About me I was born in South Africa, and have been living in Sweden since May 2007. For the first five years of my career, I worked in a Graphic Design & Advertising Agency called Gate 7 Consulting Services. “I love design, I love problem solving and I love working with people. For me, design is all about solving a problem.” That was followed by five years in a corporate environment for a company called Old Mutual, working in the IT & Web field, where I started contracting as a junior web designer and ended running the Web Studio as Creative Director. Since 2005 I've been working as a consultant for darryl Design. I love design, I love problem solving and I love working with people. For me, design is all about solving a problem. In a sense I see myself as a User Experience Designer who designs, with the end user's experience in mind. You have to know what the end user wants, only then, can you start designing a product, a service or an interface that suits them and matches their needs. I have managed three different kinds of teams in my career: a web studio, an interface design team and a web support team and have experience in Business Analysis, Project Management and Account Management.
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My CV is available on request in both English and Swedish: |
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Work experience
May 2005 - Current | darryl Design - South Africa
In 2005 I started my design consultancy darryl Design. My services include Web Production, Web Design, Information Architecture, Web Development, Usability Testing and Graphic Design.
April 2003 – April 2005 | Fairbairn Capital (Old Mutual) - Cape Town
Fairbairn Capital is a financial services company owned by Old Mutual. In Fairbairn Capital, I managed two teams. One as Interface Design Manager in charge of all interface design and development, and the other as Web Support Manager in charge of all client & broker support. Fairbairncapital.com serviced two kinds of users: Clients who have bought products from Fairbairn Capital and brokers who have sold Fairbairn Capital products. I interacted with the clients, the brokers as well as the Fairbairn Capital staff in the field with regards to the website, talking about new developments, changes and enhancements, as well as listening to their feedback and recommendations. My job also required me to attend all our national Road Shows to do web training with the clients, suppliers and associates, regarding the website.
August 2000 – March 2003 | Old Mutual - Cape Town
Old Mutual is South Africa's biggest financial services company. I started at Old Mutual as a junior Web Designer, and ended as Creative Director. As Creative Director I managed the Web Design Studio in Old Mutual South Africa. The Studio provided Digital and Web Solutions for Old Mutual's network of companies worldwide, and we specialised in Business Analysis, Information Architecture, Usability Testing, Web Design, Graphic Design and Illustration. We provided online solutions for more than 50 of Old Mutual's companies worldwide.
1998 – July 2000 | Gate 7 Consulting Services - Port Elizabeth & Cape Town
Gate 7 is a consulting firm specialising in Design & Architecture. I was working for Gate 7 in the areas of Graphic Design, Web Design & Development, Advertising & Account management. I was also responsible for building and managing our client database. In June 1999 I was transferred to Cape Town, to help establish a Gate 7 office there. My responsibilities included all Graphic Design, Web Design & Account Management, as well as helping with the Marketing, Sales & Public Relations of Gate 7.
1996 - 1997 | Don Bell Design - Port Elizabeth
After studying I started as a Graphic Designer with an Advertising & Design Agency called Don Bell Design. My responsibilities were to manage the client accounts allocated to me, from initial brief, to all Graphic & Advertising Design, to communicating with the repro houses, the print agencies and the news agencies. At the end of 1997 the agency changed names to Gate 7 Consulting Services.
1993 - 1995 | Curved Air Surfboards - Port Elizabeth
Whilst studying I worked on surfboard design, art direction and application in the Surfboard Manufacturing Industry.
