Angus Barclay has worked hard to become the designer he is today and knows the importance of sharing his journey online to get new clients. Specializing in User Experience (UX), he understands the importance of having an eye-catching website — and that starts with the URL. Using angus.design to showcase his work was a no-brainer because “I think it's unique, sounds great and helps inform visitors what the purpose for the site is.”

 

 

Angus has made the most of his website, using it to host his resume, his portfolio and his LinkedIn profile. He also keeps visitors updated on his current projects that are yet to be completed rather than only highlighting finished work. 

 

“My dream is that this website will help me connect me with a company looking for a user experience designer,” Angus told us. The reason he loves .design domains, he says, is because, “they're not expensive, they look and sound great and they are easy to remember.”

 

Another way Angus stands out online is because he is willing to share stories of what he has learned throughout his design career, sharing successes and failures openly. “Conceptualizing and creating UX projects from the ground up can be challenging,” he said. “Due to budgetary restraints, I had to rely on clever tactics to recruit people for studies and every design component I created myself.”

 

Angus’s website is a treasure trove of information for both potential clients and fellow new designers looking for inspiration for their own websites. In one section, he clearly defines what it is like to work with him:

 

 

Browsing through his website, you would think he had been designing sites for years. Not the case, he tells us: “Coding my own website gave me a lot of confidence. I am a designer, not a developer, so bringing my designs to life using HTML and JavaScript was challenging. I learned a lot and feel like it makes me a better designer with my tools at my disposal.”

 

 

For other freelancers, he has some simple but powerful advice: “Don't burn yourself out.” In order to combat burnout, particularly when you are working another job alongside your freelance gig, he reminds us that “consistency is underrated. Doing a smaller amount of work every single day is better than working for hours after your day job a few days a week and being too tired to continue.”

 

While Angus continues to build his business, he will keep updating his website to reflect his completed and ongoing projects - as well as share what he has learned with all of us. “My mission is to use my design skills to help make technology easier for everyone to use,” he says. It looks like he is already well on his way.

 

Build your own .design site and let your personal aesthetic shine. RGD Members can grab their own .design domain name, matching professional email address and easy drag-and-drop Weebly website builder FREE for an entire year. Details in the Members-only section of the website. Offer expires December 31, 2022.