I’m quite possibly the only front-end developer trained in hostage release and close protection. An odd combination, for sure. Thankfully in 10+ years I’ve not had to put this into practice in client meetings. One day, Steven Seagal might make a movie about a web guy in the wrong place at the wrong time… I suspect it will go straight to Blu-ray if made.

I’m happiest working on conceptual designs from a content-first perspective, writing very lean and accessible HTML5 / CSS3 prototypes before building up to a WordPress solution. I’ve also done integration work into ASP.NET and SilverStripe. I’m also up for helping designers and developers avoid having to turn away a client – share the workload and sub-contract to me. Your client is more important than my portfolio and discretion is assured.

I’ve over 10 years experience designing and building websites and intranets for the pharmaceutical industry and local government. Within local government I’ve conducted accessibility audits to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 and 2.0 standards as well as advocate for web standards and modern design principles. You can view my public curriculum vitae on LinkedIn.

I write semantic, valid markup which Google search bots love, use Cascading Style Sheets efficiently, use JavaScript (jQuery) responsibly and ensure cross-browser compatibility. WordPress is my weapon of choice when it comes to Content Management Systems.

Staying informed on web trends and best practices is important at Multi Cell Design, you can view a noteworthy archive of stuff at delicious.com (an online bookmarking service).

I’ve attended the @media web conference in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 and Future of Web Design 2007 which are not only brilliant ways to get inspired but very good for catching up with friends, industry leaders and book authors (sometimes wrapped up in a single person).

I’m a member of the Guild of Accessible Web Designers, the Web Standards Group and gatekeeper for Accessites.org—an awards website celebrating accessible web design.

Environmentally friendly

Multi Cell Design is committed to doing its part to protect the environment and to that end I am also a permaculture design student and have recently started a blog on sustainable living at Creative Descent.

• This website is hosted on web servers powered exclusively by solar power.
• Paperless office. Business cards and any stationery supplies use 100% recycled paper.
• Everything the local council can recycle goes into that bin.
• Energy efficient laptops configured to shut down after 5 minutes of non-use.