Interviewed by RJ Allen, 16th June 2021
As our Jersey office continues to grow in personnel, experience and ambition - so too does our Digital Team. Meet Jamie Dodds; otherwise known as Dodders, The Doddsman, Dodaldinho, Eric Espetada... the list continues.
The realm of coding is a scary one - figures, numbers and lines of symbols collated into a beautiful mess that spits out curated and crafted design. To the naked eye it appears chaotic, but this couldn't be further from the truth - one missing letter, bracket or figure can wreak havoc like an ill-placed pillar on the ground floor of a sky scraper. Structure is everything, understanding the micro with a third-eye focused on the macro. So what type of maniac, whole-heartedly jumps into this pit of frustration and cerebral punishment... well you've met Sean and Dave (apologies), now it's time to meet Doddinho.
So without further ado, Jamie - tell us a bit about yourself; who are you, what gets you out of bed in the morning?
Hey I’m Jamie, born and raised on the island of Jersey, I am now a budding developer at Potting Shed. I was formerly an Art student, then a slave to the finance world for a number of years, before a career change led me to try my hand at some coding.
What’s your role at Potting Shed? Do you enjoy it, and if so what aspects in particular?
I am a Junior Developer and I have absolutely loved being at Potting Shed. I like the varied daily challenges that test my brain and trying to bring a designer’s design to life on the Information Super Highway.
It’s Friday at 4 (beer time in the shed), you have 65 hours until Monday morning. What’s your unadulterated version of a perfect weekend in Jerseyland?
Exploring Jersey, jumping in the sea, BBQs on the beach, mixed in with some good relaxation listening to my expanding vinyl collection.
What are you learning right now?
The learning never stops especially as a developer! I have been looking at Laravel and October CMS which we use at Potting Shed. I have also been trying out Three.js which is a fun 3D animated graphics library for the browser and GreenSock which is an animation library. Outside of dev learning I’ve been trying my hand at pottery, throwing clay on the wheel until it inevitably collapses and I start over again.
Can coding be beautiful?
Absolutely, my version of beautiful coding is simple, efficient and easy to read, and you can certainly create some beautiful visual graphics using code.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, it makes a sound right?
Yeah.
How can creativity change the world?
Creativity inspires more creativity and leads to a developing and more interesting world. Art, design, music, science, maths… have all developed through creativity and creative thinking.
Walk us through a day in the life for you at The Shed?
I usually wake up and have a coffee along with an internal debate of whether to make the effort to go to the gym. This is followed by a casual saunter or an Olympic power walk to the office, depending on my departure time. Once I’m at the Shed my days are varied, which is great. I could be working on a site build for a number of weeks or I could have a day with a mix of tasks (anything from setting up client email accounts to developing features for the different clients’ websites we already have).
In a parallel universe, Jamie 2.0 has just opened a restaurant. What’s it called?
I’m a big Italian food fan so maybe Jamie’s Italian… In this parallel universe Jamie Oliver is a rep in Magaluf and his chain never existed.
What inspires you?
Conversations with family, friends and colleagues get my creative vibes flowing. Work-wise, I love developing sites that are visually interesting and the challenges that coding presents. Seeing the work of other developers is always inspiring, I’m constantly amazed by what can be produced with a bit of code. Art and music are always a big inspiration for me, I love a walk around a gallery and seeing people’s ideas and creations or a live music performance. Travelling is a big inspiration for me, seeing different cultures, scenery, styles and meeting people always makes me want to see more of the world.
You've just been selected as the God of Climate. Remove one weather condition, and add a new one.
I’d remove high, hot humidity as I’m unable to function in this weather and I’d bring in a summer daily shower of rain for a minute or two, where I’d go outside and be able to cool down. As you can tell I’m currently writing this on a very hot day!
Read our Shed Sessions with Matt, Sean, Silvie, Tom, Al, Keelie, David, Luke, and RJ.