About Gemma Harris
Gemma has been developing personal websites for around 7 years and commercial sites for around 2 years. Over those years the sites have developed from experiments to teach herself HTML and generally how to build websites to an online portfolio with all the benefits of CSS.
This first instance of developing “personal” sites inspired Gemma to pursue design at degree level.
During the course she was taught the basics in a range of media, including photography, film and interactive media. With her underlying interest in the interactive Gemma choose to concentrate on this and progress the area further within the later years of the course. Through a series of short projects, and the final year, which was devoted to a single show piece, she established herself as a new media designer. The topic for Gemma's dissertation was "How Interactivity has affected the way we look at Narratives."
Gemma combined her enthusiasm for print and web design in her final year by creating an installation to incorporate the two forms of media. The space designed was a replica music store, within which she designed and produced album covers, band art and the store's web site. The physical installation could then be browsed by the target audience. The task enabled her to understand the importance of web and print standards when considering target audiences as well as industry standards.
Gemma has gained knowledge in relevant software packages such as the Adobe CS3 suite which includes Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Flash. She can also hand-code in HTML and CSS, as well as having a working knowledge of actionscript.
Other skills Gemma has acquired both during her degree and employment include timekeeping; understanding the importance of keeping to tight deadlines and prioritising tasks to be completed. She also has the ability to work as a team player and as an individual, using her own initiative where necessary. However, Gemma is always willing to learn and develop new skills.
Essentially Gemma enjoys designing for print and the web as it means taking potentially flat and lifeless text or images and making them into something more aesthetically pleasing and stimulating. Other interests of hers include books, photography, music, information technology and installation art.
// Summary of Qualifications
Degree: BA (Hons) Digital and Lens Media, 2:1
A-levels: Computing, Design and Communication, Mathematics