Inside mission control

Rob Hawkes: Web Designer

Welcome to Rawkes mission control here in Surrey, in the south east of England. I’m Rob Hawkes – an experienced web designer/ developer and your guide on the mission to boost the effectiveness of your website. Enjoy the tour!

Safety first

Your site is in safe hands. Rawkes comes equipped with all the features you need to ensure a safe and pleasant design experience:

• A skilled and experienced designer behind the controls
• Sleek and modern design principles
• Creative flair backed up by solid theory
• Clutter-free and fully functional styling
• Friendly, helpful and approachable
• Driven by 100% renewable passion

Standard features

Don’t think Rawkes is just about those extras that you don’t get with other designers. I also do the basics very well.

As a strong advocate of industry standards I ensure you get a high-quality site readily accessible by all your potential customers. This application of standards-compliant design increases the effectiveness of your site no matter what technology visitors use.

You get clean, compatible and semantically accurate code that passes validation rules set by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Rob Hawkes: his craft

You need a web designer with a broad skill base – blending strong technical skills with sharp design. My core skills provide a solid base to meet all your needs:

• (X)HTML
• CSS
• Javascript
• PHP
• MySQL
• CMS systems like WordPress and Drupal
• Bitmap and vector graphics

Add to this artistic flair and a passion for new media and you get the winning formula.

Rob Hawkes: ‘web guru’

You deserve a designer at the forefront of web design.

I’m active in the web design community – providing advice, writing tutorials and discussing topical issues to help my fellow designers.

I have the privilege of “web guru” status on the Web Designer Forum and forum members have voted me “Member of the Month” two months running.

Putting theory into practice

Solid design is created upon a structured methodology. Every bit of code and design I produce has purpose and function. A clear understanding of design theory allows me to make the right professional decisions.

This is what will make your site sustainable and effective as opposed to one that looks good but falls apart under pressure.

I like things that just “work”. Don’t we all? All in all, I like to keep things simple. The most elegant solutions are usually the simplest. I won’t baffle you with techno-babble. What I will do is work with you every step of the way to turn your ‘wants’ into ‘gots’.

Counting down to your new site

The process is simple here at Rawkes. Putting strong theory into smooth practice ensures everything goes without a hitch and nothing is missed out.

3. Tuning into your needs

From the very first moment you are driving the project. Clear communication is key and at every step I ensure that we are on the same wavelength and working to fulfil your needs. I shape decisions – you make them.

2. Brainstorming and planning

Heard the joke about NASA spending $1 million to invent the space pen? The astronaut is showing off to a cosmonaut about how it can write upside-down, underwater and in zero-G… The cosmonaut replies, “We use pencil”.

Here at mission control I believe in saving you time and money. Initial designs and ideas are sketched using pencil and paper so that you get to see designs taking shape before committing to anything.

1. The development phase

Once you have chosen a design we move into the digital realm. This is where you see your design come to life. Testing is a vital part of the development process and is something I do early and often, at every step. Peace of mind is priceless.

Launch!

Your new site is ready to launch into cyberspace. At each stage we have made the right decisions to provide visitors to your site with a rich experience that will evoke the response you’re looking for.

Congratulations – mission success.

Some Details About the Website

• Built on WordPress
• Hosted by Clook
• Designed and developed on an Apple MacBook