Who Am I?

My character, history, experience and my design philosophy

About Me

I am part design nut, part techie geek and part entrepreneur. I have a great passion for the internet and I strive to provide internet services that

  • are focused on specific, achievable business goals
  • have elegant, unobtrusive design
  • are easy to use
  • are lightning-fast
  • use the latest technology appropriate to the job.

I believe that every successful internet project must have the right strategy, appropriate technology, and be presented effectively. For me, these are the three core principles - every successful website must hit the right balance between them. Miss one, the whole experience will suffer.

My Bio and Previous Experience

I graduated from Brunel University, London in 1998 with a Product Design degree. Here I specialised in Ergonomics, Programming, User Interface Design and Human-Computer Interaction. It was here that I first got excited with the possibilities of the new internet.

I spent 2 years with the BBC in London developing internet and intranet sites. I progressed from designing static web pages to developing database-driven web applications.

After a stint of travelling and working on my photography skills, I spent 5 years with a small publishing company called Page7Media in Dublin. Starting as the sole web developer, I went on to lead a team of 10 and brought a range of successful websites to the market, including CBG.ie, inDublin.ie and MenuPages.ie. The success of the internet strategy was credited in a large part with the 5-fold growth of the company in this time.

I made the leap to freelancing in 2007, with a focus on helping small businesses and new start-ups maximise the potential of the internet.  Examples of my recent work can be found in My Client Portfolio.

My Philosophy

In essence, I subscribe to the KISS Principle of software development (Keep it Simple, Stupid!). I believe in producing simple yet powerful websites, with interfaces that are a pleasure to use.

My design process focuses on the end user. I follow a top-down approach, in that I will mock up a User Interface Prototype, which is then tested and revised to ensure that the interface is usable, appropriate and intuitive. Only then can the "plumbing" take place: to turn this prototype into a fully working and tested product.

My Process

I work with a network of talented and reliable professionals that I have cultivated during my time as a web developer. Some are my best friends, people I have known and worked alongside for many years. Others are trusted partners from developing economies such as India. My network allows me to take on larger projects, yet still meet the expectations of my clients both in budget and deadline.

For larger projects I act as architect and project manager. This allows me to

  • Work with my client to define and create the project's requirements and architecture at the early stages of the project
  • Ensure the various components of the project are produced correctly and integrate with the overall project architecture
  • Demand the same high standards of my partner's contributions that applies to all my work.

Ultimately I can stand over all the elements that comprise of a large web development project, guarantee the quality of production, yet deliver it in a fraction of the time that a regular "lone-ranger" might take.

It allows me to offer solutions that previously would only be available to get from a much larger web design and development agency, but at a fraction of the cost. I save money by dispensing with the need for a full-time staff, I don't have to maintain a funky office for entertaining. Instead I run a lean, efficient, end-to-end website development business, and I pass the savings on to my clients.

Contact Me by filling in the form on the right, for a free, no-obligation quote on your website project.

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From my clients:

"Barry's technical expertise and the quality of his communication never fails to impress. He demonstrated a great depth of understanding and insight when developing our PDF builder component. We've had lots of positive feedback from our existing clients as a result, and have even won some new clients on the back of our improved new toolset. He's a reliable and professional individual and I cannot recommend him highly enough."

Joe McLewin
Conran Design Group
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