Selected Commercial & Commissioned Projects
This page contains a selection of the projects I have undertaken in my capacity as a freelance software developer, designer and project leader.
Over the last several years I’ve found myself specialising in work related to the development of interactive experiences and creative tools. My approach as a developer is tightly entwined with the methodologies I have developed through years of committed creative practice. My strength lies in my ability to develop solutions to problems that draw from the multiple reservoirs that I maintain. These include expert proficiency in Unity and C#, experience with audio and film production, a considered passion for the history of software and user experience design, experience managing development teams, and an eager creative mind.
Having worked in both hands-on-technical and design-leadership positions, I possess a cross-disciplinary track record in solving the creative, technical and managerial problems necessary to take a software project from initial idea to final product. If you’ve got a project that could do with someone like me, get in touch.
Yalinguth and Underlying Sound In Place Platform (2018 - 2021)
Since 2018 I have been working with the Yalinguth working group on the development of a large scale, place based, AR application and underlying platform for place based storytelling. The application houses and shares stories of the personal history, culture, and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These stories are told through spatialised sound, and are experienced in the real world locations at which they occurred. This application runs on mobile devices and launched in 2021.
For more information see the Yalinguth website.
For some pre-release coverage of this project, see this article by The Age.
Client: RMIT University, Storyscape, The Yalinguth Working Group, etc.
Role: Lead software developer. Designer. Creative collaborator.
Outcome: Project ongoing, with the v1.0 having launched in 2021
Key Responsibilities:
Working closely with collaborative partners at RMIT and Storyscape, I am responsible for:
Software development for the Yalinguth application.
Development of the underlying sound in place platform and creative tools that power the Yalinguth application.
User experience design for both creative toolset and Yalinguth application.
Product planning, specification & management for both creative toolset and Yalinguth application.
Experimentation with and development of techniques and best practices for creation and storytelling within the new medium of place based spatialised sound.
Audio design, recording and assembly for prototype purposes.
Yalinguth v1.0
An early development build of the sound in place platform prototype.
Melbourne MetroTunnel VR Training (2019)
The Melbourne MetroTunnel VR Training project encompasses two discreet Virtual Reality applications. These applications are designed to train new employees of the Cross Yarra Partnership, who will be responsible for digging the tunnels that make up the Melbourne Metro Tunnel. In particular the goal is to familiarise the trainees with the underground environment, and to reinforce key occupational health and safety learnings provided during their training. Due to the high volume of workers to be trained, these VR training experiences are designed to be robust, intuitive and to run simultaneously for long periods of time.
Client: Urban Circus, Melbourne Metro Tunnel, Cross Yarra Partnership
Role: User Experience Designer.
Key Responsibilities:
As User Experience Designer, it was my responsibility to work closely with the client to determine how best to meet their educational requirements, determine the project’s scope, user journey and ultimately to design the final suite of virtual reality applications for a high volume of engagement with first-time VR users.
Lead design discovery workshops with the client
Determine application scope, key learnings and requirements.
Determine and design application user journey.
Determine the best methods for communicating key learnings in a virtual reality environment.
Design two discreet virtual reality applications for a high volume of engagement with first-time VR users.
Conduct user experience and user interface design activities, including flowcharting, wireframing, and interface design.
Work closely with the development team and client at all stages of the project to ensure that the product is factually correct and meeting its educational requirements.
Work closely with the development team to ensure quality of user experience.
Although I was not the project manager on this project, I did occasionally consult on project management practices for virtual reality projects.
You, Me, Things (2020, 2021)
You, Me, Things is a playable, sound-responsive installation that invites audiences to ‘feed’ a fantastical virtual world with sounds. Different sounds generate distinct digital lifeforms, the more that audiences interact the more dynamic the virtual ecosystem becomes. Developed by myself in collaboration with Uyen Nguyen and Matthew Riley, You, Me, Things is one of a series of works produced by our collective Yomeci Play.
Commissioned By: Experimenta International Media Arts Triennial.
Role: Designer and Interactive Software Developer.
Outcome: A robust large scale interactive installation.
Key Technologies: Unity 3D, Arduino, audio input recording, storage and manipulation, machine learning, server communication (for Machine Learning), etc.
Unannounced VR Eye Tracking Project (2020)
Client: RMIT University Research.
Role: Unity Developer.
Outcome: Developed a Unity Package for the real time detection of and response to eye movements including saccades. Developed workflows for high resolution stereoscopic 360 degree videos in Unity.
