Meet our Designers

The website consultants at TWS frequently get asked questions about their experience, web design style, and personality. We are very fortunate that TWS has a strong design team made up of 10 designers from around the world whom have each worked in different genres across the design industry before joining TWS. If ever someone has a question in the office, you can bet that one of the design team has the answer, no matter what the question - marketing, creative, technical, search engine optimisation, social media etc., their skilled backgrounds cover all bases. Below is a little glimpse into the background, knowledge and character of our Creativities.

Felicity (Web Design)

Where are you from originally?

London UK

What is your educational background?  

TAFE & a variety of other courses.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

I was one of those children who loved doing school projects...so from a very young age!

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

I absolutely love decorative and textile arts...especially from the Asian & Middle eastern regions.

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Firmly establish your site mission and focus  –  this will ensure all further decisions are made correctly, optimising your time and expenditure
2. Research a reputable source for SEO advice and help  –  to ensure you make the right decisions with experienced experts
3. Use a copywriter to write your web content  –  this goes a long way to ensuring your site communicates it’s message effectively
4. Use relevant and good quality photos (either arrange a photo shoot or use online photo libraries) -  this goes a long way to ensuring a professional looking website and building trust!
5. Create a free Google Analytics account – helps you learn more where site visitors spend their time on your site.

Would you say you have a particular design style?

Probably, but I try to adapt my style to suit each client and their requirements or preferences.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

I love the site build but I also love the process of creating a design to suit each individual project and site map...they go hand it hand!

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

The challenge of finding new ways to use it or push the boundaries.

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

There is always scope for improvement on the coding front!

What is your favourite typeface?

I have never had a favourite typeface, as a favourite denotes that it would probably be used repeatedly...which I hate doing!

Where do you find your design inspiration?

In anything, on any day, and at any time

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Travel and reading travel writing, I’m a big fan and collector of foreign movies, especially from India, Japan, Korea and China

What is the last book you read?

An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan (by Jason Elliot)

What is your favourite coffee? 

I’m a tea drinker, through and through

Gavin (Web Development)

Where are you from originally?

United Kingdom

What is your educational background?

Diploma in Website Construction/Management, Diploma in Graphic Design - Design College Enmore.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

2001 - I was part of an online I.T customer service team that would source information from external websites that were awful to look at and even worse to get information out of.

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

Architecture and concept car design

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Rewrite your content for a web audience
2. Consider mobile devices and their limitations in terms of speed and technology ie. Flash
3. Emphasise keywords and phrases in your heading classes (within reason of course)
4. Go beyond your own site and frequently engage in blogging & social media
5. Optimise graphical content and keep to the bare minimum

Would you say you have a particular design style?

I do but those styles and typography choices tend to morph & adapt to the project.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy the design research aspect - seeing what's out there, what's trending, what I can do within the CMS, layout & colour schemes, typography choices.

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

The flexibility of the system and feature-rich modules make it easy to create a great looking site on the outside with crucial functionality happening behind the scenes.  

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

Getting up to speed on advancements in CSS3 and HTML5. Would love to get into iOS Development and learn the Human Interface Guidelines.

What is your favourite typeface?

Gotham

Where do you find your design inspiration?

I follow a lot of designers on Twitter & Dribbble as well as keeping up to date on works from well-respected designers in the industry like Mike Kus, Mike Precious, Sarah Parmenter and Jesse-Bennett Chamberlain.

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Basketball, basketball and basketball........with a bit of MW3 thrown in for good measure.

What is the last book you read?

Jeremy Clarkson's Don't Stop Me Now

What is your favourite coffee?

Skim latte with 2 from my ol' mate Robin from Felix on Devonshire.

Tamara (Graphic Web Design)

Where are you from originally?

Born in Sydney & bred on the Northern Beaches, but went to high school for a few years in England.. Spent a few years living in Scotland and travelling Europe when I was in mid-twenties, and the majority of my family is English. So I'm a bit of a mix!

What is your educational background?

