Sure, Let's Connect
I'm always happy to discuss helping you and your team to do great things.
Projects I am Interested In
Consulting with Your Team
Your team and me meet-up. We discuss how they currently work. I discuss how I currently work. We create some discrete components on our own. We create some discrete components together. We work through our approaches and discuss our learnings. We formulate a plan to ensure that your team is the best team it can be.
If necessary, we repeat the process. If not, you now have the best team you could have.
Setting up a Design System, Styleguide, or Pattern Library
I love having consistency in a design, and having design components that are repeatable across your digital platforms. I particularly like that we can test these components so a change in one section of your website won't affect another section.
Designing in the Browser
My favourite approach to frontend work is to work alongside designers to implement designs as they are progressing, called "Design in the Browser". This allows everyone to see what is going to take a large chunk of the budget that we might like and to change tack accordinly. It means we can get a great design at the price we expect.
Planning Frontend Architecture
If we cannot "design in the browser", I'm happy to consult with you and your team about how the designs can be implemented in a manner that ensures the implementation will be (as) future-proof (as possible). Sorry for the parenthesis, but no one call tell the future, so no one can guarantee "future-proof implementation". Let's be honest.
Frontend Development
You have a design. You need it implemented. You want it cross browser tested. You want regression tests set up, so that when any future work is done, you can check that it doesn't break a current feature. Great. I'm an expert.
Projects I am Not Interested In
Tyre Kickers
If you are just putting out feelers to get some thoughts, judge the mood, understand the market, any other buzzword that, in essence, just means "let's get these people to figure it out before we really think about the project", then I do not think I am a good fit for you.
Work that Needs to be Done Yesterday
Okay, if there's a tight deadline, we can discuss it, and price accordingly.
But, if you are going to come at me with loads of demands because you're such an important person and your company deserves my time more than my own family does, then I do not think I am a good fit for you.
You Need Me Onsite
Sorry, I am a remote worker. I will do my best to make myself available via Skype/Hangouts/Zoom/etc. I will do my best to visit your premises (at your expense) when I can, but please respect the fact that I am a remote worker and I do my best work within my own environs, timezone, and work hours, not yours.
Let's Get Connected!
You read this far? Great, looks like we might be a good fit.
The easiest way to contact me is via email to mark@mark.ie with a brief introduction about how you think we can be mutually beneficial to each other.
I like emails like this:
Hi Mark,
<Jane Hipp> here, I'm <Head of Digital> at <This Great Company>. We were hoping you might have some availability for an upcoming project we are going to be working on.
In short, the idea is <a website to promote our open source contributions> so we can <continue to attract high quality open source developers>. Your name came up very high on our list of those we'd like to have help us realise this.
We have a strict deadline of <Q1 next year> when we are <launching a new recruitment drive>. Do you think you'd have availability to guide us to reach that deadline?
Our team consists of <a project manager, a product owner, a content strategist, a senior designer, and two backend developers>. You will be working directly with the design and development team, and reporting directly to me.
For this project, we are estimating a spend in the region of €75,000, we'd be happier if it was less but are also prepared to go a little higher to make sure the job is done right.
Just an FYI, we are talking to another agency as well: <SuperCool, based in Dublin>.
If you need any more details, just let me know.
Thanks,
Jane.
If you can't send me an email like the above (feel free to copy/paste and amend it), that's fine. A simple email to mark@mark.ie is cool, but it will take less of your time and my time (and, ultimately, the project's time) in the long run if you give me as much info as possible up front.
I'm excited to be connecting with you. This is going to be the beginnings of something great!