previous job experience, prior to Development, has been greatly beneficial here, as I was largely client facing in the past and trust that this has only added to my arsenal.
One area all my jobs have had in common is problem solving, which is something I greatly enjoy, and I think is one of the most important skills needed in Development. I’m highly organised and consider myself a perfectionist, which can frustrate me at times, but ultimately means my work both looks and functions beautifully. When first pursuing Development, I found it came naturally to me because I’m a fast learner and always eager to master a new skill. While I’m proud to say I’m self-taught I know there is still so much more I can learn, and I’m looking forward to doing so, especially in an industry that is constantly expanding and evolving.
Experience
LAUNCHSITE, Cape Town – Web Designer and Developer
Nov 2014 – Jul 2016
As the agency grew I worked my way up to a demanding senior role of Web Designer and Developer, where I was given a substantial amount of responsibility. By this time I was not only overseeing several trainee/junior developers and their assignments, but also managing my own portfolio of projects and clients.
While working on my own projects, I always gave great consideration to both my clients’ and the users’ needs and, as these don’t always align, I continuously tried to ensure a middle ground was met. While prioritising a site’s UX and UI at the front-end, I also became interested in making a site’s back-end and the CMS just as easy to use for my clients, and this became one of my main objectives as a Developer.
As an agency we worked predominantly in WordPress, and my aim was not to only customise a site beyond its theme’s design and functionality, but also ensure the necessary customisations are made at the back-end for the client’s benefit. This also included offering detailed tutorials and training sessions, where a client and their team could learn the basics and ultimately not be so beholden to their developers for simple changes.
Hired as a trainee at a fast-growing digital agency, with no development experience, I was thrilled to see how quickly I picked things up. With an encouraging team behind me and hungry to learn more, after a few weeks I was given my first project to design and develop. I soon became proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and the JQuery library. And while also learning the intricacies of areas such as hosting, FTP, MySQL and WordPress, I spent time mastering the Adobe Suite and my design skills.
As the agency grew I worked my way up to a demanding senior role of Web Designer and Developer, where I was given a substantial amount of responsibility. By this time I was not only overseeing several trainee/junior developers and their assignments, but also managing my own portfolio of projects and clients.
Read more
As an agency we worked predominantly in WordPress, and my aim was not to only customise a site beyond its theme’s design and functionality, but also ensure the necessary customisations are made at the back-end for the client’s benefit. This also included offering detailed tutorials and training sessions, where a client and their team could learn the basics and ultimately not be so beholden to their developers for simple changes.
Hired as a trainee at a fast-growing digital agency, with no development experience, I was thrilled to see how quickly I picked things up. With an encouraging team behind me and hungry to learn more, after a few weeks I was given my first project to design and develop. I soon became proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and the JQuery library. And while also learning the intricacies of areas such as hosting, FTP, MySQL and WordPress, I spent time mastering the Adobe Suite and my design skills.
Read more
While working on my own projects, I always gave great consideration to both my clients’ and the users’ needs and, as these don’t always align, I continuously tried to ensure a middle ground was met. While prioritising a site’s UX and UI at the front-end, I also became interested in making a site’s back-end and the CMS just as easy to use for my clients, and this became one of my main objectives as a Developer.
As an agency we worked predominantly in WordPress, and my aim was not to only customise a site beyond its theme’s design and functionality, but also ensure the necessary customisations are made at the back-end for the client’s benefit. This also included offering detailed tutorials and training sessions, where a client and their team could learn the basics and ultimately not be so beholden to their developers for simple changes.
KITCHEN (formerly The Minimart), London – Creative Front-End Developer
Aug 2016 – Jun 2019
At Kitchen I was hired as a Front-End Developer, but also to take over from the Head of Digital. So while this role included all the responsibilities I had undertaken at LaunchSite, I was now, not only part of the Design Studio, but also had to branch out and take on more duties to fulfil my role within the agency.
While I had a lot of my own digital projects to oversee, as Kitchen was an Advertising Agency, most of my time was spent as the digital and technical consultant on all projects that required my knowledge and guidance. Whether it be ensuring a campaign photo-shoot met the needs of the website in question, or advising on the best hosting options to meet the demands of both our clients and us as an agency, I enjoyed contributing where I could and being involved on all our digital projects in many different ways.
I especially enjoyed being part of the Design team and putting my UX knowledge to good use when advising on digital design projects, all of which required thorough assessments, analysis and recommendations from me to ensure our clients were given the best possible results.
