Portfolio Website for Jesse Reed. Website Manager, Designer, Developer, Copywriter, and Guitar Guru.

CREATIVITY

I studied music, and my brain never takes a break. I wake up with new song ideas and go to bed thinking of how I can improve them. I take this creative energy into every job I do. Here are a few examples of creative work that I have done as a web designer/developer, copywriter, and musician.

Concept & branding

OWNER - CONCEPT - BRANDING - WEBSITE

Website build

HTML - CSS - JAVASCRIPT

Songwriting

COMPOSITION - LYRICS - ARTWORK

"All the walls are ruined by the loveless cries and the paint is flaking under the weight of all the lies. I know the beauty is still there for all the world to see, and I think I'll see it someday but today it escapes me"

Animation

GREENSOCK ANIMATION - STORYBOARDING - DESIGN

Blog writing

WEB DESIGN - DEVELOPMENT - RESEARCH - COPYWRITING

I have created content for many large international brands.

LEADERSHIP

I have had the privilege to work in some great teams, and when I'm given the opportunity to be a leader, I don't take it for granted. For me, the team will always be the main focus, as the only way to create a great product is through teamwork. When I am given the responsibility to lead a group of professionals, I want everyone to be happy, inspired, and able to produce their best work. Here are some examples of when I was given the role of manager and tech lead.

Hotel manager

For two years I ran a boat hotel in Amsterdam called Passenger Ship Avanti. I'd never done anything like it before, and I loved it! I had to take care of every aspect of the business. I dealt with reservations, managing staff, purchasing, food and beverage operations, maintenance, and customer satisfaction. We got most of our bookings through a website called hostelworld.com, and in my time on the boat, I improved our customer rating from 85% to 92%. I think the thing I liked the most about the job were the customers. I met so many great people, and it was a true pleasure of mine to help them have the best possible stay in Amsterdam.

Tech lead

While working at AGCS, I had the opportunity to lead a website build for the Hurom juicer company. They wanted us to manage their online presence in the BENELUX area. We were a team of designers, developers, and marketers, and we worked closely to create a website using WordPress and WooCommerce. I led the technical side of the project, and it was a useful experience in managing expectations and finding the right balance between great design and usable technology. In the end, through teamwork, we created an elegant website that ticked all the boxes for both usability and performance.

Project management team

DISCLAIMER: I wasn't the manager or team leader for this project. I am mentioning it because it was a large undertaking, and I learnt a lot about project management from it. During my time at Spotzer Digital, I was part of a small group that coordinated a large website migration for Yell. We worked with teams in the UK, the Netherlands, and India. It was a huge project that required a lot of organisation. We had to navigate different time zones and even cultural and religious challenges. One of the biggest obstacles was the technical side of the operation. We were migrating sites using many different technologies, all to the Duda platform. This was incredibly challenging due to the limitations the platform had. In the end, through regular communication and a willingness to see the project to completion, we managed to get it past the finish line.

CRITICAL THINKING

Honestly, I wasn't born with this skill; I've learnt it. I've always been somewhat of an optimist but also perhaps a little naive at times. Always choosing to trust my gut and not necessarily interested in backing up my instincts with facts. Ten years ago I married a scientist, and I have changed an enormous amount since then. She taught me to question things much more, to rely more on facts and less on gut feelings. Every day I try to find a balance between my optimistic nature that trusts its instincts and my more recently learnt skill of gathering together relevant information in order to make measured judgements. I studied UX design, and that gave me even more techniques to find what truly works so that I don't fall victim to my own biases. This is going to be a lifelong work in progress as I have discovered the power of critical thinking, and it's a game changer! Below are some examples of my UX research, where I gained invaluable data to create web products that truly connect with the customer.

A/B and multivariate testing

Usability tests

Afinity diagrams

Customer journey maps

TEAMWORK

In every job I have done, I have been praised for my communication skills. This is probably thanks to my family, as I grew up in a household full of conversation, openness, and honesty. In my web work, I have used these communication skills to lead tech teams and coordinate between various international stakeholders. Unlike many of my colleagues, I actually love having meetings. I don't find it a waste of time or something that gets in the way of my work. The way I see it, putting heads together regularly can avoid a lot of time being wasted. There is always something that can be optimised or improved, and by clearly communicating with each other we can discover what is working and what isn't. That is why I always love to get the team together and go through stuff together. Creating together and finding the best solutions together. In other words, who was better, John Lennon or Paul McCartney? Answer: The Beatles. Together.

The front of the Moody Baker bakery in Alston Cumbria

The Moody Baker - A Workers Cooperative

The Moody Baker was an artisan bakery producing a wide variety of breads and pastries. As a workers' cooperative, we ran the company together and, through weekly meetings, managed finance, branding, marketing, product development, business planning, general management, and more. We were like a family, and together we created an award-winning product. This was an amazing experience that gave me a great insight into the running of a business. As there was no leader and we were all equals, we had to develop a level of cooperation that I've never experienced since. It was hard; at times it even felt impossible, but we always managed to work together, and we created great food, won awards, and had a ball doing it!

"I have worked with Jesse in both agency and freelance contexts, and he is now my go-to developer for all digital projects. Jesse is adaptable and can easily self-manage, which is fantastic when you are working on multiple projects across time zones that have the tendency to scale. He often exceeds my expectations in terms of timeline deliverables, and is equally creative and practical in the solutions he proposes."

Nica Nel - Digital Designer

"Jesse was a valuable member of the AGCS team, hard working and dedicated to producing high quality digital products. His strong communication skills were a real asset to the company and our production process. Jesse is creative and always willing to learn and embrace new technology in order to grow as a developer."

Justin Campbell - CEO, AGCS

"I've worked in the same team with Jesse, and his professionalism, attention to details and coding skills always impressed me and inspired me. He is very creative and people learned a lot from him. He is one careful listener, one eager learner and one great teacher."

Marco Del Noce - Front-End Developer & Digital Designer

Manager, Designer, Developer, Copywriter, and Guitar Guru!