Working with clients for long-term success

1998

• University of Huddersfield

  Studied Business Information Technology (BA Hons) where I learned all about networks, web design, relational databases and project management.

• My first CMS

  Built my first CMS from scratch using PHP/MySQL for a local news publication - there was no decent CMS out there at the time, so I built one - story of my life!

• Blown away by Hillman Curtis!

  I came across the book Flash Web Design - The Art of Motion Graphics by Hillman Curtis and was immediately blown away by his work. I knew what I wanted to do...

  • Flash Web Design by Hillman Curtis. Published in 2000 by New Riders.

• MSc Interactive Multimedia Production

  I decided to follow up my education with a Masters degree in Interactive Multimedia Production at the University of Huddersfield. In this course I learned all about Adobe Illustrator, graphic design, 3D modelling and web design.

2002

• My first Mac

  Got my first Apple Mac - a shiny white iBook which came with the first version of OSX.

  • The new Apple iBook.

• The first step...

  Worked as a Graphic Designer/Front-End Developer for a small Manchester based studio building client websites using Macromedia Dreamweaver and Fireworks.

2004

• Joined Zen Internet

  Joined the web solutions team as Senior Designer/Front-End Developer. I was in charge of managing the design stage of large and small projects, keeping the design team up to date with the latest advances in web design and pushing them in to using these new technologies. I had the opportunity to work with clients such as the NHS, Carcraft and Renault.

  This was my first experience of using and working with a high-end award winning content management system, which helped me to adjust my design style and thought process to work within the limitations and structure of dynamic data driven websites.

2007

• Going solo...

  I set up my own web and graphic design business called Dubbed Creative in Bolton. I worked on all types of projects from ecommerce to product packaging. Clients included Carcraft, LeagueRepublic/FA, Peninsula Business Services and British Home Stores (BHS).

  • Branding + website for BCi, europe's leading Video-on-Demand and IPTV integrator.

  • Brochure, website and product packaging for manufacturer, Buckingham Cookware.

  • Ecommerce website + bespoke development for IMO Records.

  • UI/UX design for LeagueRepublic, a cloud based league management tool.

  • Designed a 250 page book containing core task guides.

  • Ecommerce website design and build for mobility aids provider, Ability Superstore.

  • Website, branding and menu design for a popular Italian restaurant in West Yorkshire, UK.

  • Created a series of microsites for the UK's largest car supermarket - Carcraft.

  • UI/UX design for HR Online, a cloud based employee tracking tool.

  • Website and menu design for Thai restaurant.

  • Small website for a recycling solution company.

• Featured in Web Design Index 8

  Dubbed Creative's work was featured in the renowned Web Design Index publication (2008) by Agile Rabbit.

  • Featured in Web Design Index 8 for the Marcus Oleniuk Flash website created in 2006.

• Built Shopit ecommerce platform

  Out of sheer panic, I built the Shopit ecommerce platform which would be used by all my future clients. Version 1 quickly becomes version 2!

• Referenced in Smashing Magazine

  After redesigning the Dubbed Creative website it was referenced on some popular web design websites.

  • Designing for Content Management Systems
  • 20 Websites with Carefully Crafted and Convincing Copy

  • A set of carefully crafted icons designed for the new Dubbed Creative website.

  • The new Dubbed Creative website featured a unique experience with animation, bold fonts, colours and a distinctive navigation system.

• We're burgled!

  My office in Salford, Manchester is broken into on New Years Eve and all the work I've completed to date is stolen. I have nothing to show for the previous years other than my portfolio on my website. I start using Dropbox!

• Shopit 3 is released

  Version 3 of my Shopit ecommerce platform is released with all the bells and whistles; live product editing, product conversion reports and ebay/amazon order syncing.

  • The Shopit 3 admin bar which enabled store-front editing.

  • Shopit 3 snippets allowing full live editing of site content.

2014

• Co-founded Project Octo

  Co-founded Manchester based agency Project Octo which worked closely with ecommerce clients.

• Shopit Cloud work commences

  Work on the Shopit Cloud ecommerce platform commences after clients request. The company "Shopit Commerce Ltd" is formed. I am forced to cut the design element out of my job and focus solely on back-end development for the next few years...

• The Saviour

  I save the Project Octo's largest internet-only client from going under after a massive server outage which lasts for over a week. This is the most stressed out I have ever been in my entire career!

• Google Cloud Platform

  I begin working closely with the Google Cloud Platform - App Engine and Compute Engine in particular.

• Created my first mobile app

  Built a simple stock management and scanning Android mobile app using Ionic and PhoneGap.

  • Stockit, a stock management Android app.

  • Stockit stock management Android app built using Ionic and PhoneGap.

• Australia, here we come!

  November 2016, I move to Melbourne with my family.

  • The Twelve Apostles

  • The Art of Aardman exhibition in Melbourne.

  • Celebrated our first proper New Years Eve in Melbourne 2017.

  • A trip out to Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building and the Museum behind.

  • Light & Air exhibition outside the ACMI.

  • Arthurs Seat in the Mornington Peninsula.

  • Clear waters in the Mornington Peninsula.

  • Lorne Beach

  • The view from Teddy's Lookout in Lorne.

  • Luna Park, St. Kilda!

• Shopit 3 is open sourced

  Shopit 3.2.6 is officially open sourced.

• Work on Shopit Cloud halts

  Having worked on the platform solely, without any support, for the last two years I realised it had become too big for one person to work on alone and it required a serious amount of funding, thought, work and a team capable of managing and promoting it all. Read my blog post

• Site of the Day

  My website (this one) is Site of the Day on Design Nominees.

2018

• Moving forward...

  I leave both companies to do more of the work I enjoy and to start new ventures.

• Finally drafted on dribbble

  After years of waiting, trying, and eventually giving up, I finally get drafted into the prestiguous dribbble community thanks to @tmbrrw.

  • A shot I posted thanking Tom Barrow for the dribbble invite.

• I am Ketan

  I begin freelancing as a designer/developer & consultant and continue doing work for some of my long-term clients.

• My home studio

  We move into our own home in Melbourne after renting for the last one and a half years. I finally get to create my home studio environment.

  • My home studio kitted it out in my own style.

  • My desk is hidden behind shelving to create a nice quiet zone for myself.

  • Rebuilding my book collection slowly after I had to leave all of them back in the UK. The Draplin book is missing from this pic!

2019

• It's time for an iMac

  I decide to replace my trusty 2013 13" MacBook Air with a new 27" iMac with Retina 5K display. My MacBook Air has served me extremely well all these years, but with increasing work, I'm needing more power.

• 3 years in Melbourne

  We've now lived in Australia for three years.

• The "Being Freelance" Podcast

  I'm interviewed on the "Being Freelance" podcast, which you can listen to here.

2020

• Lots of Shopify projects on the go

  Been working a lot on Shopify website projects lately, with a lot of theme customisations - all without using third-party apps. I've learned a lot!

• Got a new iphone

  After being an Android user for some time, I decided to switch to iOS with the new iPhone 12 mini. I was previously using the Google Pixel 1 (which I loved), and the last time I had an iPhone was with the 3GS!

• Busiest year ever...

  Despite the global pandemic, I had the busiest year ever working on new and existing client projects. In fact it was so busy, I didn't even take any time off!

2022

• We become Australian Citizens

  After living six years in Melbourne, we officially become Australian Citizens.