CURRICULUM · VITAE

ian forster

… creative web and graphic designer

Ian Forster I am an experienced web and graphic designer with a real passion for creative design and have previously worked with companies large and small, both in-house and in a freelance capacity.

A background in art and illustration informs my personal design style and and is combined with solid experience of industry standard design & development techniques and software including: Adobe CS Suite, Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, QuarkXpress, Acrobat Pro, XHTML/CSS, Wordpress and jQuery.

Applications skills
My aim is to create web and graphic design that is original, creative, functional and oriented to precise web accessibility standards.

skills:

Design & Software Skills

* Web & graphic design from concept to completion…
*Adobe Creative Suite, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, HTML & CSS, jQuery, InDesign, Quark Xpress, Illustrator, Acrobat

education:

St John University College York. UK

BA Hon's degree, Art/Design & Technology specialising in graphic design & illustration

experience:

Freelance Web & Graphic Designer

… from August 2009

* Design and full production of client websites
* Design of personalised Blogs with the inclusion of extra functionality
* Creating specific site content and advertising material in Flash
* Producing complimentary graphic design and logo design for clients

Web Designer - Wolfspider Ltd

… from February 2009

* Designing and building a wide range of client websites
* Liasing with clients, taking all project briefs and maintaining existing sites
* Creating content for sites built on a CMS platform

Freelance Web Designer

… from February 2008

* Design and construction of client websites
* Working mainly in partnership with developers

Designer - Scarlett Abbott, York

… from December 2007

*Working directly with clients on both web design and print projects

Designer - Sycamore, York

… from June 2007

* Designing email shots, Flash banners, print collateral and complete websites

Contract Designer - ENDpapers Publishing

… from May 2006

* Projects including complete books, brochures, advertising, publicity material and web design

Graphic Designer - Skylight Design

… from July 2005

* Client liason, design for a wide range of print projects and website design

Graphic Designer - BP Design & Yo Yo Ltd - York

… from April 2003

* Working within a team, designing for print and creating web content and corporate identity development

Designer/Mac Operator - Alphagraphics

… from June 2002

* Customer liason, design & layout of work intended for print deadlines

Illustrator - Gibson Greetings Intl, Telford

… from September 2000

* Creating artwork, designs & illustrations for the gift industry

references:

Available on request

testimonials:

“Ian at Graphic Alchemy was amazing to work with – he gave me everything I asked for in my website and also a great deal more too. I was thoroughly impressed by his professionalism, imagination and efficiency, not to mention his prices! I have been recommending him to everybody, and am looking forward to working with him again soon.”

Alexander Gordon Smith
~ Author and creator of the hugely successful ‘Furnace’ series
www.alexandergordonsmith.com

“Ian's a hugely talented designer, full of good ideas and with the ability to put them in to practice, and it's always a pleasure working with him.”

Philip Reeve
~ Celebrated author and creator of the best selling ‘Mortal Engines’ series
philipreeve.blogspot.com

“Ian Forster transformed a few half-formed ideas from me into a highly attractive, multi-layered and very sophisticated website.
A website that has created much interest in my work, and been a truly fruitful platform to the outside world. He is both artist and pragmatist – creative and punctual – and I cannot recommend his work highly enough. He's the man to call – a modern alchemist.”

Dr. Martin Shaw
~ Acclaimed storyteller and founder of The Westcountry School of Myth and Story
www.schoolofmyth.com

“Ian is an absolute joy to work with. He has a real artist's eye for design and is totally fast and professional. The web site he made for me exceeded my expectations in every way. I explained to him my aesthetic concept and what I wanted to convey and he was able to run with it and create something truly unusual and of a caliber that is not often seen. I was so pleased with it that I immediately hired him to make another web site for another business I am involved in. I would recommend his work to anyone.”

Jennifer Ferraro
~ Poet, artist, writer and presenter, Santa Fe, NM
www.jenniferferraro.com

t: 01803 - 865199
m: 07543 - 374113
e: ian1618@googlemail.com
w: www.graphicalchemy.co.uk

This website is designed responsively for optimal viewing on a wide range of desktop browsers, laptop computers, notebooks, tablets and mobile devices.
Design by Ian Forster @ Graphic Alchemy 2011