Freelance
Freelance status: UNAVAILABLE (Under contract)
Skill Set:
Web: Design
Photoshop & CS3: Excellent
I have used Photoshop for years and still use it as my main mock-up and design solution, I’m adept with all the applications that are included in Creative Suite 3. Here is a picture showing me using Photoshop CS3 Click me. Received formal training in highschool for the entire suite.
Flash CS3: Excellent
I started using Flash a couple of years ago, initially I was drawn to the simplicity of the animation and scripting and I’m very adept both at making animations and using ActionScript I later came to use it for a variety of tasks including visualization, presentations, animated logos and whole sites using a MySQL database to store the actual information and Flash to display it.
As of late I’ve been reluctant to include flash in my designs due to it’s problematic nature, it’s nice to look at and you can make it very media rich but it’s slow, doesn’t degrade gracefully and it isn’t easy to update, it has it’s place but the common consensus amongst designers currently is to avoid it unless your customer is sure they want it, it’s suitable for a website targeted at a younger audience with a good connection. Received formal training in highschool at which point my classmates asked the teacher why I wasn’t teaching the class and the teacher was nodding in agreement.
CSS: Very good
I have been working with CSS for close on 3 years now, this site is an good example of my grasp of CSS. CSS is a lot more involved than most other subjects thus I can’t claim I’ve mastered it yet, it’s changing and evolving a lot more rapidly than most other aspects of web design, I have long experience in making CSS designs, making them cross browser compatible and making more advanced designs degrade gracefully in older browsers. I’ve also as of late built a very comprehensive understanding of font scaling, this site is again a good example, the content will expand to fit high DPI monitors (laptops commonly got very high DPI screens causing havoc with most sites) Received formal training in highschool.
Design in general: Very good
I have been working with print and web design for many years now, I have a passion for design, when I spot something someone put effort and time into designing it moves my heart and stirs my mind, I have no illusions about my own design skills, I been thought the fundamentals of good design and I have a lot of experience refining my own works but I know I have ways to go yet. Received formal training in highschool, several courses with topics as diverse as web oriented design to desktop publishing and typography.
Web: Technical
(X)HTML: Excellent
Made my first HTML based site 1998 and I have used and developed my skills in it ever since, I have a good understanding of both the technical aspects and the methodology, I have experience in both the WYSIWYG (for example Dreamweaver) and the “hand written” approach, I personally prefer to code “by hand” in Notepad++. I always code with standards compliance and validation in mind. Received formal training in highschool.
JavaScript: Very good
First started using it several years ago and over time I have accumulated a good understanding of it, I use it on a regular basis in my designs to accomplish tasks like hover image replacements, image pre-loading, scripting of various natures and to implement effects and tools. I do however try to keep it as light as possible and avoid using it when it’s not required. Received formal training in highschool.
PHP: Good
Been coding PHP for a bit more than a year, I’m a quick study and I’ve already put what I’ve learned into practical use on this site, used it to mold Wordpress into a content management system, I’m currently putting time and effort into going through various tutorials and making sites incoperating various techniques and methods to put them into practical use.
MySQL: Good
Started using MySQL shorly after I started with PHP, setup and administered my own databases on my home web/file server, later migrated the database of this site to my online host along with a lot of experimentation on my own means I have a decent grasp of it.
Coding in general: Good
I’ve always had more interest in design than the underpinnings of a system but that hasn’t stopped me from amassing a fairly large selection of coding skills, I started out with Assembly in my early teens, got a “500 in 1″ electronics kit with a programmable Microprocessor Unit (3Hz, yay!) which gave birth to my interest in electronics and programming, the MPU was programmable with Assembly using a tiny rubber keyboard.
later I picked up HTML, CSS and JavaScript but I was a bit daunted by the more complex and larger languages, in highschool I saw my chance to further my coding skills but they mandated that you had to learn Visual Basic before you were allowed to learn the more complex languages like Java and C++, I passed VB with a good grade but when I was picking what language to learn next my teachers pointed out that I already had an expanded curriculum and I wouldn’t be able to take all the additional courses I wanted, so I settled on the additional English and design courses. That fork in the road is most likely what made me a designer instead of a coder.
