More About Me
I am a freelance web designer based in Norwich, Norfolk. I spent most of my childhood in Scotland and then moved to Norwich in 1985 to do a PhD. Afterwards I chose to stay in Norwich and I worked in IT for a large insurance company for 18 years, firstly as a computer programmer and latterly as an IT designer. In 2009 I took the chance to take voluntary redundancy and set up my own business, Design Different.
In 2001 I became involved in building company internal websites (intranet sites), but my interest in web design really took off when my wife, Vanna, needed a website for her small business. A friend built the original site for us and it served its purpose for about 10 months. When it needed to be upgraded I decided to rebuild the site from scratch using modern web standards, so I taught myself how to use XHTML and cascading style sheets (CSS). The process of designing and building the site was very satisfying and I soon followed up with a family history website. Within a few months I was building websites for the local church and a community garden project, before setting up websites for small, local businesses.
Photography
For many years I have been interested in photography and this skill is very useful because I can often provide my own photographs for websites I design. As my wife is an artist, she is a valuable source of advice on the look and feel of the sites I build and she can also provide artwork as necessary. I can also source artwork from elsewhere, as required.
I aim to provide high quality, economically priced websites for businesses, organisations (including charities) and individuals, and I am especially keen to work with small, local businesses.
Design Different is featured on the NWES website as a business success story.
And finally, why "Design Different"?
When I set up my business I wanted to emphasise my link with Norfolk. The name of my business is a tribute to the independent spirit of Norfolk people, whose motto is "Do Different".