FERNANDO COLACO

designer & developer

中文

MOBILE APPS

Mobile has been most of the volume of projects for the last 5 years, all kinds of apps or games. Essential on today's market.

DESKTOP APPS

Desktop software has been also a constant, be it for internal workflows, to interact with your clients, or any custom solution.

WEB APPS

Apart from simple websites, full fledged applications can be built for the browser these days. Another essential platform.

WHATEVER

VR/AR? AI? It's a must to catch up with technology, so, anything new always becomes part of some personal or client project.

ABOUT ME

I'm a freelance designer and developer, from Portugal, but always around the world for about 20 years, currently based in Beijing.

While my professional passion has mostly been computer programming (since 12 years old), other interests came along the way to complement that, and a connection between the creative and technical sides developed since then.

Everything started with my first computer, a ZX Spectrum, which I chose for the photo of this section (below) because it literally was the one thing responsible for sparking my curiosity for programming. Before my parents gave me this ancient piece of computer history, the spark already started, but the only alternatives at that time were (outrageously heavy) books at the library with long never-ending sections of code (hundreds of lines) listed to copy and try in a book-keyboard-screen workflow (copy-paste was not even a thing yet, and everything was printed on book pages, anyway). This was pre-internet era, and without my own computer yet, I could only try a few things at some library computers (if any), school computers (which were also almost non-existent or not always available), and occasionally playing briefly with some of my friend's parents computer to try a few freshly learned things (personal computers were also very rare at that time). Most common computer language to learn at the time was Basic, and that one was included on the ZX Spectrum (thanks again mom & dad!).



Fast forward some computers and many programming languages later (in a literal chain reaction), and several other skills and technologies came along the way, while others died, which is one of the things I love in my career. I do what I enjoy doing, and never get bored, focusing in client and project needs, and what can make them better and more efficient, productive or lucrative, being able to offer the best set of solutions for each different case and not being tied to a specific single "religious" technology or choice (or because it's a trend or the latest buzzword).

Around 1994, the internet popped out of nowhere, with a lot of new possibilities, and soon after, merged everything together. After the brief stage of flat websites, mixing text and images and video and being able to tie everything with some interactivity changed everything. So, the collateral skills became increasing more important, such as graphic design, video editing and everything else. At the same time, server-side software development became more and more important too, and obviously those skills had to evolve too. Across that path, desktop application technologies (both for Windows and Mac) were also part of the progress, and a few years ago, mobile development (for both Android and iOS platforms) became also essential, and at the moment fill most of the volume of projects. Most recently, VR, AR, and even robotics are also part of my new projects, either client projects or some pet projects I throw in to improve my skills on anything new and interesting that pops in the tech horizon. Best of all is combining all that: web, desktop, mobile, artwork, which makes me love my job.

Apart from enjoying what I do, and never getting bored for the simple fact that everything changes and evolves continuously and the pace must be kept, I'm happy to cover all sides of the client needs, not just all steps of a project from planning and pre-production to delivery and marketing, but also covering all platforms, mobile, desktop, web and even devices such as watches or automation, often using one single codebase for the entire project, without the need for clients to waste time (and money, of course) in multiple projects and multiple teams, and all the communication issues that come included with that kind of workflow. Part of most projects also involves complete freedom of content for the client, often developing custom tools on top of the design (not a completely separate interface) to allow for changes in content (and even structure and options) without messing with the defined defined design and layout guidelines, and without the need for more expenses each time there any changes are needed, small or big in scope, centralizing all data in one single place, not locked away from the client.

Thank you very much for reading so far (as this block is getting way too long).
Keep scrolling for more details on skills, career, clients and some more key information that might be important for your project, your app, your goals.

CONTACT ME EXPERIENCE

FRONT-END

The way your app or website appeals to the user, and how simple and intuitive is to interact with it is one of the priorities.

BACK-END

How the front-end ties to all the data and information on the server, and all the dynamic between files and databases.

UX / UI

It's not just about design. The User Interface needs to make sense. On top of that, User eXperience ties it altogether.

FULL STACK

They call it full-stack these days, covering everything from the appearance to the server side. In this case, all platforms too.

WORFLOW

Everything covered:
From planning, to design, to development and marketing.

In most cases, one single project, covering multiple platforms, mobile, desktop, web, or a combination of some of those, and also usually sharing one codebase, without the need for multiple projects or multiple teams, saving clients time (and money, of course) and avoiding time-sinks such as communication or technical compatibility issues between teams, or no consistency between platforms. The old "time is money" thing is not a cliché, specially when applied into tech projects. Tying the planning, design, development for multiple platforms, test, release and even marketing stages together rather than split all over the place, makes a huge difference, obviously. And the experience accumulated in all those fields across more than 20 years becomes key to what I am proud to be able to provide to clients.

