Richard Ramsay

Currently working with the web development team, offering wireframes, mockups and full front-end designs that are added to .NET sites, normally using SharePoint or SiteCore. Additionally, designing, developing and maintaining several standalone pages that can use frameworks such as Foundation and Bootstrap.

Recently spearheaded the re-design of all email marketing material to optimise the User Experience (UX) on mobile devices and developed a new responsive front-end UI for the corporate website subscriptions. This project was extended to update the full corporate site, becoming fully responsive.

As a freelance designer, I have been fortunate to work with a small number of clients in different industries allowing me to broaden my experience and expertise. My focus is mainly on building relationships with my clients and I like to think that they have retained my services due to me being reliable, fast, efficient and always on the look-out for better ways to complete the given goal.

The range of projects I have been involved with allow for different technologies and expertise. As a result, I now have specialties lying in both the print world and the web world but also dabble in the following from time-to-time: Brand and Identity creation, video production, Flash animation and games, Email Marketing strategies and SEO consultations.

My most recent projects have been web based using HTML5 and responsive web techniques. Also, I have recently been working with Wordpress and Magento as well as frameworks such as Foundation and Bootstrap.

With a large list of responsibilities, my work day is never quiet. My past tasks have included:

• Design, develop and optimize a new corporate site to be used on top of the nopCommerce platform and work in tandem with a nopCommerce developer to produce the final site - Ridemakerz.com (in development)

• Design, develop and optimize a microsite from the ground up using HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery. This site was for a new product line - XtremeCustomz.com

• Plan, organise and direct the addition of a new Digital Asset Library to be used by the Product Development, Marketing and Design team.

• Manage the transition from one Email Service Provider to a new provider, liase with a developer for this new provider and create all new assets.

• Manage the move from a dedicated server environment to a Cloud environment to save on cost.

• Update the corporate site using Wordpress and make design changes on an on-going basis. In preparation for a full move to nopCommerce, remove the site pages from Wordpress and create this as a standalone website without CMS.

• Design and produce the quarterly company newsletter in InDesign.

• Prepare sale sheets to be used as a product catalog within InDesign using Data Merge and a template.

• Deco design for new product - hand drawn and then into Adobe Illustrator for final costing and production.

Hymans Robertson has long been a specialist in advisory and management services to the occupational pensions market. As a company, we consistently gain awards for being the best at what we do. This is the same for the marketing department which recently gained the top award in it's sector.

As a consultant, I was responsible for designing brochures, newsletters, emails and statements to update members of some of the world's best known blue-chip clients, on their pension scheme. Although only dealing with the pension scheme side of their business, I use their brand and identity to create visually appealing material to put some gloss on what is mostly a very unappealing subject.

Printing.com was one of the fastest growing printing companies of the last decade. They now have almost 300 franchises in over 5 countries, including the United States.

As manager, I would oversee the running of the franchise and discuss with clients what they were looking for, and how we were going to achieve that. In my 6 months of being manager, I more than doubled the sales turnover of the franchise and kept it's benchmark higher than the previous terms record sales. this was achieved by creative ideas through marketing and also having good face-to-face contact with the client.

As a designer, my role was varied and would design all types of printed material (banners, booklets, letterheads, business cards, promotional flyers etc) as well as company websites and email marketing campaigns.

Branded Graphics specialises in event marketing. I was responsible for creating large format graphics for use on roll-up banners, pop-up banner stands, wall murals and smaller canvas and acrylic prints. My main role was to advance my website skills and update their website as well as creating 3 new ones.

During my time here I covered all Marketing, design and online materials. I built up a large library of designs - posters, leaflets, logos, stationery and websites - so that they could modify the materials with ease. I also designed and produced a 150 page catalogue to promote their main product lines.