I’m Scott Pollard, a multidisciplinary designer, developer and all-round creative based in the North West of England.
My career has developed around designing and building things for the web. Over the past 20+ years, I’ve worked across web design, development, UX, branding, content, SEO and digital marketing. I enjoy being involved throughout a project, from working out the initial idea to designing, coding and refining the finished result.
I currently work in-house for an independent UK web hosting company. It’s a broad role that has given me the opportunity to work across websites, customer systems, campaigns, printed material, analytics and internal tools. More than anything, it has reinforced my interest in the point where design, development and understanding how people behave come together to solve real problems.
Creativity beyond work
Making things has always extended beyond my day job.
I experiment with generative art using Java and Processing, often combining code with subjects taken from nature, sound and data. This has included turning bird sightings into murmurations, using microphone input to visualise bird calls and building simulations inspired by wildlife behaviour.
Away from the screen, I draw, design posters, create small sculptures and art toys, experiment with materials and generally follow ideas wherever they lead. Some projects become finished pieces. Others simply give me an excuse to learn a new technique or find out what happens.
Why I make things
I enjoy the point where creativity, technology and curiosity meet.
Code gives me a set of rules, but it can also introduce randomness and produce results I wouldn’t necessarily have designed deliberately. Physical making offers something different: texture, weight, imperfection and the satisfaction of turning an idea into an object.
I’m interested in both for much the same reason: I like experimenting, solving problems and learning by actually making something.
This website is where I bring all of that together. It’s part portfolio, part sketchbook and part record of the things I’ve tried, learned and made along the way.
Wildlife photography
Photography has been part of my life for as long as I can remember and was my main subject at college. I’ve worked across various types of photography over the years, but these days I mainly concentrate on wildlife.
Birdwatching and photography get me away from screens and into the Lancashire countryside, while still satisfying the same curiosity and attention to detail that runs through much of my other work.
You can see my wildlife photography at scottpollard.uk, or read more on my wildlife blogs at wildlife-photography.uk and wildlyethical.uk.