Nick Verburgt, our very talented and experienced web developer, recently joined the team here at RAW Marketing. He took time out of his busy schedule to speak to us about his 20 years working in marketing, his love of mixing creative work with web development and his advice to businesses to get the best outcome from any project.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born and raised in Canberra. In 1999, I moved to Denmark and stayed for 13 years. I loved it there, made a heap of lifelong friends. In 2012 I felt like it was time to come home and moved to Brisbane where I have been ever since.
2. How did web developing come about as a career for you?
I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was in my early 20s. I always played with Photoshop since the mid 90s but never expected for it to progress into a career. When I moved to Denmark, it was a requirement from the state to attend classes in the language and job integration to be granted a residence permit. I chose to study IT where I had a great teacher that helped me explore animation, which then further transitioned into web development.
3. What does a typical day look like for you?
I am still onboarding and familiarising myself with all of RAW’s great clients, my first few weeks I’ve been working on a lot of campaign landing pages and some exciting website build projects.
I can’t wait to work closely with Kelly, our Senior Graphic Designer on new, creative initiatives for clients. Developing our animation and illustration in-house offering is a top priority.
4. Why RAW?
I have been doing contract work for the past few years which was great for the time, but I didn’t have any creative freedom. RAW offers great opportunities to learn different skills. I wanted to work for an agency that didn’t pigeonhole me which I think I have found. Although I am a web developer and that’s what I primarily do, it’s also great to have input in other projects I may not typically be part of.
RAW is continuously expanding its service offering for our clients, so I feel I will have the opportunity to expand my expertise whilst also contributing to making a difference to the business and to our clients.
5. In your opinion, what has been the greatest project you’ve worked on so far?
I worked on a Queensland Health campaign called ‘Straight Answers’. Most of the work I do is generally on a screen, but this campaign was relatively large, including multiple different media types. It was really cool being able to see my work on big billboards around the city. And to make it even more special, it actually won a Silver BADC (Brisbane Advertising Design Club) Award which was the icing on the cake. It’s a campaign I am super proud of.
Wanna see it? Click below:
healthier.qld.gov.au/resources/straight-answers
6. Being so experienced, what is the number one thing you would advise to any client?
I would say just try your hardest to keep things clean and simple. It is important to make everything accessible with as few clicks as possible. Simplicity goes a long way. The code may be super complicated on the back end, but no one sees that. It’s imperative that the user experience is straightforward and friendly to a wide audience.
Get ready for RAW’s quick rounds!
- Cats or dogs? Dogs, always.
- Do you prefer front-end or back-end jobs? Front-end, I’m quite a visual person.
- Favourite artist? Mike Patton forever. Have you heard of the band Faith No More?
- What is the strangest job you’ve had? I worked in a post office in Denmark. It doesn’t sound overly strange, but I dealt with some interesting characters on my night shifts.
