Dave Smyth - Web Developer

Name: Dave Smyth
Address: London, UK
Telephone: +1 407-233-3331

I’m Dave and I work with small businesses across the world to create websites that enhance their brand and engage users.

Overview

I’m Dave, a web designer and consultant from London. I work with individuals, small businesses and startups to create websites that enhance their brand.

I started building websites in 1999. Since turning freelance in 2013, I’ve helped hundreds of clients worldwide to improve their web presence.

I’m also a visiting lecturer at City, University of London.

I’m an official Statamic partner and I’ve worked extensively with WordPress. I don’t work with Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly, but I can provide design services for another developer to implement.

I design and build websites around a few principles:

Custom design: my design work is bespoke (I don’t customise templates)
Accessibility: making websites as accessible to as many people as possible
Standout design: websites should stand out from their competitors, for all of the right reasons
Usability: considering best practices for users and the ongoing management of the site’s content
Privacy: where possible, I’ll recommend using services that put user’s privacy first

Design and development projects start at £3,500 and the lead time is usually a minimum of six weeks.

Services

Website

Non-Fiction

Entertainment

Health & wellbeing

Home & Garden

Music

Photography

Self-help & Self-improvement

Technology

Weddings

Works with

WordPress

Work experience

Web Designer

Self-employed

September, 2013 – Present (over 6 years)

Projects

Fields Photography

Amy approach me to develop her Fields Photography site as her existing site was being limited by the platform it was on. Together we set about bringing her Fields Photography brand to life on the web!

Lots of beautifully hand-drawn brand assets had already been created by Abbie Worton. My task was to bring these assets together in a coherent design that matched the existing branding in a manner appropriate for a responsive website.

The site’s pastel purple colour scheme draws on the colour palette from some of the original illustrations. Aside from this, the site is predominantly clean and minimal in nature, which allows Amy’s beautiful photography to take centre stage.

A subtle design feature is the full-width banner image that sits on top of the footer. This responds depending on the size of the device and is a delightful addition that gives the site a unique design element.

Macware

Macware approached me to produce their company home page after two successful projects creating application-specific websites.

After a couple of iterations, this design direction was chosen. It not only matched the project’s objectives but Macware also felt it best reflected their brand’s visual aesthetic.

The result is a website that makes it easy for users to find the information they need. The screenshots provide an insight in to how the products work and site’s header allows users to quickly purchase a license.

The site features a rounded sans-serif typeface throughout which is a perfect match for the sector this product is in. The various background gradients also help to lift the design and provide a visually interesting contrast between the sections of the site’s two main pages.

Litwin Davies Design

Redesign of Canadian interior design firm website.

Rob Luft

Design and development for London-based jazz guitarist and composer Rob Luft.

Rob approached me to build his website ahead of the launch of his debut album. He had some striking photos that he wanted to feature throughout the site and we used these as the inspiration for the site’s overall colour scheme.

The site needed to be flexible enough to promote his projects and gig dates to audience members, whilst also being easy for promoters and reviewers to quickly access the information they need.

Musician websites often need to feature lots of material on a single page. Sometimes the pages only feature images, others need to handle a lot of copy and some pages need to draw on widgets from other services such as Bandcamp or Soundcloud. Rob’s site was no different in this regard, but the site has a coherent and clear layout for each page type.

The use of colour throughout Rob’s site not only gives the site some atmosphere, but it also helps to set it apart from many other sites. This brings some additional character to a site that is also very clean and easy to navigate.

Yoga Harmony Perth

A fresh website design to enhance the Yoga Harmony Perth brand and engage more users.

Yoga Harmony Perth approached me to redesign their existing WordPress website. The original site had been developed five years earlier and no represented the brand or other marketing materials.

In the initial discussions it quickly became apparent that a clean aesthetic is what would suit the site best. We took a minimalist approach to the design wherever possible and the design is lifted through the vibrant photography.

The site features a beautiful serif typeface for headings and calls to action. It looks particularly stunning at large sizes, set over some the client’s photography. This is combined with a clean sans-serif for body copy – this font pairing really brings the design to life.