Professional
In a nutshell
I love to create. And I'm good at it. I've been developing and maintaining websites for over 10 years and love the thrill of launching a new website or redesigning an old one. I enjoy the challenge of working together with my clients, and devising a product that suits their specific needs.
It's all in the approach
My design philosophy is to be simple yet effective. Always constructing my websites with the user in mind, I make sure things are not only easy to understand and navigate, but visually appealing as well. I like big text, lots of leading, sensible copy, and a fine balance of quality photos and graphics. The key is to have users put in as little effort as possible to find the information they are looking for.
Using the right tool for the job
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to have a great final product. Whether it's a contact list manager, a Google map, or a simple drop-down menu, there are solutions already out there that don't require much extra work to meet project demand. Many of these types of tools are found in the open-source community for free or at very low-cost which has strong impact on the bottom line. These tools receive frequent updates and benefit from a large community of developers sharing ideas and assistance with any problems.
Customization
Not all jobs are straightforward, and most require at least some custom work. In the spirit of open-source practices, my preferred choice of custom setup is LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP). LAMP is very robust, and allows for more complex web development such as building a content-management system, developing special web applications (e.g. online registration, e-commerce, user feedback), and maintaining user-friendly URLs.
Each and every website or application is unique. Many times it takes that extra 10% effort to achieve full customer satisfaction. I take pride in pushing to achieve that extra 10%.
Personal
Why 'pipebox'?
I've been playing the bagpipes for over 17 years, and it’s one of my passions that I followed all the way to Scotland. I lived in Edinburgh for two years and played with one of the top pipe bands in the world. In addition to my day job as a web developer, I would frequent Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile to busk and perform for tourists. I'd play for hours, mixing up material with both fast and slow tunes. Many tourists took photos and happily threw in a contribution to my 'pipebox'. My 'pipebox' became a symbol for my identity as a busker and performer. It felt natural to use it as my online identity and theme to showcase the professional work I’ve done.
Video
Here's a short clip of me on Youtube busking on the Royal Mile (as taken by a German tourist...hence the title 'duddelsack', aka 'bagpiper').
Photos
Also, check out some published Flickr photos taken of me while busking in Edinburgh