I've been a freelance web and graphic designer for nearly two decades but the satisfaction of providing my clients with beautiful designs that exceed their expectations and help their businesses grow is something that never gets old.
A bit of background… I originally trained as a periodical journalist at the London College of Printing in 1992, and enjoyed an early career as a journalist in local news, but I soon discovered that I was more interested in page layout and graphic design. I threw myself in at the deep end and spent a few years transforming myself into a graphic designer by working my way up through design agencies, contract publishers and PR companies in the creative cauldron of central London, often working for blue-chip clients like American Express, McVities, Siemens, Glaxo SmithKline, Bass, CBRE, Sport England, Tui, Barclays, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and many more.
My next move was into web design. The early 2000s were an exciting time when web coding technologies were developing rapidly to allow greater creative freedom in website page layout, allowing web designers to rival their print counterparts with exciting and innovative page layouts. So when the opportunity arose to learn web design and start offering it as a creative service alongside my existing graphic design work, I jumped at the chance. I was quickly deluged with requests for help from friends and colleagues asking me to build websites for them, and in 2003 when I had enough experience, I decided to set up business by myself and focus on designing websites and print materials as a fulltime freelancer, particularly focusing on small businesses, new businesses and non-profit organisations.
These days I'm based near Milton Keynes in sunny Buckinghamshire and spend my work time creating unique, beautiful websites that are affordable, accessible and easy to maintain, and which adhere to current web standards for search engine visibility and accessibility.
I work independently and also with my Clear Sky Websites brand which includes myself and a team of local freelance professionals focusing on helping small businesses in our local 'patch' of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
I help my clients establish and promote their businesses online through ongoing search engine optimisation, social media networking and promotion, original content creation and management, and creating printed items like leaflets, brochures and business stationery that help my clients promote their products and services in the offline 'real' world.
I'd love to hear from you if you're interested in any of my services. It's really easy, just get in touch to arrange a free, no obligation project consultation →
Steve has designed two websites for me now, and it has always been a pleasure working with him. He listened to what I wanted, was patient with me and my lack of technical knowledge, worked quickly and was happy to make as many tweaks as I wanted. I love his designs and lots of people have commented on how great my websites look.Hilary Freeman, Author, Journalist, Agony Aunt