I discovered the world of design as an art student when I stumbled upon a lab full of green & blue iMac G3’s. My initial curiosity around using the computer to create ‘art’ developed into a full-blown passion, eventually leading me to become a digital designer and founder of Bring Your Own Laptop.

Sharing and teaching are a huge part of who I am. As a certified Adobe instructor, I've had the honor of winning multiple Adobe teaching awards at their annual MAX conference. I see Bring Your Own Laptop as the supportive community I wished for when I was first starting out and intimidated by design. Through teaching, I hope to bring others along for the ride and empower my students to bring their stories, labors of love, and art into the world.
True to my Kiwi roots, I've lived in many places, and currently, I reside in Ireland with my wife and kids.

My journey into animation began as a hobby. I started creating hang gliding videos and even won a few YouTube competitions. I realized I wanted to create things that didn't yet exist so I decided to go to film school to transition into a career as a professional animator.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some amazing projects including Avengers: Infinity War and The Last of Us Part 2, that have gone on to receive wins and nominations in the Oscars, Emmys, and Annie awards.
I came to teaching after overcoming cancer in my late twenties, the experience made me realize I didn’t want my knowledge to die with me. Just as many people have helped me, I see teaching as a way to pay it forward.
I am originally from Kentucky and currently live in London.

I am a multidisciplinary designer who creates unique brands and communication solutions. I’ve worked with clients all over the world from small start-ups to international brands like Samsung, Skyy Vodka, and Universal Music.

As a digital creator, vector superwoman, and icon lover, I am a firm believer in the right person for the right job. In my twenty years working as a graphic designer and art director, I have worked with a global network of people from set designers to screen printers, film makers to programmers to deliver work that is well crafted, idea driven and on brief. I am excited to bring the lessons I have learned along the way to the BYOL community!

I am the Head of Student Zen, ensuring all of our students and the community are happy. I have awesome skills in Photoshop and Illustrator, I love working on photo manipulations and helping others to reach their design goals.

With over 25 years of design expertise spanning web development to crafting t-shirt designs, posters, and newsletters, I thrive on sharing my wealth of knowledge. For me, nothing beats the satisfaction of empowering the BYOL community, and seeing you all grow as designers.

Away from the screen, I'm all about tabletop and trading card games, surrounded by my cherished collection of action figures and retro toys. A bonafide Marvel and Star Wars aficionado, I often channel my creative mojo through my passion for 3D printing, bringing imagination to life. Here to help you on your adventure where pixels meet playfulness, and creativity knows no bounds!

"I came to BYOL to learn design. I stayed because you inspire me."

I've worked in design services and marketing since 2014. Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma are a few of my favourite tools that I learned from Dan's courses. As a teaching assistant for BYOL, I enjoy seeing the creative designs from this community and helping students on their creative journeys. You inspire me to keep learning new skills and sharing new ideas. Together, we help each other become better at our crafts. I love making genuine connections with others, and I'm excited to see what you create!

I’m a full stack web developer with an expertise in responsive web design and ecommerce UX UI.

I’m passionate about helping others on their web design and web dev journeys. I am a tech enthusiast and like to stay ahead on all things tech related! As a self-taught developer, I quickly recognized the value of community and guidance and I’m delighted to now be in a position to support others on their paths and celebrate their successes. Within the realm of development, I enjoy working with the Javascript ecosystem, but you'll also find me experimenting with designs in Figma. When I'm not answering questions, I'm likely immersing myself in exploring new web2 and web3 technologies!

I am a Graphic Designer based in New Zealand with a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree and more than two decades experience. I have a huge passion for what I do and all things design.

Born in NZ, I headed to London to combine my passion of design and travel working in a travel publishing house. I returned home to one of Auckland’s main publishing houses, where, during a sushi lunch break with a friend called Dan, I accepted an offer to teach at BYOL. This started my freelance life, having two sons along the way, my greatest achievement of all.

I continue freelance, working on an array of projects from Art Director roles on magazines, a coffee table book, sports tool kits and online magazines to being part of the BYOL support team. It’s safe to say my design passion lives on!