Hey... I’m Adam Roberts and since the days of dial-up, each and every day I have been designing, coding, learning.
I class myself as a creative engineer, as I work at the crossroads of creative and function – driven to exceed expectations, create thought-provoking experiences and products that elevate brand potential.
I’ve devoted over 25 years to becoming an invaluable asset to any brand, any agency, anyone.
Something you should really know about me...
I can design for any style. I can design for any type of product, mobile app, watch app, website, web app, game interface, anything, for any industry. I’ve got the experience. I also do branding, identities and guidelines.
I can code, extremely well. And I can learn code, overnight and that’s literally what happened 5 years ago. After over 18 years of traditional HTML/CSS/jQuery/PHP, WordPress, one day after a little light reading, I stopped and dove head first into React. Only 6 weeks later, I’d built a bunch of sites plus an eCommerce site from scratch in this new technology and never looked back.
I started out with GatsbyJs + DatoCMS, and now recently (mid 2023 onwards), NextJs + Supabase / DatoCMS or Sanity.
I didn’t know how to make back-end apps in React, so I am dedicating time to figure it out. I'm building Supervoice and a bunch of other SaaS app ideas I've got in the pipeline, including the use of AI.
Brand Positioning
User Research
Concept Strategy
Brand Strategy
Naming
Art Direction
Visual & Motion Identity
Brand Guidelines
Tone of Voice
Messaging
Print / Packaging
Brand Experience
User Experience
Prototyping
User Testing
UI Design (Figma)
Design Systems (Figma)
3D & Motion (learning)
Front-end; React, Gatsby, Next.js, Graphql/Apollo, Styled-Components, Storybook, GSAP, Framer Motion, Lenis & more.
Back-end; DatoCMS, Firebase, Supabase
WebGL, 3D, Spline (basic level for now, but I also have people)
PS: As mentioned, I have 18+ years with traditional html, css, javascript, php & WordPress. I just don't offer it any more because the above technologies are modern, forward thinking, scaleable, a better experience for me to use and the end result will be beyond your expectations, guaranteed.
Q1 2024 is when I’ll be available for project work (this could change, so lets talk early!).
If it’s exciting enough, I may be open to that.
I work remotely from the UK and I can work with anyone from anywhere.
I don’t always get the chance, but I would love that.
I’m hyper focused on creating work that improves your bottom line. I design and code. I can lead teams, conduct interviews, talk to any person at any level to make them understand complex nuances of projects. I’m a adverse problem solver.
And to what makes me different; when I commit to a scope of a project, the amount of time I provide on your project will not shift the financial commitment from you. My estimate, is the final limit. Only a change in scope, would require a reassessment.
Yes. I'm actively looking for a design agency or startup to join and thrive. I'm also available full time for short term contracts / freelance or other unique arrangements.
Honestly, most likely. I've been doing this for over 2 decades, I've done hundreds of different projects in different industries while working at different agencies, a lot of which I just don't show here.
However, I don't need to know the ins and outs of your industry, your processes, or anything of that nature. I create products for your audience, no what the industry is and what I design and/or develop serves (in most cases) the same purpose. Drive brand awareness if it's a storytelling / experience project, drive conversions / sales if it's marketing or eCommerce, drive a memorable connection by leaving your users, happy and/or wanting more.
At the end of the day, I design for humans and I look at all touch points with your brand. This is what UX is about. Understanding the nuances of where your audience is, how they find you, how they interact with you and refining that experience for before, during and after. Whilst my focus is generally in the middle (during), with digital products, I can design things for the broader picture as well.
I am extremely experienced in Figma, Sketch and Framer, however I generally use Figma for majority of my design process. I am very experienced in the Adobe suite (primarily; Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Lightroom, After Effects) specifically for image, brand and motion work.
I have experience with 3D tools like Blender and Spline, and my intentions for the future is to do a lot more with this for web experiences.
Fully fledged immersive experiences, no. However, I have a couple of people that do, whom I've worked with on various projects for smaller projects. However, this is something I really want to get into.
If it's just a small 3D feature that you need, I can probably do that.
My primary goal is to create blazing-fast websites that are not only optimised for search engines (SEO) but also feature elegant experiences and are robustly constructed to endure future challenges. To achieve this, I utilise:
Next.js (React) for front-end.
DatoCMS/Sanity as headless CMS’s for the backend.
Netlify/Vercel/AWS for hosting (Preferably still Netlify or Vercel).
GSAP/Framer Motion for animation.
Three.js/Spline for 3D / unique web experiences.
Previously, I was a strong proponent of GatsbyJS, but due to recent developments in the industry, particularly concerning Netlify's significant reduction in Gatsby's workforce and the subsequent lack of updates for Gatsby, I have transitioned to using Next.js. This shift was primarily to safeguard the continuity and success of my client projects.
As I've mentioned in a few places as well; I have nearly 2 decades of experience with traditional code like HTML, CSS, Javascript / jQuery, raw PHP & MySQL and WordPress. While it's braggadocios of me to say, 10 of my developer friends told me I couldn't build a particular project in WordPress and I proved them wrong. I have the passion, drive and tenacity to get shit done and done right to a high standard. Now, this isn't something I offer any more, but I keep it highlighted to make sure people understand my knowledge, experience and abilities.
Also, I can use no-code solutions too like Framer and Webflow. Not that I advocate for it, since I enjoy actual coding, but should budget be a challenge, it's often a perfect solution to see you through.