Who is Jaap ?

If you are planning to engage me in your internet presence you may want to know who that Artist in Web Design really is.

My name

For the non - Dutch orientated people a word about my first name:
'Jaap' is a centuries old traditional name in the Netherlands. Often given to boys who are baptized with the name 'Jacobus' - after one of Christ's followers Obviously yelling 'Jaacooobuus' over the streets was a bit cumbersome so it became 'Jaap' , like my grandfather was named before me.

Background

I have had a great interest in Graphical design since I was a child, often designed advertising posters for local school events . But in line with many of my family I followed a technical education and had jobs on shipyards as maintenance mechanic, later worked as technical advisor and construction designer. During my 2 years of conscript duty in the Airforce learned professional photography and became later self employed portrait and architectural photographer. In the beautiful town of Baarn in the Netherlands I operated a highly success full photo studio with my partner / photographer / artiste : Irma. Together we migrated to Australia in 1996 and travelled that great continent for 4 years before settling on a sensational Rainforest property 150 km South of Brisbane.
There in the peace and stillness of the surrounding nature we perform our arts, on canvas, on film and in the computer.

Skills

The great variety in internet design options makes life for a web designer not easy. How to approach a new design can always depends on the complexness of the desired options. A simple ' business card presence ' on the web asks very little technical skills , but the graphic design is of paramount importance. On the other hand a huge internet shop asks for specialist technical construction and should focus on visitor usebility and owners ease of maintenance.

Most of the graphic design work can be done by me , as well as most of the technical 'behind the screens'. If needed I do not hesitate to seek specialist advise or even hire specialists to make sure that even the most complicated websites run smooth.

Professional and Passionate

Above all I would like to describe my style of work as Professional and Passionate. I like to make very professional sites, fast loading , high ranking in search engines. But I will never loose the passion and fun out of sight. After all life is to precious to waste it on poor quality of work and living.