A Little About Me
My name’s Grace and I’ve been a digital designer and web developer for around 10 years, specialising in frontend development. I’ve been self-employed in that capacity for the last 6 years, but I have reached a point where I feel that in order to grow and thrive in the industry, being in an office environment with a wider scope of work (and working alongside the right people) is the natural next step for me. As a company that is expanding and has a reputation for producing an extremely high calibre of work, Element Seven is the perfect fit!
I’m also a musician and have been playing piano for most of my life, which led to setting up a small side hustle playing for weddings and events. I enjoy the combination of the two different career aspects and I think life should be all about variety!
Academic and Professional Background
I’m a natural-born nerd, so I actually quite enjoyed school! For me, music had always seemed the obvious choice for further education and career, so after achieving A-levels in Music, English, and Maths, I went on to study music at Queen's University. In the end it wasn’t the right fit for me, and I ended up going down a completely different path. I am self taught in the use of software like Adobe Photoshop and that has always been a big interest of mine, so after working for a year I came across the Interactive Multimedia Design course at Ulster University and it felt like the right next step. I graduated with first-class honours in 2013 and went on to work in some really great web agencies, before making the decision to go self-employed.
As a self-employed designer and developer, I worked primarily with small, local companies and businesses, but when I discovered Craft CMS, it really allowed me to expand my skill set and improve what I could offer to clients, giving me the capacity to produce larger scale projects. I helped my clients establish a beautiful, modern and high-quality web presence, working closely with them in all aspects of their project, from design to deployment. It’s given me a wealth of experience in working with clients in a wide variety of industries, as well as the ins and outs of running a business.
What I do off the clock
Outside of work, I spend a lot of my spare time reading - I’m a big epic fantasy fan (told you I was a nerd). I love music and particularly enjoy making my own covers and arrangements on piano, which comes in very useful for weddings! I also volunteer with St John Ambulance as an Ambulance Care Attendant which is something I really enjoy - I really believe everyone should learn first aid. Aside from that, I have two cats and a French bulldog at home who keep me busy!
Looking Forward
As Grace joins our team, we look forward to her contributions and the innovative perspectives she brings to our projects. Her extensive knowledge and experience will undoubtedly boost our capabilities and reinforce our commitment to delivering top-tier digital services.
