I am a graphic designer / multimedia artist based in Byron Bay Australia. I specialise in a combination of web design and production, graphic design, Flash, animation, digital artwork, and photography. I design and produce custom flash websites, components, and applications, as well as standard corporate websites featuring e-commerce facilities, blogs and content management systems. I also produce general graphic design items including CD covers, logos and business cards etc. In addition to contract design work, I also teach design and multimedia units at the TAFE North Coast Institute in Wollongbar and Lismore.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design from RMIT University in Melbourne (1996) and have at least 12 years industry experience. I have worked in advertising, publications, broadcast animation, multimedia, and the music industry, and have worked as a lead designer in Sydney, London and San Francisco. The highlight of my career so far has been the experience of creating websites for Ravi Shankar, Quincy Jones, Meshell Ndegeocello, and other musicians while working as the lead Flash Designer for a record label in San Francisco during 2000. These days I am increasingly interested in fine arts, and the combination of traditional and digital art media.
I have always had a talent for drawing and a keen interest in using computers. When I was a child my neighbors had one of the first Apple Macintosh computers (the 512k), and I would invite myself over every afternoon after school to play with 'MacPaint'. By the end of primary school I was teaching myself programming in BASIC and combining this with my own digital graphics to create very basic computer games. Since then I have pursued my interest in computers, art and interactive design, following on to study Design at RMIT University in Melbourne (1996) where I majored in Illustration, Marketing and Multimedia and received a Bachelor of Arts in Design and the technology award for my final year major project. I have also studied various art-related courses at the Canberra School of Art, Australia.
I began interactive design with the first version of Macromedia Director at University and moved on to Flash in 1999. During 2000 I was on the bleeding edge of Flash development, working in San Francisco, creating many full flash websites, and working with some of the most famous musicians in the world. I have also been using graphic software since Mac-Paint and Mac-Draw, a long time before Photoshop and Illustrator were around, and for just about as long as anyone could have. I also have a strong background in fine arts, photography, music and digital illustration.
I believe that the role of good design is extremely important, and that in Website production particularly, it is often under-rated. By good design I mean a combination of three different elements. Firstly, good design must pay close attention to the application of design theories towards producing things that are primarily functional, yet also attractive and pleasing. Secondly, good design should show flair and express a talent to think creatively and move outside of the box. Thirdly, and most importantly, I feel that good design must not only look good and be creative, it must actually work in the real world. Too often design companies pat themselves on the back for creating the most beautiful and different designs, whilst the design "solution" has been completely unsuccessful.
The web and web production tools are evolving extremely quickly these days. Tools that in recent years were highly specialized are becoming increasingly accessible for the masses. Nowadays you only have to click a few buttons, and pay very little money to generate a reasonable website with an e-commerce facility, interface design, and a content management system. Because of this I feel that good design has a leading role to play in making something stand out above the average, and that this is something that requires considerable education and experience to master.
During my career I have received various awards and recognition for my work. I received the Macromedia Flash site of the day award for 'Many Faces' in 2000, and the Australian Web Designer's award for 'Johns Graphics' in 2002. I also received the design award in college, and an industry award for my multimedia major project at University, which was an interactive CD ROM (Using Director) featuring an early version of Quicktime VR programmed in SHELL. (see my Awards & Qualifications page)
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