I am a creative junior full-stack developer who recently graduated from Makers Academy, a Web Development bootcamp in April 2018. After many years in retail management I needed a new challenge and a change to my career path. I am also a successful freelance illustrator, with clients including The Times and Conde Nast. I chose to become a developer because of my passion for creating things and I find solving problems gives me an enormous sense of achievement. I'm now looking for the opportunity to use my creativity and the skills I've developed to continue my learning in a developer role.
| Project | Description | Technologies |
|---|---|---|
| Ask Mark Kermode | A responsive Mark Kermode movie review search app using the YouTube API. Deployed on Heroku here. | JavaScript, jQuery, HTML, CSS |
| Acheezable | Final group project at Makers Academy. A cheesy self-led personal development app to encourage positivity during the achievement of goals. Deployed on Heroku here. | JavaScript, Node.js, Express, MongoDB, HTML, CSS, jQuery, Cypress |
| Bombercat | A week 9 group project at Makers Academy. A remake of the classic arcade game Bomberman. Deployed on Surge here. | JavaScript, CreateJS library, jQuery, CSS, HTML, Jasmine |
| Zero Deposit FrontEnd Exercise | Turn a given portal login design in to a responsive website. Deployed on Heroku here. | HTML, CSS |
| Instagram Challenge | A weekend solo project to create a version of Instagram. Users can view, upload, delete, comment, and like posts. | Ruby on Rails, SQLite, Devise, Paperclip, CSS, HTML, RSpec |
- Throughout my time at Makers Academy pair-programming and giving feedback was essential to my learning. Weekly retrospectives and group stand ups were a chance to voice any ideas and concerns.
- Over ten years in retail has taught me the importance of great customer service. My role included daily staff meetings, recruitment, mentoring and scheduling.
- I have always been a creative person. I have been a freelance illustrator since 2000, creating innovative images to communicate visual ideas on a wide range of subject matter.
- The skills learnt during my time at Makers Academy has given me the platform to unlock and realise all my creative ideas.
- Makers Academy wasn't about leaning as many languages and frameworks as possible, it taught me the skills how to learn. I'm now confident in approaching new ideas and technologies.
- I have a constant need to learn new things. When given the chance to work on group projects at Makers Academy I always used it as an opportunity to learn a new technology. The first example being able to explore Node.js in a project to recreate AirBNB.
- Curious and passionate about code
- Fast, independent learner
- Great collaborator
- OOP, TDD, MVC, DDD
- Agile/XP
- Ruby, Rails, JavaScript
- RSpec, Jasmine, Cypress
- BA Hons Visual Communication: Illustration
- Film studies
Ben Challenor Illustration (June 2000 - Present)
Freelance Illustrator
http://www.eyecandyillustration.com/home/ben-challenor/
- Digital photomontage illustration
- Exemplary in Adobe Creative Suite
- Clients include The Times, Oxford University Press, Tatler Hong Kong, The Guardian, The Telegraph, British Medical Journal, The Independent, Conde Nast
Fopp/HMV (October 2003 - December 2017)
Store Supervisor
- Responsible for the day today running of the companies flagship music, film and book retail store
- Unparalleled customer service
- Merchandising- product placement and sale strategies to achieve optimal success
- Staff training, scheduling, mentoring and evaluation
- Learning new technologies
- Music, film and photography
- Guitar and piano player
- Running