So really… what’s this all about?

My name is Ryan Cheung, and I design and develop websites.

It all started with my passion for arts and technology. Engaging in countless hours of web browsing in my youth, it quickly became apparent to me that it’d be cool to pump out websites of my own. And from that tender young age, I have not looked back. It was fun when starting out, but also I realized that my websites never looked as cool and sleek as everyone else. So what was it, that brought my creative edge together with my knack for building websites? I wish I could say that there was a message from some higher order, but this was not the case. I played around in Photoshop in my younger years as well. Working on various graphics which included wallpapers for my favourite hockey players, and even graphic textures to mod EA NHL video games. So I realized that it was time to put these two crafts together, and I went on my way towards designing and developing quality websites.

I currently reside in Calgary, Canada. I study in my hometown at the University of Calgary, currently working my way towards a degree in Software Engineering. I’ve constantly applied the great technical knowledge gained in these years of study into my work. Usability, functionality, and standards compliance are no small issues in my books.

Besides my love for web development, I have other interests. Those include hockey, video games, music, food, and technology. Did I already mention technology? I enjoy analyzing the designs of things. Whether they be websites, cars, chairs, iPods, you name it. My current craze is in typography. Something you see everyday on print or a screen, but that you might not really appreciate in your day-to-day affairs. It’s so intriguing and I think it keeps the creative juices flowing in my mind. Oh, and I have recently discovered hip-hop and obscene rap can be humorous and stimulating to my mind, and it gets me in the zone when I’m in a coding session.

I am a huge sports fanatic. It goes without saying that if there’s any sport that has been aired on a typical sports channel, I’ve already seen it. Whether it be hockey, curling, snooker, lumberjack challenges, or spelling bees. I’ve seen them all. Hockey is my passion however, and the team to follow is the Calgary Flames. I also enjoy playing ball hockey, badminton, and ultimate frisbee.

In the past few years I’ve become an advocate for open software. Especially working with web technologies, I have realized the true greatness of free and open software. Life would not be the same without it. This past summer I entered the Mozilla Labs Concept Series Design Challenge for “Reinventing Tabs in the Browser”. My entry, Tablets, received an honorable mention in the Execution and Producible categories.

I’m hoping to do some freelancing soon, so check back for when I decide to open up shop.