And everything for every project, large or small, is split into flexible bite-sized modules from the beginning, allowing flexibility both in time, budget, priority changes along the way, to accommodate and achieve client's goals.

Have a brilliant idea for a new project or app? I'm glad to help turning it into reality, and beyond.

CONTACT ME

PLANNING

Not just about where and how to start, it's important to understand your needs and what you want to achieve, to choose and recommend the right solutions and options for every project (including advice on what can make your project better and more effective), and the best and most feasible technology for each one. Your goals are the priority.

DESIGN

One of the sides of a successful project, and it goes on hand with the technical counterpart. Many years of experience and many skills across branding, graphic design, interface design, user experience, video, 3D modeling, and experience with all the tools and software needed for that. As well as giving you the ability to change your own content without affecting the design.

DEVELOPMENT

This is what ties everything together, behind the scenes, but makes all the magic happen. Whatever programming language needed for each case. Front-end to server side, and anything in-between, whatever you need, can be implemented. Often with a single code-base, rather than several projects. For Android or iOS, Windows or Mac, for the Web, or all at once.

BUDGET

By covering all sides and the skills needed for every part of the project, and beyond, including marketing and sales. Every platform too. Faster, more cost-effective, and no need for 3 or 4 teams. From beginning, any project is always split into modules, core and optional ones, flexible for you to change your priorities along the project and accommodate your budget.

CAREER AND EXPERIENCE

More than 20 years of experience at your service

1990-2003
PORTUGAL

ASPIRING GEEK / CYBERSUL
From 12 years old to first company

Best gift ever from my parents: Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer. Literally this ancient piece of computer history was responsible for my current career path. It all started with curiosity and first steps into programming. From then on, different coding languages and lots of experiments. A few computers later, apart from coding, along the way, started experimenting with graphic design, video and learning about all different new software and technologies. When the Internet appeared, all these skills were merged and interactive webdesign became a passion. In the first year or two, still not yet for a lot of client projects, but those came soon enough.

First serious projects and clients appeared while still in high-school. During the last year, time was shared with starting my own company, studying and continuously learning more about all the new technologies appearing all the time. Projects from simple graphic design to websites (early internet times), first online shopping modules, point of sale software, to video-post production and 3D modeling and animation. Even while in the army, for 5 years, the (plenty of) available time was not wasted, learning and improving as many related skills as possible and trying to be as useful as possible, automating some of the internal processes and paper based procedures, creating some databases and their user interfaces, as well as taking care of the design and publishing the army unit monthly magazine, and the local city newspaper weekly magazine, as well as designing print ads for it. Clients right after that, were mostly from Portugal and some from Spain, but some more international projects started appearing online. This ended up as the beginning of curiosity to try other countries and markets. Switzerland was next. And that was the beginning of something to turn later into a full-fledged nomad career, which was and still is invaluable for constantly feeding creativity.

2003-2006
SWITZERLAND

YOUNG & RUBICAM
Interactive Art Director

At Y&R in Geneva, international agency focused on B2B, gained valuable experience in branding and strategy, language and market adaptation to different countries and regions, running marketing campaigns both for print and digital media, conference and presentation materials like mood-setters, demos and videos, internal and client communication and marketing campaigns trough micro-sites, landing pages, banner ads, emailers and even some TV ads. Most projects were of Business to Business nature, but some Consumer projects were also part of these years.

Important to note that something was off, as everything being done was mostly in the creative side, and the technical side was only compensated with some personal projects. 

2006-2009
SWITZERLAND

BEDROCK REALTIME
Software Development Manager

At Bedrock, the focus was on the technical side, dedicated mostly to development and integration of different back-end and front-end technologies for internal use and costumers. From database management to dealing with trading and banking interfaces and building tools and solutions for analysis, reporting, tracking and operations. Even if a lot was contribute from the previous job, user experience and interface design skills, as well as corporate branding guidelines were enriched also.

But once more, something was out of balance, and everything was mostly on the technical side this time, and only some personal projects where filling the need for the creative part.

2009-2011
WHEREVER

COLACO SA
Freelance Designer & Developer

To fill the gaps and after deciding that the need to have more balance between the technical and creative sides, decided to jump in the freelance market again.

The first 3 years of the new company were spent around the world as a freelancer, between client projects, conferences and running workshops. Projects ranged from online ticketing and content management, mobile apps and games as well as interactive advertising campaigns. Full-featured cloud/web-based applications (complete with mobile tools) were also on the scope. Latest years several additions to the skill-set, like social media integration, location awareness and investing progressively more on the mobile market strategy which was in high demand from clients at the time. Continuously improving the ability to offer full solutions to clients, independent from what technologies needed to deliver them.

