About me
I'm a web developer with a background in games and media, but in reality, anything techy is my passion.
After finishing my BA and MA Media Production / Management courses at Sheffield Hallam University in 2023, I've been working as a web developer and systems/network administrator, managing contemporary hardware and building equally robust software for clients.
What started as playing on my grandparents' Windows 95 Compaq as a toddler turned into a love for tikering with and building PCs for myself and friends by the time I was in secondary school! This hobby grew into something bigger once I started part-time work at a local independent Apple repair shop in 2016.
Since then (and across several different workspaces/roles), I've gathered knowledge and experience for all kinds of tech, not just Apple devices! From a G3 iMac, to last year's latest and greatest server box, I've poked around virtually everything!
Hardware and Repairs
More than just a hobby, I've spent 8 years working in repair shops, primarily focusing on Apple Mac devices, but also from other makes too, such as Dell, HP and MSI. I've accumulated experience about system building and hardware repair, right down to tasks like reflowing suspect chips back to boards.
Some other brands' products I've built with and worked on include Gigabyte, Netgear, Synology - Feels like I've worked on them all!
Network Management and System Administration
I've spent time working as a network admin, assessing site security and addressing any vulnerabilities found. Using tools like Microsoft's Entra ID, Intune and Defender, I've gained valuable insight on how to effectively manage devices and enforce compliance with company policies/configs.
This works hand-in-hand with my hardware knowledge, as most issues I can either rectify myself by rolling out config changes, or deploying updates to machines remotely. (Though I'll never turn down a chance to install a new GPU or slot in some more DIMMs!)
Software and Games
As a lifelong gamer, I've loved the concept of building games, but was held back by my lack of capacity to produce artwork of a reasonable quality. Eventually, I began learning the core concepts of pixel art, and built several games around that, like Climate Control, Sunbeam and Anachronism\>.
These were all made within Unity, using primarily C#, but my older projects were written in Swift, or Objective-C! I've had my games published on platforms like Steam and Apple's App Store, selling over 1,000 paid copies of my games, and reaching over 50,000 collective downloads across my catalogue since launch!
Web Development
Knowing basic HTML, CSS and JavaScript since I was in school, I truly started my web development career in 2023 when I joined a full-service creative agency after graduating from university. This is where I picked up industry-standard languages and libraries like PHP, jQuery and SQL.
Focusing on mostly frontend initially, I began working with WordPress projects, building and updating custom templates, themes and plugins. Now, I'm comfortable building sites with all kinds of custom database-driven functionality, even maintaining/building completely bespoke systems, like the CMS powering this website!
