Archaeology Databases UI Design

A really interesting and gratifying 6 month contract with the former state archaeological research body. The INSTAR project includes 3 databases for Wood, Charcoal and Burials. These are going to be huge and incredibly detailed. Signs are, that the databases will be adopted as the European standard for recording the details of these elements of excavations

I created the templates in XHTML and CSS and the developer built the application in Ruby on Rails.

Company: The Discovery Programme

The Jameson Way

Glossily finished global extranet for Pernod Ricard's world-renowned Jameson Whiskey brand. Its purpose is to centrally control, and disseminate marketing and branding collateral. In round two of the project they really started to nail their branding style guide, so I had to be religiously faithful to tone, mood, shape... down to the tiniest detail. On top of which, it was a very complex presentation of varied content. Being merely functional was never an option on any part of the site: it had to perform well techinically and look consistently excellent and on-brand.

Agency: Fluid Rock

Portfolio Sample Piece

Speaks for itself and recognisible enough for portfolio purposes. I was selling my work to Newspapers and magazines so this type of subject was effective.

I had Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's 'Einstein on the Beach' music theatre spectacular very much in mind when I did this.

Most of us know of, and recognise Einstein but mightn't have an idea of even the most fundamental aspects of his work. He's become an image more than a scientist. A chap with mad hair who sticks his tongue out.

1996

AIB Kids Website

Best fun web project ever, and it was for a bank! I designed, HTML'd and CSS'd the site; designed the interactive Shockwave games; and created the dozens of illustrations and animations sprinkled liberally throughout. I was in my element for weeks inventing the cast of characters - and no one stopped me.

We handed over the site and waited... When it went live a huge number of illustrations and animations were gone. The kids would have loved them.

Oh well... I still have the original un-cut version. Happy days.

Agency: Fluid Rock

Seated Male Nude

Someday I'll paint from life as well as Osbourne, Sargent, Bastien LePage, and many great painters of the 19th Century.

It's not only difficult to paint as well as the old school but in a way that looks honest and fresh. Pastiche is pointless. There's much to be said for the rigorous academic training that was thrown out with the bathwater in the '60s. Those skills and styles came from the live subject not other people's works.

It'd be wonderful to paint non-figuratively too, like Patrick Heron and other abstract painters of the 20th century. One of these days.

2007