The face behind the name

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The face behind the name

Ok so if you have come this far you probably already know my name is Ryan Couser and that I’m a freelance web designer from Belfast, Northern Ireland with extensive knowledge of designing and developing standards based multimedia for the web but I don’t want to bore you with the same information over and over again. As a result I have decided to throw my hat into the ring and answer a number of general headings that will help you get to know me better.

Brief Summary of my Education

My early school years began back in 1990 when I joined Cavehill Primary School aged only 4 years old. After seven years I accomplished sufficient marks in my 11-Plus for a place at the Belfast Boys’ Model School. It seems irrelevant now but it was my first taste of success and a motivation to learn. Throughout my seven years at the Boys’ Model I developed the ability to realise personal goals and ambitions, completing 8 GCSE’s, 3 A-Levels and a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. In 2004 I enrolled at the University of Ulster to study BSc Hons Interactive Multimedia Design and fours years later graduated with a high average of 68% and a degree classification of 2.1.

Work Experience

My first experience of work was away back in 1999 when I worked as a part-time assistant milkman, delivering the dairy products and collection of payment. Once I turn 16 my national insurance card arrived, qualifying me for a job working weekends in Marks and Spencer’s Warehouse as a Warehouse Operative. This involved many tasks from accurately receiving and putting away stock using Marks and Spencer’s internal I.T systems to facilitating with pricing and de-pricing of stock heading for the south of Ireland. While still working at M&S I also experienced week placements at Synergy Learning Centre in 2001 where I supported in the delivery of basic Internet skills to young pupils and Sign Tech in 2002 where I used the latest printing technology to print, build and install every kind of display from vehicle signage to point of sales displays and promotional items.

Early 2006 I began working for the Bytes Project as Admin Assistant, starting with the mundane tasks of photocopying, filing and general maintenance of computers, but before long I was showcasing my skills and doing what I love best. Redesigning and maintaining their website, business cards, invitations, newsletters, flash presentations, you name it I made it.

Late 2006 came and my year long university placement began at No More Art, a successful Web and Graphic Design company in the heart of Belfast City Centre. This is where I gained most of my “real world” experience and ways to use my abilities to its full extent, from meeting and greeting the client, to satisfying the client throughout and after the sale point. Through No More Art I developed websites for a number of well respected businesses and clients throughout Northern Ireland.

Early 2008 I reduced my working hours to a minimal while concentrating on my Degree but still continued to work for both the Bytes Project and No More Art when time spared me.

Late 2008 after graduation I successfully completed the Start a Business Programme with Invest NI and began Freelancing in Web Design and Development.

Software toolbox

Dreamweaver
Photoshop
Flash
Fireworks
Illustrator
InDesign
Director
Soundforge
Premiere
3D Studio Max
MS Office

Languages and Programming

CSS & XHTML
Javascript & AJAX
XML & RSS
XSLT
PHP
MySQL