Studied a few aspects of design for 4 years in total after completing HSC. Majored in Graphic Design and Illustration with an Advanced Diploma of Graphic Design from The Design Centre, Enmore, which is Sydney Institutes creative hub and is home to many of the best-known design courses in Australia (it's also developed a reputation for producing some of Australia’s most talented designers so is quite renowned in the industry).

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

I've grown up in a creative family, so I always knew I wanted to do something art or design-based. But it wasn't until I did work experience in Year 11 at Taronga Zoo, in their graphics department that I realised I was actually quite passionate about computer-based design and the options it opens up. I spent 2 weeks there doing illustrations of foliage and animals around the zoo, then scanning the drawings in and playing around with Photoshop.. One of the drawings I did was used as the background of an illustration of a Gorilla that was used on the Gift Shop's paper bag packaging for years, so it definitely sparked an interest and passion for Graphic Design.

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

My first design-based job after I finished studying was with a printing company, and this gave me a huge grounding and understanding about design for print and print-production. I love typography and beautiful print material, as well as having a small obsession with album cover artwork! I love cds and records and the different styles of cover art that is out there - photographic, painted, abstract/experimental, highly-designed, minimalist or illustrated.. 

Would you say you have a particular design style?

I think it's great to be able to display an understanding of different kinds of styles and to apply these styles based upon the needs of the client and the end user. In saying that, I probably do have a distinctive style. It's a hard one to answer but it's probably based on perfection and precision! I like clean lines, neatly organised content and a sense of hierarchy. I love the use of colour as a design element too.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

I obviously love designing websites, but I also like the relationships that are built with clients during the process. It's great to be able to take an initial concept from scribbled notes, to a functioning prototype, to a design that meets and most often exceeds expectations. I find seeing the end product in completion is always rewarding!

What is your favourite typeface?

I definitely go through stages of favourite typefaces, but at the moment I suppose it's chunky serifs - caught in the net of a design trend there though, I'm thinking that I'll probably be onto something new next week!

Where do you find your design inspiration?

I find inspiration online, in print material, in walking down the street and noticing cool poster art, but most often it's through talking to other designers and comparing work.  I think it's really important to share knowledge and resources, and you grow as a designer because of it.

What is the last book you read?

I say Tomato, by Katie Wall. It's a humorous and quirky novel looking at the American film industry from an Australian perspective. And the author happens to be a great friend of one of my great friends, so I've been meaning to read it for ages even though it was published in 2010. Whoops.

What is your favourite coffee?

Luke has recently got me onto the joys of a 3/4 latte! Definitely my new fave.

Lucie (Graphic Web Design)

Where are you from originally?

Australia, with father from Italy

What is your educational background?

Diploma in Graphic design &  Advanced Statement of Attainment in Fine Arts (drawing major)

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

I have always known that I wanted to have a visually creative career. I wanted to be an animator or an artist when I was in primary school, and when in high school, I thought graphic design would be a very interesting choice of career.

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

I love character design, and have a large collection of comics, anime and children’s picture books.

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Add a link bank at the bottom of each page, people are quite familiar with this on sites now, and it can be worked into a design seamlessly.
2. Use a blog, it might prove to be an even quicker way of updating and informing your users, and it's new content which search engines will like. A short summary of your latest article on your home page also works very well to get users interested.
3. Have text on your home page, it may be tempting to just have lots of fantastic images, but be sure to allocate a space for text, is very important on your homepage for search engines.
4. Remember to create a hierarchy with content on web pages using headings, it will make your content easier to read, and if you use the correct the header html tags, a search engine will give them more importance.
5. Limit the use of fonts that aren't web safe or use type-kit. Fonts need to be installed on a users computer to appear, there are common fonts, which are installed on most computers, which you should stick to for content.

Would you say you have a particular design style?

I think I vary what I do depending on the aims of a site, I'm quite happy to create something that is minimal and functional so that a product takes centre stage, or create something that is dynamic with more texture and detail.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

The best part is when you get down to the visual side of things, and make those pixels work!

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

The consistency you have over a design throughout the site.

What is your favourite typeface?

Lucida Grande or Arial as my web-safe font, love Swingdancer from Chank Fonts too, but it's really for logos or text that search engines don't need to read.

Where do you find your design inspiration?

