About Me

I work primarily as a Javascript Developer. My career focus has largely been as a Frontend Developer, building websites and applications with Javascript, CSS and HTML. I’ve also worked with backend technologies, primarily PHP, Wordpress and Laravel.

My favourite part of being a developer is working with others. I find it most rewarding when pair programming, where both parties can knowledge share and improve on a project. It doesn’t matter if you’re 6 months in, or a 10 year veteran, everyone can contribute, and not one person has all of the answers.

Humbleness, respect, creativity and curiosity are all traits that a positive work environment should have.

I am a “forever student”. It is impossible to know everything, so I will continue to study and practice and explore this landscape, and hopefully produce some cool work along the way.

How did I get here?

It all started in the late 90’s. The company I was working for at that time had an Art Department. I was working in the Maintenance Department. I’d always had an interest in design, but I didn’t have any computer experience to compliment it. Fortunately, I was able to make an arrangement with the Marketing Team. If I could learn QuarkXpress (wow does that date me), they’d throw me a couple bones.

I picked up a book and spent every lunch hour studying and practicing on the company’s Macs, until one day, they finally gave me my first ad. It was at that moment that I realized, I could do anything if I set my mind to it. A few ads later, the team asked if I could put a small web page together for a fundraiser. I picked up another book on HTML. I started piecing small tables together (yeah, tables, that’s a long time ago) until I had a few pages connecting to each other. Amazing.

Once I left that job, I really needed a way to showcase some of the design work I’d done. So, I dove deeper into HTML. Eventually I had an online portfolio and was able to land my first official design job. I was hooked. Being able to produce web pages, so quickly, without need for printed proofs and long delays in production, blew my mind. It was immediate, and rewarding.

Following that, I picked up books on Illustrator, Photoshop, Javascript, PHP, CSS, Design and more. My passion for technical books and motivation to learn and understand the technical landscape of websites and applications took over.