In the last 5 years I've been learning a huge amount running my own small creative consultancy, Novo. My role was primarily the sole front-end developer, personally delivering over 70 sites to clients. I also learnt how to manage projects and freelancers, how to keep a business afloat and client facing skills.
I'm looking to become an employed front-end or full stack developer. Having just completed Makers Academy (a 16 week intensive software development bootcamp) to further my skills, I feel ready to be incorporated into a professional environment where I can both contribute and ideally be supported in continuous learning.
Skip to: Projects | Skills | Experience | Education | References | Interests
Full-stack projects - Makers Academy
| Name | About | Technologies | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chasing Shadows | Final group project at Makers Academy: a mobile game utilising Google Maps JS API, a custom built API server and a native (hybrid) app built in JavaScript and packaged in Cordova | Cordova + JS/HTML/SASS (app), Ruby on Rails + PostgreSQL (API server) | Cordova App Repo, Rails API Repo |
| Battlecodes | Multiplayer online Codewars-style challenges - first to complete wins | Node.js + Express, JS/HTML/SASS, Socket.io | Github link, Live link |
| MakersBnB | A clone of Air BnB | Ruby, Sinatra, JavaScript | Github link |
Front-end projects - Novo projects (live)
| Name | About | Technologies | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senturion | Product Site | PHP, HTML, SASS, jQuery | Live Site |
| Motion Nutrition | E-commerce Site | WordPress + WooCommerce, bespoke template | Live Site |
| Moorlands College | College Site | WordPress + bespoke template | Live Site |
| Quintel | Business Site | PHP, HTML, SASS, jQuery | Live Site |
Being a front-end developer has been a major part of my working life since 2011. Roughly half of my work has been based around a WordPress or Joomla CMS with a template built from scratch in HTML, CSS and JS, with the rest being static sites built with some PHP to add functionality.
- personally built over 70 production websites over 5 years
- experience working with Linux servers for hosting (command line and cPanel)
- working with frameworks like jQuery and SASS, vanilla JavaScript, PHP, MySQL
Through my development work, I've come to realise that coding is effectively a digital form of product design - and finding elegant solutions to existing problems is the essence of being a good product designer. I'm a quick debugger utilising a variety of techniques to get to the bottom of an issue, with a sharp eye for small details.
I have a passion for learning - I've taught myself much of my front-end knowledge, as well as several musical instruments, videography, a little (Brazilian) Portuguese... I'm self motivated and don't require coaxing to learn something well.
I get most excited when I'm thrown into a situation where I have to learn quickly. Above all, my time at Makers Academy taught me how to learn any concept, meaning I am better equipped to pick up languages quickly and explore new development topics.
In the last 5 years I've had the opportunity to manage small teams in a variety of contexts, including freelancers on web projects and video shoots. I'm able to motivate and encourage team members to work towards a shared goal, and I like to use an encouraging and supportive style with struggling members to help them reach their potential and gain confidence.
Novo Studio (August 2011 to current)
Co-founder
wearenovo.com
Innovate Product Design (Jan 2010 to July 2011)
Web and Media Developer
Newfrontiers (May 2009 to July 2010)
Web and Media Intern
Yellow Pages (July 2006 to August 2007)
Graphic Designer
Development Bootcamp
- Independent learner and problem-solver
- Software Craftsmanship
- OOP, TDD/BDD, MVC
- Javascript, Node.js, Ruby, Rails, Sinatra
- Testing with Rspec, Capybara, Jasmine, Mocha, Karma, Zombie, Casper
Certificate in Digital Marketing Think with Google
Squared Online is an award-winning digital marketing leadership course developed by Google. I enrolled on this course to help better understand and serve the evolving digital needs of Novo's clients.
BSc (Hons) Industrial Design (2:1)
The Brunel approach to Product Design is extremely broad, covering theoretical engineering such as electronics, fluid dynamics, mechanics and mathematics, whilst also utilising creative and hands on skills such as problem solving, design, model making, CAD and more, even some web design.
Graham has delivered three fantastic websites for us - the work was excellent, cost-effective and turned around on time within some tight timescales...
Steve Coffey, Hope and Homes for Children
Since working with Graham, I have never failed to be surprised by his creative mindset. He has a dedication to serving client’s interests to the best of his ability and is always striving towards exceeding their expectations. Time and time again Graham has taken a project on board and produced remarkable work that the client is then thoroughly impressed by.
Jay Short, Inition
I knew exactly how I wanted my new site to look and work for the user, but expected I'd have to make a few compromises. In fact, Graham worked really hard on some heavy customisation to create all the visual and technical elements, exactly as I wanted. His communication was also thorough and concise, which was really useful as I'm based in Tokyo...
Duncan Shotton, Duncan Shotton Design Studio
I worked with Graham to develop a promotional website service. Every website he designed looked fantastic, in keeping with the 'feel' of each product, and functioned to a very high standard, meeting W3C web standards.
Amy Green, Innovate Product Design
- 🎺 I'm an avid musician, both composing and playing trumpet, guitar, piano and drums to a high level: my SoundCloud profile
- ☀️ Brazil, to the extent that I'm married to a Carioca
- 🚲 Outdoor activities, particularly road cycling: my Strava profile
- 📷 Photography and filming: my Instagram profile, my videos on Vimeo