It depends on what the site is for, if the site is selling a specific type of product, you might find something about that product that can influence a design. The same goes with a location, or place, if there is something unique or interesting about a cafe for instance, you can take that element and explore how that can set the tone for a design.

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Drawing and painting, I just finished a mural on my daughters' bedroom wall.

What is the last book you read?

Spot Visits His Grandparents, (to my daughter of course!)

What is your favourite coffee?

Skim capuccino for everday, skim capuccino with a touch of irish cream for a treat.

Sarah (Website Design)

Where are you from originally?

Sydney Australia

What is your educational background?

Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design: I got an award for being 2nd in my year!

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

In high school, I did all the Arty subjects & my dad is a photographer so have always had that arty flair J

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

Logo & Print Design

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Naming images correctly – no image1.jpg but instead: double-story-house-sydney.jpg
2. Correctly using H1’s
3. Naming pages correctly - /online-store
4. Using keywords throughout their content pages
5. Using Google maps on contact page

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

Starting on the design and having the freedom to do lots of creative design.

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

Making the design work within the CMS. 

What is your favourite typeface?

Avenir

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Browsing the web & Dribbble

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Photography

Kim (Web Design)

Where are you from originally?

The tip of Africa, Cape Town.

What is your educational background?

Studied Multimedia Design in Cape Town (2001 to 2004). Also did the Masterclass at Shillington College in 2010, a 16 week course aimed at practicing graphic designers wanting to revamp their portfolio, improve their productivity and get a bit of creative nurturing all round.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

I was initially going to study film, but went to a design open day with a friend in Cape Town, decided design sounded way better and the rest, as they say, is history.

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

I have experience in print, branding and photography. I am also a big fan of editorial, environmental & interior design.

Would you say you have a particular design style?

I tend to take a minimal & clean approach, but tailor the design style to suit the brief.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

Design!

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

You can still produce an awesome website without super techy coding knowledge.

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

Learning how to build mobile apps could be cool.

What is your favourite typeface?

Avant Garde Gothic

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Everywhere

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Been dabbling in photography after taking the plunge and buying a DSLR last year.

What is the last book you read?

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden

What is your favourite coffee?

Rosso Espresso is my favourite in Surry Hills

Luke (Web Design, Development, & Search Engine Optimisation)

Where are you from originally?

Melbourne Australia

What is your educational background?

Visual Arts – Interactive design and Film and Video Advanced Diploma  Swinburne TAFE

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

Originally drawn to film making in high school my tertiary studies introduced me to web design and I loved the medium and have worked in the space ever since

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

Film making and photography

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Concise, keyword identified content
2. Web standards HTML
3. dynamic / frequently updated content (i.e a blog)
4. No Flash!
5. Footer anchor links that include keywords

Would you say you have a particular design style?

I would say my design style is constantly evolving and is informed not only on current design trends but the web technologies I am currently using. I have a soft spot for textures in design and large graphical backgrounds.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

I am a CSS junkie.

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

It allows for more focused design time on elements in a website as the time consuming and repetitive nature of coding has been removed from the web design process.

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

HTML5, Responsive web design, mobile platform development

What is your favourite typeface?

Rockwell or anything found on Lost Type

Where do you find your design inspiration?

A multitude of online resources e.g Smashing Magazine and Dribbble, twitter feeds of designers and friends, galleries and video arcades

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Running after my 18 month old boy

What is the last book you read?

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

What is your favourite coffee?

3/4 latte one sugar (preferably from Melbourne)

Amber (Web Design)

Where are you from originally?

Small town Kukerin (100 pop), WA Wheatbelt
 

What is your educational background?

Graphic/Web Design currently also studying Architecture 

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

Since I was about 9 when I loved art at school

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

I love art. I use to work in a Museum & Art Gallery so I became immersed in Art. Obviously I also love Architecture and recall when I was a girl sitting down reading Architectural magazines whilst the rest of the family was out doing sheep work on the farm

Would you say you have a particular design style?

Less is more

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

Design & chatting to clients

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

It's easy to maintain a website

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

I think we are always learning when it comes to web. The new technologies are constant and I always like to keep up to date with these.