Languages
Swedish: Excellent
Born and raised in Sweden, not much of a surprise I’m adept with my native language, my large interest in books and media in general has also benefited my linguistic abilities.
English: Very good
With a large percentage of the media I consume being foreign in nature especially from the US and UK and my active participation in online chats on forums, IRC channels and various Instant Messenger formats from a young age I’ve been writing, reading and hearing English on a regular basis since my early teens, also I later started participating in voice chats in English. I enter English speaking forums and channels and unless I tell them I’m from Sweden they assume I’m British/American.
The result of this long and frequent exposure to the English language is that I’m very adept with it, I read long books in English out of preference and understand all of it even when reading it at a very rapid pace, I prefer to watch movies in English without subtitles; they’re just in the way for me. My OS and Applications are all in English because I got frustrated with tutorials and explanations in English being hard to follow with Swedish text on your end, especially in Photoshop and similar applications.
Payment
For smaller jobs like partial design of a site, aid with code or similar the only “payment” I require is a link back to this site and a “thank you”.
For larger jobs like a complete site, print items or extensive re-designs of current sites a price is agreed upon before work commences and is paid when work is concluded to both parties satisfaction, this means the time schedule for the project isn’t part of the price, the products of the interactions is the only thing that matters.
Process
Web
A site doesn’t spring into existence overnight, usually a simple site takes less than a week, and a more complex one a few weeks.
The first order of business is to establish a frequent dialog (preferably face to face, if that isn’t possible via telephone or skype) to outline exactly what it is that you need and what general design outlines or more specific design element if you have any, it’s always easier for me to provide a pleasing end result quickly if you have at least a vague outline of what the site should look like to give me a base to work from, if you don’t have a person with design experience at least outline the general feel, colors and purpose of the site.
Next we discuss the underlying technologies, we agree on what hosting if any is needed, if you need hosting I can suggest a variety of hosts depending on technical and bandwidth needs, if you do sign up a host you do so directly without me in the middle, ensuring your security and privacy.
I only ask for a FTP/content manager account to access the site under the duration of my work on it, this account should be seperate from the admin account and be removed once work in completed. This also applies if you already have a host for the site.
Only when I’m certain we’re on the same page I’ll start the first stages of the design, up each stage of the process involves a conversation or several with the customer to ensure that the design is progressing in a direction they’re please with, this helps reduce production time and ensures a good end product, the site is meant for you/your company thus the better my communication is with you the better the results will be.
When the mock up is done the creation of the technical underpinnings commence, this involves test pages either on my host, your own or the new host if that was part of our agreement, during this process the design is fleshed out and tested with live or mock up content.
The last step is the finalization, this involves fixing eventual issues or adding requested changes and general tweaking and polishing.
This step is usually the longest, each revision made is discussed with the customer and the step is repeated until the customer is satisfied, at which point payment is given.
When work is completed all source material (PSD, PDF, AI etc) created for the project is given to the client to aid in modifications and adaptations. All my sold works contain plenty of comments in the code to aid in this as well.
Support is available after completion free of charge.
The first order of business is to establish a frequent dialog (preferably face to face, if that isn’t possible via telephone or voice chat) to outline exactly it is that you need and what general design outlines or more specific design preferences exists, it’s always easier for me to provide a pleasing end result quickly if you have at least a vague outline of what the print item should look like to give me a base to work from, if you don’t have a person with design experience at least outline the general feel, colors and purpose of the print item.
Next step is to outline what kind of print it is (document, brochure, poster, t-shirt, etc) and what color profile should be used, we also agree on the dimensions and resolution (dpi) of the item.
Only when I’m certain we’re on the same page I’ll start the first stages of the design, each stage of the process involves a conversation or several with the customer to ensure that the design is progressing in a direction they’re please with, this helps reduce production time and ensures a good end product, the print item is meant for you/your company thus the better my communication is with you the better the results will be.
The last step is the finalization, this involves fixing eventual issues or adding requested changes and general tweaking and polishing.
This step is usually the longest, each revision made is discussed with the customer and the step is repeated until the customer is satisfied, at which point payment is given.
When work is completed all source material (PSD, PDF, AI etc) created for the project is given to the client to aid in modifications and adaptations.
Closing word
If I’ve peaked your interest contact me at krill3@krill3.com