Alex Tebbs - UI Developer | Resume
UI Engineer

Click on a letter of my name

About this design

I like to be flashy, but minimalism is important to me. This type of design is popular among photographers, artists, and fashion labels. The stark, unassuming nature of the design provides a blank canvas upon which content becomes the absolute focus.

Remember me? Skeuomorphic design dominated the late 2000's - early 2010's. Skeuomorphic is a funny word which essentially means design which attempts to mimic the physical world. Skeuomorphic design is dominated by gratuitous use of shading and lighting, and in more extreme cases, texture and graphics to make a digital product resemble it's physical counterpart.

When designers felt Skeuomorphic design was becoming too overbearing, there was a large shift in the design world towards stripping out excess shading, lighting, and other affordances associated with the previous trend. This left us with "Flat" design. To me, flat design means focusing on creating clean and usable interfaces without using visual flair as a crutch.

This is everything you should never do. Poor hierarchy, misuse of typefaces, dark UI patterns, no consideration for mobile devices, obnoxious color pairings, awful contrast, distracting elements. Please don't make me do this stuff.

Seriously, .

Liberal use of primary colors, larger type, and colored, illustrative, iconography are a few of the things that make this design feel whimsical or even a bit childish.

I hesitate to use primarily dark color schemes -- black-on-white text is easier to read. However, black is a powerful tool. A darker grey balance can evoke feelings of sleek, modern exclusivity and mystery. Dark schemes can be useful when creating a product or website meant to be a counterpart to an already existing property. I also think a darker UI is a better fit when working on websites that deal primarily with video/other media. This mimics our expectation that video/other media appears on a black background, as it does on our TV sets.

Serif typefaces are seldom used in web design, and for good reason. Sans-serif fonts are friendlier and have been proven to be easier to read on screens, especially at small sizes. However, when attempting to target certain markets or create a sense of luxury, a design using serifs can give the impression of a high-end restaurant menu. Furthermore, liberal white space, thin strokes, and reserved use of pastel shades give this design a feminine energy.

Swiss design (aka International Typographic Style) is a classic style which began to emerge in the 1920's, and is still influencing designers to this day. In Swiss design, typography is king. Common hallmarks of Swiss design include large, geometric typefaces (most ubiquitously Helvetica), rigid alignment to a multi-column grid, and carefully-placed flush-left text. Color is used liberally, but usually no more than one color is used in a piece.

Originating from architecture, the term "Brutalism" refers to design that is intentionally raw and unpolished. In the context of web design, this usually means rejecting commmon user interface patterns in favor of presenting a design so aggressive it almost shocks the user into sticking around to enjoy the content.

But hey, if it's not your thing, I understand. , there's plenty more.

UI Engineer
Click on a letter of my name

Resume

Objective

I seek a user interface engineering position at a forward-thinking creative agency or product-focused company.

Talent

  • Multidisciplinary proficiencies; designed, engineered and shipped full-stack web apps using NextJS/React.
  • Specialized workflow allowing for quick iteration & prototyping.
  • Hybrid ability to create and translate effectively between design & engineering teams.
  • Experience with developing tools & structure to standardize components across a given design system.
  • Broad history of work spanning from print design to web application development.

Experience

Extreme Arts & Sciences - Senior UI Developer
2016 - 2023

At Extreme Arts & Sciences, I was a team lead in the experience division - working with a small group of junior developers while remaining an individual contributor across multiple fronts. Using custom user interface frameworks I authored, I delivered projects for customers including Microsoft, GoDaddy, and NVIDIA. I broadened my skillset to include back-end development and front-end javascript libraries, while remaining focused on delivering quality, accessible, user experiences.

Solitude Creative - UI Developer
2014 - 2016

At Solitude Creative, I was the primary interface designer and resident CSS expert. Solitude immediately realized the value of bringing someone onto the team with a deep understanding of code-based layout design. Solitude is a nimble, fast-paced creative agency, constantly juggling multiple projects at once, all of them with tight deadlines. My hybrid role and approach to iterative prototyping in user interface design helped us meet these deadlines and produce solutions that our clients could walk away happy from.

DreamTime Studios - Web Designer
2012 - 2014

Dreamtime is a small creative agency based out of Spokane, Washington. I was the first employee and primary assistant to the business owner, taking their website design mockups and implementing in CSS, as well as expanding on the given designs to create mobile and tablet layouts. My expertise in responsive web design and working with CMS systems started at Dreamtime Studios.

Signature Genomics - Print Designer
2010 - 2012

Signature Genomics is a genetics testing company specializing in microarray testing. At Signature I worked across print and interactive media. My duties included designing and branding new collateral, as well as updating the markup and visual design of Signature Genomics’ website and proprietary web application: Genoglyphix. I began as an intern and then was hired onto the team shortly afterwards.

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