Blogging and all that Malarkey

It’s been almost a year since I left Nozomi Networks, and between now and then, I’ve had plenty of time to think about the types of projects I would like to work on. I learned a lot from working alongside developers building products, but my passion has always been for using design to communicate ideas and messages, not simply problem-solving.

Although there have been periods over the past few years where I’ve worked as part of a team, I’ve mainly worked by myself, at home. My wife has a keen eye for detail and often has off-the-wall ideas. My clients are also wonderful, and they seem to appreciate my process, which involves talking every day and sharing work as it develops. But there have often been times when I’ve felt working mostly alone was isolating.

One of my favourite CSS writers Ahmad Shadeed has written about CSS Masking and I thought I could put his techniques to good use on Emma’s website.

For years now, I’ve kept sauce sachets in my car’s glove box—I mean, who actually keeps gloves in that compartment?—just in case I needed it for a burger or bag of chips. That’s why I was really pleased when The Cheeky Condiment Company got in touch asking me to design a website for their condiment-carrying charm bracelets and necklaces.

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned more about SVG while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll reveal the Easter Egg theme which I hid on Emma’s website.

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned more about SVG while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll explain how I made experimental banner images for Emma’s home page using SVG masks.

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned more about SVG while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll explain how I made an experimental word search concept for Emma’s home page.

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned a few things while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll explain the pseudo-3D design I created for Emma’s home page banner.

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned more about SVG while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll explain the SVG filters I created to transform images on Emma’s website.

I don’t know whether it’s been a reaction to post-Musk Twitter from the people I read and talk with on Mastodon, but there seems to be a renewed interest in personal websites and hosting one’s own content.