Thank you for using my web app and showing interest in who created it. I am an Afrikaner from the Western Cape province in South Africa. Read on to learn more about why I created calcfeed.com and my hybrid career goals.
In 2024 I wanted to calculate how much food to buy for my cat, Frikkie.
I could not find a calculator that met my needs.
Further research revealed that the type of calculator I wanted for my cat does not exist for many animals.
And so calcfeed.com is born. This web app is also the first that I coded from scratch.
I consider it as a big step in my career progression from a
graphic designer to a graphic designer X programmer hybrid.
By day I am a professional graphic designer and illustrator.
Currently I am the designer at Antjie's Handmade Naturals
for whom I have created many successful bath and body brands.
My work experience is mostly in branding and packaging design for fast moving consumer goods.
I also have expertise in UI/UX design. I have a degree in graphic design and illustration,
BA Information Design, from the University of Pretoria.
My portfolio.
I believe that professional designers should refrain from expressing themselves through their work,
but rather create work that embodies the needs and desires of the consumer while conveying
the right message on behalf of the client. However, calcfeed.com has no formal client,
so I took the liberty to be more experimental and expressive in the design of the web app
(to do what I like) while striving to create an intuitive user-friendly web app.
In 2023 I decided to upskill by going back to university and study computer science.
I study at the University of the People at night. I have obtained an Associate Degree in Computer Science
and am now completing the BSc.
Programming is a good skill to combine with graphic design. I believe that adding programming to my CV will
open up many new opportunities for me.
I enjoy the logic heavy side of programming. It is a stimulating break from graphic design, which is focused on emotions.
Escaping into the logical world of programming allows me to take a breath of fresh air before starting a new day of
emotion-focused graphic design. (If programming was my day job and graphic design my after-work activity,
I would have probably said the reverse.)
When not working or studying, you can find me deep inside the mosh pit at local metal shows.
My favourite South African metal bands are The Fallen Prophets, Megalodon, and Sunken State.
The boys know how to throw a proper jol!
Physical exercise is important to me and I follow regular routine. My 2025 fitness goal is to run 5 km under 25 min.
My personal best time so far is 25 min 51 sec.
Nature is a big source of inspiration to me. I am spoiled with sublime nature in the Western Cape and make effort to enjoy it.
I find spending time with animals to be another blessing from nature.
The next phases of calcfeed.com will bring feed calculators for more animals
and back-end operations like saving recipes.
For myself the short-term goal is to find a graphic design X programming hybrid job,
ideally focused on frontend development. Creating calcfeed.com is an important step in
reaching this goal. I am excited for my future in app and web development!