What is your favourite typeface?

Swiss

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Art, websites & magazines

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Running

What is the last book you read?

The girl who played with fire - Larrson

What is your favourite coffee?

Skinny Flat white

Emily (Graphic Web Design)

Where are you from originally?

Sydney, my background is Filipino, but born in Australia

What is your educational background?

2 degrees – B.Science (Biochem and Micro) and B.Arts(Graphic Design), a design certificate from Shillington college as well as some qualifications from a couple short courses in web development – XHTML/CSS, Flash, Basic javascript.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

About 6 years ago when working in a hospital laboratory wasn't creative enough.

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

Print design & branding design. I particularly enjoy logo work as well as brochure design. Have created some wallpaper features and outdoor signages which has been great to see once printed and installed J

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Text on the home page
2. Meta keywords
3. Alt tags or placing titles on images
4. Sitemaps
5. Internal linking

Would you say you have a particular design style?

Design style would be bordering between corporate and grunge. I like clean and simple lines but try to add some quirk where I can.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

Conceptual and laying out design elements.  I like finding textures and interesting elements that I can incorporate in the design.

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

I like the challenge of designing for a CMS as sometimes it can be a bit fiddly getting your design elements to sit correctly in certain areas of the page, so it feels like an accomplishment when it all works and across browsers.

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

I'm interested in obtaining more coding skills, which I think will be a big help in making your design work for a CMS.

What is your favourite typeface?

Avenir & Gotham

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Lot of web searching, looking up best web design sites, web design magazines, design mags, sometimes it can be in everyday objects or things.

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Playing acoustic guitar, songwriting when I'm inspired, baking which comes in phases – have been trying to master the macaron.

What is the last book you read?

The last book I actually read was the Twilight series – should I be admitting this? Lol I'm more of a picture book fan – coffee table books J

What is your favourite coffee?

On the very rare occasion when I drink it is a regular cap or an affogat. I'm more of a tea lover. I love herbal teas and fruit flavoured teas. Also, lemon and ginger tea gives me a boost in the morning. Tea is my alternative to coffee!

Me (Katie - Design Manager)

Where are you from originally?

I am a Yankee Doodle from Columbus, Ohio

What is your educational background?

Bachelors of fine Art from Bowling Green State University

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?

I was always doing arts in crafts as a child and new I wanted creative careers. But I can specifically remember the moment I decided to be a designer. I was touring the campus of BGSU my senior year of high school and heard Lori Young, an amazing type designer and professor at BSGU, give an hour lecture on what graphic design was. I was sold and decided my major.

Besides website design are there other genre of design you like or have experience in?

Print, Branding & Logo design

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?

1. Really consider the website mission and structure the hierarchy of the homage page to reinforce that mission.
2. Follow the industry standard rules to structuring html text. Remember that there should only one h1 per page and the h1 should be the largest font on the page (excluding text as images). Googlebots are smart and will know if you try to cheat.
3. Blog, blog, blog! It shows your knowledge in your industry creating creditably and fresh content is great for SEO rankings.
4. A logical and organised sitemap
5. If you are an e-commerce website, show it on your home page by displaying products, prices and payments icons.
6. Make it easy for people to find your company’s contact details.

Would you say you have a particular design style?

My design style changes depending on the clients’ brief but I am very cautious when using drop shadows.

What part of the web design/project do you enjoy the most?

As I designer I obviously love the design stage, but I also love working with clients, learning about their industry and creating a websites that are going to create revenue for their business. 

What do you like about designing for a CMS?

I love that we can create really complex directory and e-commerce sites that don’t have to be coded from scratch.

Are there any new technologies you would like to learn over the next year?

I would like to learn more about mobile phone apps.

What is your favourite typeface?

Papyrus... just kidding, I love Goudy Old Style

Where do you find your design inspiration?

I love looking at other websites, textures, textile design and nature. 

Besides designing what are your hobbies?

Traveling, snowboarding & enjoying good food and wine with friends.

What is the last book you read?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

What is your favourite coffee?

Skim Cap

What are the top 5 things you would recommend someone do to make their web design search engine optimisation friendly?