Cheryl Laird Email & Phone Number

York, England, United Kingdom

York, United Kingdom

York, United Kingdom

When starting out at E&L Insurance the in-house web team comprised of only a handful of people, most of which were back-end developers. The team were responsible for creating bespoke and efficient websites for E&L Insurance to sell their products.Upon starting at E&L Insurance, my main priority was to independently plan and execute an overhaul of the front-end architecture and code. The main changes included:• File re-organisation with conformity to the SMACSS structure.• Integration of Grunt to create a more efficient workflow.• Integration of Bower for better front-end dependency control.• Imposing stricter standards to help maintain clean and reusable code.• Integration of BEM naming convention.• Creating a set of reusable components, which provided the functionality of common website elements.As well as focusing on the front-end architecture and code, over time I also gained responsibility of the production of design. I was responsible for developing website designs for new projects and maintaining existing designs.During my time, E&L also started developing a new brand, this was one of the most challenging and exciting projects I had worked on, it tested and expanded my skill set to a high degree. Tasks included:• Designing initial logo ideas.• Creating and publishing the brand guidelines document.• Creating on-brand icon sets.• Wireframing various website layouts.• Developing the markup and styles of individual web elements.• Architecting and developing a Backbone JavaScript application for the quoting system.Due to the sheer scale of this project, the web team at E&L grew and I gained the responsibility to lead a small front-end team. This gave me the opportunity to practice minor project management, exercise delegation and improve my own time management. To ensure requirements were fulfilled and deliverables were met in a timely fashion, communication was key.

Hertfordshire

As a recent graduate, I was invited back to work with the Web & Multimedia team at Xerox Ltd. Returning to a more profound role within the team allowed me to further develop my skills and knowledge of the professional web industry. The job role comprised of the following responsibilities:• Development of solutions, from the initial design phase through to the final delivery and maintenance.• The design, development and implementation of sophisticated, cross-platform web applications.• On-going development and maintenance of existing applications.• Tailoring existing software to customer requirements.• The publishing of content on a multi–lingual platform using content management systems.• Designing and developing creative and interactive media.Whilst these points were the main focus of my job role, I was not limited to just the above. At Xerox I became greatly involved with the company’s web brand. The brand vastly evolved during my time at Xerox and I was able to make a significant contribution to this effort. Working closely with the Brand team in the United States certainly sharpened my eye to detail. Being a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on the branding of Xerox led me to become a point of contact for brand queries, approval requests and creation of new digital collaterals.

During my studies I was given the opportunity to undertake a placement year, which allowed me to gain valuable industry experience. During this year I was fortunate to work for Xerox Ltd within their Web & Multimedia team. Joining such a solid and supportive team of professionals allowed me to enhance my personal and professional skills significantly throughout the year.The job role required me to work on a variety of projects, juggling tasks in hand to support multiple projects simultaneously. Along with the day-to-day maintenance of Xerox.com across all of Europe, I also had the opportunity to get involved with the development of web solutions for a number of high-profile external clients across industries ranging from banking companies to motor-sport teams. Towards the end of my placement year, I was presented with the opportunity to return to the team upon the completion of my degree.