Havoc Inspired

About Me

My wife Michelle and son Jack

So who am I?

Well first and foremost I’m husband to my beautiful wife Michelle and father to my son Jack. We live near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.

When it comes to my web career I’m a generalist with a special interest in visual design and front-end development (a bit like a GP with a special interest in ear, nose and throat… or maybe not).

My career began in the IT industry (which haunts me to this very day… *ring ring* “Ryan, my computer’s running slow?”), I worked in IT for seven years in both the private sector and within education, most notably the University of Leeds. By 2004 I’d become sufficiently disillusioned by the monkey work that is IT support to actively start pursuing a more fulfilling career in the web.

I’d always had a creative itch that never quite got scratched prior to building my first website. I’d spent a lot of time trying to find the right outlet, dabbling in 3D animation, music and writing but none gave me the same buzz as immersing myself in the endless possibilities of the web.

In 2007 I took up the position of Web Developer at the Leeds College of Art developing intranets, internal web applications and virtual learning environments.

In 2009 I left the college to take up the role of Head of Web Development for a content services company called ICS.

Finally in 2010 I have become self-employed, building websites for my own clients at Havoc Inspired and this is where I am most passionate. I enjoy meeting new people, learning about their goals and helping them achieve them.

In February 2010 I will be undertaking a 6 month contract with Headscape as their Product Evangelist for Get Sign Off. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a company that I have a great respect for, so watch this space!

Boagworld

I’m the producer of the boagworld podcast, which is the longest running web design and development podcast in the world.

The show attracts a broad listener base and I have guest-hosted, interviewed and reviewed for the show myself.

Boagworlds regular hosts Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington run the well respected web agency Headscape based in Hampshire.  I have the pleasure of calling them friends and have learnt a great deal from both of them over the years.

In 2008 we were awarded podcast of the year by .net magazine, an accolade previously awarded to Russel Brand in 2007 (a bit of geek trivia for you there).

My Skills

• HTML
• CSS
• javaScript (jQuery)
• PHP (OOP)
• MySQL
• XML

• Graphic Design
• Interface Design
• CMS Integration
• Hosting