Key Technologies: Unity, Vive Pro Eye, Vive Sranipal SDK, Tobii Eye Tracking SDK, Insta 360 Pro 2 camera, Adobe Premiere.
Yomeciland (2019)
YomeciLand uses Machine Learning to listen to sounds made by the user and to construct an interactive world based upon these sounds. The installation includes a projection, a microphone, a touchscreen and custom input via Arduino. Developed by myself in collaboration with Uyen Nguyen and Matthew Riley, Yomeciland is one of a series of works produced by our collective Yomeci Play.
Commissioned By: Bunjil Place.
Role: Designer and Interactive Software Developer.
Outcome: A robust large scale interactive installation.
Key Technologies: Unity 3D, Arduino, audio input recording, storage and manipulation, machine learning, server communication (for Machine Learning), etc.
Situ (2016 - 2018)
During my time as FGMNT’s Head Of Creative Technologies I lead the design and development of the company’s Virtual and Augmented Reality platforms. Most notably that of Situ, FGMNT's SaaS platform for editing and sharing 360° video experiences. Working closely with the CEO and development team, my role was to lead product management, to lead product design and to provide general technical leadership across the company.
Client: FGMNT aka Figment Technology.
Role: Lead Designer, Project Lead.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead the design and development of a complex and full featured software as a service product.
Assess and select the key technologies upon which FGMNT's complex SaaS offering is built.
Oversee the product from inception, through launch of MVP, to a regular release cycle.
Define and manage the product roadmap, ensuring reasonable deadlines are set by key stakeholders and met by our team of developers.
Determine scope and requirements for new projects or features.
Write functional specifications for new projects or features.
Budgeting for complex SaaS software projects.
Lead product and User Experience design.
Craft and test user journeys, UX design and UI designs for complex SaaS software projects.
Work to deliver projects using Agile/Scrum methodologies in the role of Product Owner and Scrum Master.
Manage JIRA Software projects, tasks and workflows.
Manage the team of in-house developers and freelancers.
Interviewing and hiring of team members.
Assembling a talented and efficient team of developers, QA Analysts and Designers.
Fostering communication and collaboration within the development team towards a common goal.
Attending conferences, public speaking & evangelism.
BMW i3 Augmented Reality Activation (2016)
Client: FGMNT, Imagination, BMW.
Outcome: An in-person augmented reality experience with the BMW i3.
Role: Project Manager (development team).
Unannounced VRTOV Prototype (2018)
In 2018 I was engaged by VRTOV to collaborate on a prototype for an as-yet unreleased Virtual Reality pilot for a major media organisation. As the project is not yet released I cannot go into specific creative detail here.
Client: VRTOV.
Role: Unity developer, creative collaborator.
Outcome: A short interactive prototype for the Gear VR.
Key Responsibilities:
Collaborate creatively with VRTOV on the user experience and interactive nature of the prototype.
Technologies include: Unity 3D, Oculus SDK (Gear VR), Unity Audio.
I am responsible for the development of the application in Unity 3D. Including all bespoke scripts, systems and architecture necessary to realise this project.
I am responsible for liaising with the artist, and implementing all assets, models, audio and animation required to realise the project.
MAGI Studio Creative Asset Management System (2017)
In late 2016 the Master of Animation, Games and Interactivity engaged me as a freelancer to design and develop an online platform for members of the department to use whilst developing, discussing and ultimately publishing work. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the MAGI, the site posed a satisfying design challenge.
Client: RMIT University.
Role: Designer and Developer.
NiTRO (2015 - 2016)
During my tenure as Web Officer at the Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts I oversaw and implemented the design, development and regular publication of NiTRO, their online publication and platform for voices in the Tertiary Creative Arts community.
Client: The Australian Council of Deans and Directors of the Creative Arts.
Role: Designer and Developer.
Gut Feels (2016)
In 2016 Mari Adams engaged me to help with the creation of her work Gut Feels. Gut Feels is an interactive installation that explores the link between gut health and mental health. The work is located within a bathroom, and asks the user to interact with an app to create a personalised emoji. The work facilitates the outward expression of the user’s internal state, and investigates the widespread use of emoji in contemporary communications. The experience consisted of a client app for iOS and Android that allowed the creation of the gut feels emojis, and communicated them to a website where they were then displayed for everyone outside the bathroom to see. Gut feels was exhibited as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2016.
Role: I assisted with software development in Unity and constructed the system for communicating completed emojis from the app to the website where they were displayed in real time.
