The Home of Thom Watson

I'm Thom, the creator of Manface, web designer / coder and photoshop geek, with lovely followers on Twitter. I'm optimised for Mobile, IE 10, Safari, Chrome & Firefox.

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Beauty Writer, Web Designer, Photographer.

Well I suppose I better tell you a little about myself...

I am the writer and creator of Manface one of the highest ranking male grooming blogs in the UK. But, what a lot of people don't know, is that I'm also a fully qualified programmer and database designer, specialising in Web design and coding. From creating my own internet presence in the form of Manface and utilising social media to its fullest, I understand what it takes to successfully get a brand online.

Linking in with that, I studied Photography formally for two years, specialising in technical studio photography and have taken on freelance work for beauty businesses and other institutions.

Have a look around my site to see examples of my work and how I can help bring your business to the web or maybe just give it a bit of a refresh. I pride myself on not charging rates for web designs and shoots that would make your eyes water; you'll be pleasantly surprised, honest.

Web Client Spotlight : Gro Salons

They had a beautiful vision for a social and interactive home as well as an intranet and dedicated mobile site. So that's what we created...

Home Mobile Intranet Instagram Social Interactive Playful Sleek Portable

Take a Look

A fabulous business with fabulous staff, so naturally their website needed to follow suit. Inspired by the gorgeous design of their salons, together we created a site that revolved around social media, particularly Instagram, allowing them to automatically and instantly share their ideas and creations.

For people in creative industries, sharing information, inspiration and communication is key, and when you have multiple salons, you need a central 'hang out'. Using a highly modified and simplified Wordpress platform, all the staff are now able to share whatever they need to, through pictures, documents, quotes and links, and then leave comments on them, all protected with a secure login portal.

I love web design.

Because what's more fun than a business moving forward in a web driven world?

Since the days of Microsoft Front Page, when Macromedia still owned flash and you were always worried about the spring clip on your floppy disk breaking, I've been studying coding and design whilst helping clients create their own unique web presence.

I think web design, right down to the initial planning process, should be fun, interesting and about making you, the client, and your vision the focus of the entire project. So how is it fun and interesting? Connecting a client to a designer is important, and achieving that through utilising social media is the way forward.

Firstly there's Pinterest, an amazing way to share ideas and create beautiful mood boards. You can upload your photos, designs and any inspiration you find from around the internet. I'll also be sure to follow you on Instagram, so whilst working on the project, you can update me with any ideas you find around you. But besides social media, I'm always available on the phone or through email.

Websites for mobile platforms.

Mobile device sites, either dedicated or responsive so your main site shrinks down whilst still looking great.

iPhone Windows Phone Android Samsung Nexus iOS iPad NetBook

It goes without saying that having an online presence for your business is paramount, but now, it's all about making that presence mobile. Over a quarter of all the phones in the world are smartphones and at the present rate, mobile internet access should overtake desktop internet access by 2014.

One half of all local searches for businesses and services are performed on mobile devices. So hire someone with client experience in creating mobile formats. Also, try accessing this site on your phone or just resize the window and see what happens... Cool right?

So what can I do?

So you know you're choosing the right person for the right job, here's what I know.

Ps	Photoshop	★★★★★	Ai	Illustrator	★★★★★

{ }	HTML	★★★★★	GUI	Interface Design	★★★★★

{ }	Java	★★★★★	{ }	MYSQL	★★★★★

{ }	.NET	★★★★★	Dw	Dreamweaver	★★★★★

If you're on your mobile, slide me to the left...

Photography Client Spotlight : 2Q Huddersfield

Brothers, Ainsley and Garison Quarmby of 2Q wanted stylish, sharp and high fashion images without resorting to standard corporate salon stocks. So that's what we created...

Cool Calm Collected and Fabulously Feirce

Take a Look

Hair was the obvious focus of the project, but it was also about communicating the cool and sleek essence of the business and the amazing work of the stylists. They're a boutique Salon and having their own identity was key, whilst also making sure that their individuality was accessable to the general public.

We used my pop-up studio, Nikon D80 and rigged the studio up with Dual Elinchrome flash guns, the MacBook Pro and iPad to really ensure we were getting the optimal shots and that our meter readings and adjustments were perfect every time.

Then the photos were processed and Photoshopped to make sure that every colour, line and shadow was crisp and clear.

The shoot started at 11am and finished around 5, everything was done onsight and the model was madeup by a freelance MUA. The most important part of the shoot was that it was fun, the guys really let their creative direction roll, and I could then apply that to the images.

Bloggers: I'm at your service

Unfortunately, blogs aren't always sucesfful purely on text content alone. Usability, function, style, interface and features are all key to making your blog a great blog.

Google Blogger Wordpress Tumblr. The big boys

So what I wanted to do was set-up a consultation service for bloggers, helping to deliver creative feedback and then geting to work on improving any possible shortcomings, quickly, easily and at a really very reasonable cost.

Whether you want a full blog redesign from the ground up, have decided you want to move platforms and set up your own domain, or, you just want to learn some tips and tricks to get your blog higher in Google, I can help.

Utilising my web design / programming experience as well as practical application in the creation and running of one of the highest ranking male grooming blogs on the net, we're gonna' have some great fun so get in touch!

You should definitely get in touch.

There are a whole load of ways you can do it too...

I'm always available and tweeting on Twitter @ManfaceBlog

You can email me at thom@thomwatson.co.uk

I pin stuff up on Pinterest

Beauty fan? Then like the Manface Facebook Page