I am a web-developer and designer focused on creating engaging web-sites and applications, using standards-based development. I currently live, work and play in Scotland, and am part of the team at GoS Networks, focusing on networking solutions. Creating user interfaces is my passion, and something I take every opportunity I can to further my own knowledge and creativity.
I have been developing web-sites since 1998, and like to challenge myself with each new site I work on, by using something new, or developing a new technique to work with. In this way I have become proficient in many web development and graphics packages, although my main tool of choice will always be a text editor.
I have a wide range of skills that I use for web-development, including extensive use and knowledge of Javascript, CSS, HTML and PHP. I also manage my own web-server (the one this site is on in fact), and administrate domain names for several clients. Along with these fundamental skills I have a good knowledge of several other programming languages (AS3, C, C++ etc), Flash and Photoshop (to scratch the surface...). I have designed and developed e-commerce sites and secure payment gateways, while always considering search engine optimisation to help improve hits on the web-site in question.
I also have extensive expertise in communications networks, both wireless and wired, from my years in education. From this I have the full range of abilities to go from the basic server side operations and the network, to the user interface and client relation skills I have developed during my career.
I believe strongly in web standards, and standards based development (as do an increasing number of others). I try to separate content from function both in terms of the user interface and the back-end processes. This makes for clean, easy to maintain code, which can be understood by others should they need to see it. There are times when the rules must be bent to make sites work in all browsers, but I try to avoid this whenever possible.
One of the most exciting web standards to come around recently is the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) specification. Many see SVG as a competitor to Flash, but I think its potential is much greater than just that. Being able to mix SVG and HTML (MathML and so on as well) opens massive number of doors for developers and user interface designers such as myself. Browser makers are starting to catch on to this (with big strides made by Opera, WebKit and Mozilla recently) and hopefully this trend will continue.