Also, during 3 years, organized the gotoAndSki conference, focused on design and programming, in Switzerland, taking place in winter for 3 days, at the scenic location of the Lauterbrunnen valley in the middle of the Swiss alps. The conference had an "upside down" format: networking took place during the day, allowing the attendees to have fun, mingle and discuss interesting topics with other attendees and the speakers, while skiing, snowboarding, having fun on sledges during the day, and at end of the afternoon, the tech sessions would start at the valley, in Stechelberg, before everyone returned to their chalets (sometimes quite late).

2011-NOW
CHINA

COLACO SA / WORKSHOPS
Freelance Designer & Developer

During the "nomad geek" during the previous 3 years, it seemed that the plan would be to keep hopping between different countries and cities, but for some reason, that seemed to end in China, where everything is based now. Still executing projects for clients all over the world, but more and more fascinated for the speed of how things move here (based in Beijing) and being part of more and more local projects. A passage by a tech-school and a tech-software company were brief, as the same urge for the tech/creative balance always pushed me into the freelance market again.

Understanding the Chinese market, with all its different nuances, consumer behaviors, without forgetting the inside perspective of its growth and pace, also brings invaluable knowledge of how to move in these waters, either for production or just marketing, apart from all the previous experience with the West. And that also became a constant, in consultancy services for both Chinese and Western clients, helping them to have a better overview of the other side, apply the proper strategy, and make better decisions, since it's not just about simply translating marketing and products.

THE FUTURE

ALWAYS EVOLVING

Apart from always keeping up with the technology currently in use for everyday client and personal projects, latest experiments and learning seem to be leaning towards Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and some other topics such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and even Robotics . Tech education, specially for kids (but in fact, for everyone) seem to be a constant, always finding time to invest in my workshop which was created in 2011, but keeps evolving and being updated, allowing anyone with no experience into coding, to start from scratch and build a simple game in two days, using real programming tools and creating actual software (a game ready for the mobile or desktop app stores for any platform).

SOME CLIENTS AND PROJECTS

For complete portfolio, or demo in person or via Skype, just contact me.

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SKILLS

TECHNICAL:
Java, C++, C#, AS3, PHP, Python, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, MySQL.

CREATIVE:
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects, InDesign, Lightroom, Audition, Animator (previously known as Flash).

OPERATIVE SYSTEMS:
MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Arduino.

WHATEVER ELSE:
Unity, Unreal Engine, 3D Studio Max, Maya, Blender, drawing and painting, music composition, generative art, online marketing.

LANGUAGES:
Portuguese: native.
English: native level.
French: advanced level.
Spanish: advanced level.
Chinese: fluent spoken, basic reading/writing (evolving).

Also an Adobe Certified Expert / Adobe Community Professional


The skills listed above are only the ones at a proficient level. There's a few more, sparkled around those, or occasionally used in specific projects or research, but not relevant enough to list here. Many other ones in progress, and usually anything relevant along the way goes from experimental to ready for production in a short period of time, using personal projects as an usual excuse to go through those stages up to an advanced level. After all, technologies should not be seen as religions, and what can be a trend today, might be completely obsolete tomorrow. I'm not in the market of selling buzzwords to clients, and each project might use a completely different set of programming languages, tools, solutions and approaches. So, it's part of my responsibilities to keep pace with anything relevant that pops up in the tech horizon. Always!

CONTACT ME CLIENTS DOWNLOAD CV

WORKSHOPS AND TECH EDUCATION

Learn how to code in 2 days, from zero experience to finishing a simple game, across all needed steps, using real tools and real programming languages, no "drag and drop" gimmicks. Anyone can do it, and that was done and proven countless times.
From there, all basic concepts needed are yours, and your imagination is the limit. The game is always original and different, since it is decided by everyone in the team.



This workshop started in Geneva (Switzerland) and often also run in London (UK), and then went on tour across Europe: Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Prague, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Berlin, Amsterdam, and now in Beijing. The workshop content is constantly updated with anything new and relevant. And the main goal is to allow everyone to not be afraid of programming, and understand that anything, any idea can be turned into reality. By Anyone

Within the same format and concept as the main two-day workshop, private classes are also possible, as a follow-up from the workshop, they can be extended at student pace, adding as many features as wanted, and going in whatever direction, since there are really no creative limits. Company private workshops are also available. The content is also not exclusive to kids, anyone, no matter how old you are, you only needs to be curious to learn this new skill, and understand it's not that complicated from there to go on your own, as far as you want. Once again, there's no such thing such as limits when you code. Most often, the only complicated part is to know where to start, and not get scared. That's the goal of this workshop!

WORKSHOP INFO PRIVATE CLASSES

CONTACT ME

Planning a new project?
Need some advice?
Need a quote?
Any other questions?

Let's get in touch!

© Copyright 2018 Colaco SA