Although I was hired as a Front-End Developer I was the only member of the Digital team at the agency, and this meant one of my most important roles was the responsibility of ensuring everyone, namely our clients, had a full understanding of every digital process and the agency’s role within it. This meant being client facing a lot of the time, which has given me a chance to build and refine my sales, presentation and training skills.
Having to branch out so much from the original position I was hired for was extremely challenging, but ultimately fulfilling and greatly beneficial, as it gave me a chance to vastly grow my skills and create a new role, which combined creativity, design and development, relationship building and more problem solving than ever.
At Kitchen I was hired as a Front-End Developer, but also to take over from the Head of Digital. So while this role included all the responsibilities I had undertaken at LaunchSite, I was now, not only part of the Design Studio, but also had to branch out and take on more duties to fulfil my role within the agency.
While I had a lot of my own digital projects to oversee, as Kitchen was an Advertising Agency, most of my time was spent as the digital and technical consultant on all projects that required my knowledge and guidance. Whether it be ensuring a campaign photo-shoot met the needs of the website in question, or advising on the best hosting options to meet the demands of both our clients and us as an agency, I enjoyed contributing where I could and being involved on all our digital projects in many different ways.
Read more
Although I was hired as a Front-End Developer I was the only member of the Digital team at the agency, and this meant one of my most important roles was the responsibility of ensuring everyone, namely our clients, had a full understanding of every digital process and the agency’s role within it. This meant being client facing a lot of the time, which has given me a chance to build and refine my sales, presentation and training skills.
Having to branch out so much from the original position I was hired for was extremely challenging, but ultimately fulfilling and greatly beneficial, as it gave me a chance to vastly grow my skills and create a new role, which combined creativity, design and development, relationship building and more problem solving than ever.
At Kitchen I was hired as a Front-End Developer, but also to take over from the Head of Digital. So while this role included all the responsibilities I had undertaken at LaunchSite, I was now, not only part of the Design Studio, but also had to branch out and take on more duties to fulfil my role within the agency.
Read more
I especially enjoyed being part of the Design team and putting my UX knowledge to good use when advising on digital design projects, all of which required thorough assessments, analysis and recommendations from me to ensure our clients were given the best possible results.
Although I was hired as a Front-End Developer I was the only member of the Digital team at the agency, and this meant one of my most important roles was the responsibility of ensuring everyone, namely our clients, had a full understanding of every digital process and the agency’s role within it. This meant being client facing a lot of the time, which has given me a chance to build and refine my sales, presentation and training skills.
Having to branch out so much from the original position I was hired for was extremely challenging, but ultimately fulfilling and greatly beneficial, as it gave me a chance to vastly grow my skills and create a new role, which combined creativity, design and development, relationship building and more problem solving than ever.
Portfolio
SELECTED WORK
Kitchen Advertising Agency
Kitchen is an independent integrated creative agency based in London. Also my previous agency, we decided to rebrand in house to become Kitchen, formerly The Minimart.
Website Development, Team Training & Tutorials.
As part of the design team: Web Design, UX & UI Design.
Equality & Justice Alliance
The EJA is a consortium of four independent NGOs, dedicated to advancing equality and equal protection of the law for all. For their launch we were hired to create their brand identity and website.
Website Development, Custom Plugin Design, Back-End User Customisation, User Training & Tutorials. As part of the design team: Web Design, UX & UI Design.
Shiel House
Shiel House is a luxury Scottish estate that can be rented out for large groups and events. As opposed to just having an AirBnB page we created an entire website for it, detailing all its wonderful features.
Website Development, User Training & Tutorials.
As part of the design team: Web Design, UX & UI Design.
UK Therapy Guide
UKTG is a website for a vast network of Therapists, where they can sign up and create a profile to connect to clients. It also hosts a wealth of information on all types of help available for anyone in need.
Website Design, UX & UI Design (Incl. Back-End), Digital Consultant for Debugging, Testing & Development, Digital Analysis, Reporting & Recommendations.
Info
Education
2007 – 2010:
University of the West of England
Multimedia Computing (BSc) – 3 of 4 years
2004 – 2006:
Stowe School, Buckinghamshire
3 A-Levels (Maths, Further Maths & Design Technology)
1999 – 2004:
Ibstock Place School, London
9 GCSEs (A* – C)
Info
Education
2007 – 2010:
University of the West of England
Multimedia Computing (BSc) – 3 of 4 years
2004 – 2006:
Stowe School, Buckinghamshire
3 A-Levels (Maths, Further Maths & Design Technology)
1999 – 2004:
Ibstock Place School, London
9 GCSEs (A* – C)
Qualifications
2014 – 2015:
The Business School, Varsity College, Cape Town
1 Year ICB Bookkeeping Course
Contact
