Darryl Donnelly is an independent freelance digital designer based in Norwich, UK. In a nutshell, he designs websites and is very passionate about bringing 'design' back into 'web design'.
We came across Darryl's work via our directory and loved his style, so asked nicely if we could spend five minutes chatting to him about his background and work. And here's what he had to say...
Tell us about yourself – how did you get started?
It all started back in 1999 after doing a graphics/multimedia degree. Back then my main tool was Director, however I quickly discovered Joshua Davis’ PrayStation.com and was sucked into the world of Flash, which back then was all new and fresh. I would spend many hours dabbling in Actionscript. I simply couldn’t stop myself from tinkering with free open source files, pulling code apart and seeing if I could make something interesting.
After graduating I ended up doing a stint in print for a while, but just couldn’t keep away from online. Later, I was lucky enough to get my foot in the door of an online agency and produce front-end web visuals, working closely with the developers. This also gave me my first insight in how it all comes together from HTML/CSS/PHP to now adding JQuery.
I’ve been involved with the web for around seven years now, always looking for new ways to push the boundaries of web design by integrating, social and mobile. It’s been a crazy but fantastic journey and I’m still learning. I’ve had the privilege of working with some big brands, such as Lotus cars, Euronics UK, Bayer, Mr Digwell, Norwich Airport – to name a few.
The proudest moment for me was when one of my site designs won the Creative East award for best Web Design/Innovation 2009, for my last agency.
In the last three months I’ve made the bold jump into freelance, from my previous full-time employment as digital creative director. No matter how much you love your job, no matter how cool your boss is, you’re still executing the vision of someone else. I can honesty say (so far) it was a good move. It’s been pedal to metal all the way, and a steep learning curve, but I’m busier than I’ve ever been!
What are you currently up to? Are there any exciting projects ongoing?
Where do I start. At the moment I’m working on something new and exciting for a large FS company (which I can’t talk about too much), finishing up a new site for a world leading battery company, and re-designing a creative agency’s site, which is about to go live soon.
There are also some smaller projects which I enjoy doing, as I can get more involved with the client, coming up with new ideas and solutions that can improve on business goals, conversions or even bringing in social media. Social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter which are the lifeblood of online conversations, capturing people’s true sentiments.
Something that I’m really buzzing about right now is working with iOS interfaces, I’ve just finished designing an iPhone app. Designing for mobile isn’t much different than designing for the web. In fact it’s a bit easier since you’ll be working on a smaller screen with specific access points. Putting together an entire storyboard of app screens takes time and patience with the developers, but seeing it evolve to a working fully functional app is fantastic.
Who or what inspires you?
I get inspiration from a lot of things – from music videos to magazine layouts. I love the work from Hello Monday: hellomonday.com, Scott Hanson: blog.iso50.com, AKQA and many more.
I get inspired a lot by my clients. My favorite person to work with is someone who is really passionate about their business and what they do. When you’re around someone like that you just can’t help but get excited about it yourself.
Being stuck in the middle of a good team of developers is a great feeling. I love creating new ways of doing things, and pushing them to do it. When they say it can’t be done, I find 80% of the time, with a bit of head scratching and tea making it can be. And the developers get a buzz from solving the problem, and then everyone gets so involved in the project.
What’s your best project/work to date?
That’s a hard one. There have been a few projects that have had success for different reasons but to date, two projects I really enjoyed were:
mrdigwell.com The main reason I like this one is because it took me just over a day to do the home page, with all the texture and layered detail. The idea behind it came from a Shutterstock image (44092024). After that the ideas just kept flowing, even down to the styling of the footer. Sadly I left the agency I was in at the time before it went to build and never oversaw the project.
Euronics.co.uk I had a lot of fun with Euronics UK, mainly because I enjoy working on ecommerce. You could say I had the most creative control. I've found I enjoy projects most when I have a strong sense of ownership in the project. I start to get attached and am constantly thinking ways to improve things, even after it goes live.
I’ve also had the chance to create pages for some big household brands such as Samsung, Hotpoint, LG and Zanussi.
Anything new going on? Or in the pipeline?
Apart from working on some new iOS interfaces and client work not much else is going on. I’m still trying to find my freelance feet, as they haven’t touched the ground since I left my Creative Director position with my last agency four months ago. Maybe one day I’d like to partner up with someone and set up a digital agency. Who knows.
When you’re not working, what do you like to do?
I seem to be working all the time. But when I’m not, I do spend every spare minute with my two boys. Sitting down with them watching Postman Pat is a great way of forgetting about work for a while.
A dream of mine is to buy a 1967 Mustang that needs some TLC, and keep it in the garage spending months slowly restoring it.
Finally, what tips or advice could you give to other creative’s, just starting out?
Don’t rely on formal education to teach you techniques, as they can only come from yourself. What is taught in schools has already been done a thousand times over. I learnt more in three months at an agency, than I did in three years at university. Get your foot in the door, start at the bottom and work your way up.
Talent is a good start. And if you have a natural talent then you just need experience. So my advice would be to have patience, continue to learn as much as you can and be as ambitious as you can. Try to find your own style and experiment all the possibilities that you can. Think outside of the box.
Be pro-active and do your own projects, learning on your own. A lot of young designers want things handed to them.
