WELL HI THERE

Fourscore and seven years ago...wait...wrong script.

Back in 2004, I was trying to figure out what to do with my career as I was set to graduate from high school in 2005. I had always been interested in art and design but had never really dealt with the web that much. I took a part time internship at a local graphic design agency working with a great friend of mine and I began working around the internet on a daily basis.

It didn’t take long to realize, even by an amateur, that the internet was a rapidly-growing, massively exciting opportunity. I started pouring myself into learning as much as possible about the web. Regrettably, I went down the route of visual-based editors (not to mention any specific products; particularly those that weave dreams). I worked and worked, and eventually, I was able to launch my first site. A garbled mess of unorganized tables and inline styling it was, but I was quite proud of it and didn’t know any better!

Later in 2005, I graduated from high school and began immediately designing for the web. (I graduated on a Friday night and literally started working Monday morning). It was by a slow but sure process that I began to change from using visual-based editing software to eventually strictly code-based. After reading several books and articles by web geniuses such as Jeffrey Zeldman, the godfather of the web, Andy Clarke and Simon Collison, two fine chaps beautifully representing the web from the UK, I realized that there was a better way to design and build my sites. I learned of web standards and how they applied to my work, I learned of best practices concerning syntax and writing style, and most importantly, I was completely PUMPED to be working on such a big and beautiful, ever-improving monster known as the internet.

Over the next couple of years, I learned about more exciting things like CSS and Javascript. I began to see why proper CSS could dramatically improve the site’s performance and provide a much better user experience. I also learned about things like accessibility and how users interact with our sites differently and how things like semantics have such a large impact on the scalability of our work. Most importantly, I was able to take what I learned and work with some amazing clients to produce some really nice stuff. Everything from e-commerce shops to social networking systems for clients ranging from small startups to major international corporations. I was fortunate to work both by myself on projects and with amazing teams.

In 2010, fueled by a massive desire to learn about a new (to me) technology and an attempt to jump way outside the box, I began to study the power of CSS3. Later that summer, after cramming lots of caffeine, way too many hours, and line after line of over-the-top CSS3 into one document, I finally succeeded in doing what at the time, no body else had done. Not to this extent anyway. I created a photorealistic illustration of the iPhone using no linked images whatsoever; only browser-generated images powered by CSS3. This project was the iPhone CSS3. This project caused quite a stir in the web community and still continues to drive massive amounts of traffic to my site.

Since then, I’ve been working to develop leaner, more efficient CSS and apply some of these over-the-top technologies in a more realistic setting. (For example, did you know that with the exception of a few icons, all of the interface illustrations on this site are CSS3 powered?) I’m amazed at what can be done if I only think differently.

So that brings us to present. I am currently working to improve every single line of code I write, every interface I design, and every interaction that I plan. I’m looking to provide users with the best experience possible and to develop technologies that improve the web experience as a whole. I’m looking make history.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look around my site. If you have any questions, or perhaps you’d also like to make history, don’t hesitate to contact me. I love meeting new people and talking about exciting projects and technologies.

Cheers!
JJeff Batterton