Industry experience
Design Team Manager - Full Time
Responsibilities included:
- Primary duties: developing designs based on briefs from the Technical Director (from paper mockups to working HTML pages), working with design team members and back-end programmers to implement the latest designs, resolving cross-browser compatibility issues, writing copy for the websites and promotional emails.
- Secondary duties: search engine optimization of selected websites, training and mentoring junior designers, website maintenance.
Website Content & Publishing Manager - Full Time
Responsibilities included:
- Primary duties: managing the publishing team to ensure cloggs.co.uk is kept up to date, working with the Marketing and Buying teams to ensure that the products promoted match our stock profile and meet the needs of the customers and the business simultaneously, project management.
- Secondary duties: design and development of graphics and pages throughout the site; preparing email newsletter campaigns for broadcast for UK & EU operations; liasing with our content management system providers to resolve any website functionality issues.
- Achievements: improved the conversion rate of the .co.uk website by 6% through the use of Google Website Optimiser, assessed and re-built the publishing team to meet the needs of the business, reduced the bounce rate and increased the Google Search Engine Ranking of selected pages significantly through collaboration with the Marketing team, implemented a new newsletter production schedule which reduced newsletter production time by 50%, implemented new time management and project management procedures to increase team efficiency.
Web Designer - Full Time
Projects include:
- musicmunchiesreview - Blogger template customisation including graphic design of header and background images to reflect the client's fun and funky personality.
- All About Birds - Joomla! template design and coding for a bird breeders' website designed to encourage repeat visits by providing a resource for bird enthusiasts, whilst promoting the client's retail activities. Sitemap, robots.txt and search engine optimisation services also provided, as well as HTML email template design and coding.
- Aqua Master Plumbers - PHP website design and coding aimed at promoting the business as professional all-rounders. Sitemap, robots.txt and search engine optimisation services also provided, as well as HTML email template design and coding.
- myneoromance - Joomla! template design and coding for a neoromance fan site designed to enrich the user experience by utilising screen real estate more effectively and bringing consistency to the layout.
Web Designer - Full Time
Responsibilities included:
- Primary duties - developing designs based on briefs from the Design Director (from paper mockups to working HTML pages), working with design team members and back-end programmers to implement the latest designs, resolving cross-browser compatibility issues, writing copy for the websites and promotional emails.
- Secondary duties - web administration of EmailCash and it's sister sites, training and mentoring junior designers, coding of HTML emails.
Graphic Designer/Web Administrator - Full Time
Responsibilities included:
- Graphic Design duties - working with the Online Creative Director to design and create websites and mini-sites for clients and in-house promotions, designing banner advertisements for clients, pre-launch online material checking.
- Web Administration duties - regularly updating Westwick-Farrow's nine web portals, corporate website and client websites; compiling monthly website statistics, liasing with clients and internal departments to collate material for online advertising bookings, database administration.
Other work experience
English Instructor - Full Time
Responsibilities included:
- Teaching English conversation in a fun and engaging way to classes of up to 4 students (of varying ages) 8 times per day.
- Adapting textbook content and lesson progression to suit the needs of the students each lesson.
- Aiding the Japanese staff in their sales by promoting the school as a relaxed and comfortable learning environment during demonstration lessons to potential students.
- Employing a number of communication devices to aid students of differing levels to converse with each other, as well as leading groups of students in guided discussion.
- Giving helpful and constructive feedback (written and verbal), and providing encouragement to aid students in their study.
Education
Commercial Arts Training College, Sydney
University of New South Wales
Majors: Media and Communications and Chinese Studies
Key skills
- English - first language
- Cantonese - basic reading, writing, and speaking skills
- Japanese - basic reading, writing and speaking skills
- Sound knowledge of XHTML and CSS
- Some experience with Javascript, ASP.NET and PHP
- Experienced in using Dreamweaver, Notepad++ and PSPad for coding
- Sound knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite for graphic design
- Some experience in using Flash and Director for multimedia creation
- Some experience in using Joomla! for website content management
- Sound knowledge of Microsoft Office (Typing speed - 55wpm)
References
CV PDF
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The web and I
I have been interested in the web since the start of high school. I learnt HTML by fiddling with the code I'd had written for me by a friend of a friend, and went on to create a rather large personal website on FortuneCity.
Then along came CSS. I chanced upon a teach yourself CSS guide at the local newsagent and bought it immediately. It wasn't long before I was setting styles left and right, rebuilding my website from scratch.
When I began working at Westwick-Farrow, things started to get even more interesting. I became a Firefox devotee and a frequent visitor of PositionIsEverything, after encountering bug after bug working on the Fallsdell website.
At EmailCash, it was all about web 2.0, usability and cross-browser compatibility. I learnt more in my year there than anywhere else; not just about coding but also about working as a team, and managing small projects.
During my time at Cloggs, I was able to take my skills in design, coding, project management and team management to the next level. The learning curve was steep but rewarding.
What challenges will tomorrow bring? I can't wait to find out.
Interests
Travel: Having lived and worked in Japan and the UK, I am keen to explore and learn more about my country of birth, Australia.
Cooking: I have always enjoyed cooking and I love trying out new recipes, especially desserts. My perfect pasta sauce is still a work in progress.