Mike Smith Design

Director

Since 2012, I’ve built and scaled Mike Smith Design into a specialised design and development practice serving both startups and established organisations. I work directly with end clients as well as support various creative agencies with their development needs. This dual approach has enabled me to deliver everything from complete digital starter kits for emerging brands to complex web applications for brands like Amazon, Channel 4 and Pfizer.

My expertise has evolved from traditional brand identity work to full-stack digital solutions, allowing me to serve as both creative director and technical lead on complex projects from end to end. This positioning has enabled me to maintain long-term partnerships with clients who return for multiple projects as their businesses grow.

Brave New World

Digital Designer

Intensive initial project followed by ongoing support, coordinating design and development for the new Justerini & Brooks website, a luxury wine broker and part of the Diageo family. Served as design lead and liaison between creative stakeholders and technical development partners, successfully balancing luxury brand creative vision with enterprise-level technical requirements. The role involved translating complex visual concepts into workable specifications while managing communication between different teams and approval stages, ensuring the final product maintained brand standards throughout the development process.

Cygnus

Web Developer

6 week contract with award-winning agency Cygnus, where I served as lead developer for the new Bletchley Park website rebuild. Working within their agile development team, I translated complex design specifications into a modular WordPress solution, building custom content blocks and flexible components with precise attention to detail. The implementation enabled non-technical editors to manage complex content while maintaining the design team’s exacting visual standards while meeting performance and scalability requirements

Little Black Book

Digital Designer & Developer

Multi-year design and development partnership with Soho-based advertising publication Little Black Book from 2019-2022. The engagement evolved from traditional design support to full-stack development projects, including building a custom React.js web application for email signature creation that was deployed across their member base. I also developed new website sections featuring social media-style profiles and content curation tools, coordinating with their technical partners for seamless integration, while handling ongoing design work for marketing materials, email campaigns, and promotional assets.

Sears Davies

Digital Designer

3+ year tenure with London-based agency serving high-profile clients including Manchester United Football Club, Aviva, and Barclays. Started as part of a close-knit design team focused on front-end web development and evolved into a senior role managing complete project lifecycles from concept through delivery. Responsibilities expanded beyond design execution to include client training, project budgeting, and technical consultation during business development meetings.

The role provided comprehensive experience across web development, brand identity, and digital campaigns while contributing to several professionally recognised and award-winning projects that established the foundation for my subsequent freelance practice.

VoIP Unlimited

In-House Designer

3 month placement with market-leading telecommunications company immediately following graduation, serving as sole in-house designer supporting developers and marketing teams. The role provided essential early career experience transitioning from academic work to professional design practice, ranging from corporate brand guidelines and business collateral to user interface design for customer-facing web applications. This position offered valuable exposure to technology sector design challenges and cross-functional collaboration that informed my later agency work.

• Creative Direction: Manage end-to-end creative projects from initial client brief to complete digital presence, including brand identity development, website design and build, and all supporting materials to launch businesses online
• Project Management: Coordinate complex projects with multiple teams and approval processes, managing timelines and deliverables while keeping everyone aligned on goals
• Business Development: Identify and pitch prospective clients, deliver comprehensive project consultations covering technical feasibility, creative direction, and business strategy, while cultivating long-term relationships with both direct clients and agency partners
• Client Relations: Run client meetings and presentations, facilitate design reviews, and advise on brand decisions and website strategy throughout projects
• Financial Management: Accurately scope and price projects, handle contract negotiations, and manage all business accounting from invoicing to tax planning

• Design & Prototyping: Advanced proficiency in Figma for UI/UX design, prototyping, and design system management, with extensive experience in Adobe Creative Suite
• Front-End Development: Expert-level HTML5, CSS3, and SASS development for responsive web interfaces, with additional JavaScript framework capabilities including React and Svelte. Skilled in animation with CSS and GSAP.
• Content Management: Specialist WordPress development including custom themes and plugins, with experience across various CMS platforms and headless architecture implementations
• E-commerce Solutions: Custom WooCommerce and Shopify theme development, third-party integrations, and storefront customisation
• Development Tools: Proficient with Git version control, Node.js development environment, and modern build tools (Webpack, Vite) for efficient workflows
• Technical Infrastructure: Server administration, DNS management, database configuration, and deployment processes in LAMP environments
• Optimisation & Performance: SEO best practices, site performance tuning, and accessibility compliance across all development work