About Me

[Station Identification] [Style and Inspiration]

Station Identification

I am an interactive media designer with 8 years industry experience. I live in Ramsey, Isle of Man where I have set up my office and am currently in the process of rebranding my business. My new business web address is http://www.lucidapproach.com, I will have the site up ad running within the next month.

I have just finished working for 10 months at Fortis Intertrust http://www.fortisintertrust.com where I was developing intranet applications for the Amsterdam and Geneva offices. I really enjoyed my time at Fortis and picked up more valuable experience in a corporate environment.

in 2003, I studied in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and obtained my degree 'Design for Interactive Media' (BA).With 4 years experience as a Web Designer, I decided to open new doors of opportunity by continuing my studies into multimedia (Animation, DVD's, Computer Games). The projects that interest me the most, are those which aim to teach skills as well as provide entertainment (Edutainment Projects). I have conceptualised and designed projects such as a 3D solar system model, a graphical music simulation for deaf children, a computer game (Nintendo's 'Warioware' Style; and I'm working on an interactive Mayan calendar (Edutainment piece) and a DVD for Schools (key stage 1 and 2 Art).

Zoë Barrow
Zoë Barrow

My Graduation Picture

I have creative skills in both graphics and painting. One of my greatest loves is music. I have skills in both digital and live music, and performance. I have always been a programmer at heart; as my father taught me to program with logo and quick basic from the tender age of five! I have always worked with computers and understand hardware and software. I have worked for high profile clients as a designer/developer including major banks, government and e-commerce.


Style and Inspiration

I want to 'feel' things coming out of my screen and into my reality. As a gamer I understand that the slightest difference in the size or shape of your character can alter how the character 'feels' and moves; changing even your relationship with the character. As a graphic designer I like to make the user/viewer want to interact with the image.
Cognitive forces are at work in creating interaction. Buttons *want* to be pressed, scrollbars *want* to be dragged. This interaction is created by our knowledge of such objects... we learn how to use our GUI when we learn how to use our computer... we can see the relationship with everyday objects... the desktop, and other metaphors.

When I experiment with graphics for art and pleasure I like them to look 'unfinished' but 'designed' in order to create an interactive relationship with the viewer. I want the viewer to "finish" the picture.

I'm inspired by life, by objects, by people and places, by the climate, chaotic systems like the weather, by soundscapes. In artwork i use Spiritual Metaphor (eastern and western), Scientific Metaphor, Mathematical Metaphor. I like to bridge the gap between worlds and opposites. I once saw an interesting demonstration on an Open University Mathematics Video. A bicycle wheel had been painted with a white dot. The lights were dimmed. From the front (facing the handle bars), when the wheel was spun, one could see a white dot moving repeatedly from top to bottom. But if you turned the wheel on its side, you could see the dot just going round and round and never ending. This simple demonstration of the difference between linear and circular movement shows how 'opposites' can be united with a different perspective.

Inspired by:-