Hello. My name is Joshua.

I help make life easier by solving problems using creative solutions.

Nice to meet you.

Some of my favorite problem solving tools:

• Web Design/Interface Design
• One on One Training
• Communication & Consulting
• Lending a Hand & Service
• Listening
• Taking the time to understand

Finding a Web Designer is Scary

Finding a good web designer is like looking for a good mechanic, hard to find, but well worth it once you do. It’s like any relationship in life – it starts with faith and builds trust as you go along. How do you know if you can trust me? You don’t. But I can tell you what I believe and you can decide if we’re a good match – no strings attached.

Things I Believe

• Simplicity

  Start with the necessities and build from there. I’m not going to sell you a widget machine because you probably don’t need one.

• Honesty

  Tell it like it is. Don’t pretend to be something your not. If you sell limes – don’t pretend their sweet – tell your customers all the things you can make with limes + sugar!

• Communication

  Simplify and speak human. After all, we are all humans looking for something authentic.

• Integrity

  Promise what you can, and do it.

• People First

  How does your offering make people’s lives better? Bottom line.

• Motivation & Focus

  Find out what gets your customers excited and empower them.

• Results

  What is the point of spending money on a website if it doesn’t make money, save time, or add value to your offering?

• Business == Relationships

  People doing something, exchanging something, interacting. No matter how you slice it, business is people interacting with other people. I think that the more a business embraces this fact – the better they do.

What have I done?

A little history

• 1999–2001
  Applied Multimedia & Design Diploma from AMTC in Calgary Alberta.

  This was a great course and gave me a good preview of the different creative industry landscape and tools. I chose to pursue web design.

• 2001–2002
  Web Developer Course

  This was a great introduction to web technologies and how to find what you like and learn it.

• 2000–2002
  Teaching Assistant at AMTC

  I loved this job. It was like getting a double dose of my classes while getting paid. The best part, I got to help new students discover their potential and help solve problems.

• 2000–2005
  Visua Design Group

  I started a consulting firm while I was still in school. Learned hard and fast that you better love what you do. This was my crash course in business, service, management, finances & customer service. I feel like I learned 20 years worth of experience in the short
  5 years I ran a firm.

• 2005–2009
  Gemmer Corp

  I worked alongside a very talented entrepreneur and business mentor while designing and managing all online properties and activity. I also had the privilege of being involved in design for
  iPhone games and applications.

• 2007–2009
  LaunchCMS

  Designed and built a powerful PHP (Flex/Flash UI) based CMS. This was my advanced course in project management and UI/UX design and OOP programing. This experience has brought me to a whole new level of understanding in communication, human behavior, interaction and usability, & business.

• 2009–2010
  Tianguis Mérida
  (Auto Buy & Sell)

  First taste of business south of the border. Designed and built a print classifieds magazine/newspaper in Mérida Yucatan (In spanish no less). Learned about distribution. A unique aspect of this project was that I created a system to take the actual website to print. I created the entire website in centimeters for layout using CSS and exported the print to PDF. This worked amazingly well and saved us from having to create the layout two times – once for print and once for online.

• 2009–Current
  One on One Training in CSS/HTML/JS/PHP

  I have had the incredible opportunity to teach some amazing designers and developers the art and love of best practice web design. I have seen people take what I was teaching them and use it to make amazing gains in production time, simplicity, and creativity. It's really a great joy for me to be able to add something to someone's understanding and see them really do well with it.

  View Example Tutorials »

• 2009–Current
  Consulting &
  One–off Solutions

  I have been solving problems for other web designers/developers for a while now and this is a great experience. I love the challenge of creating a widget or designing a small part of an interface for a designer and then seeing them take that and use it as a part of their overall offering. I like the satisfaction of being able to crack the nut on a problem for someone. Sometimes all people need is a little external perspective and suggestions to take a project from really good to fantastic. This has been very rewarding.

• Summer 2011
  How to Master HTML, CSS, & JS

  I designed and taught a 12 week course in Mérida, Yucatan. Designed specifically for a group of people that had no experience in web design or development. The goal of this course was to enable people to learn in a manner that focused on creative thinking and not just technical knowledge. How to use the skills they were learning to create instant wins. Giving people a platform of knowledge that allowed them to produce results right away and build on their knowledge through experimentation.

  This class was a huge success. I love the satisfaction of watching students flourish with new knowledge and the joy of seeing their creations come to life. I love enabling people.

• 2012
  Globi Web Solutions

  Senior Web Experience Designer/Developer with a strong focus on communication and strategy. My role at Globi included project planning and development, client relations and sales, internal training, experience and brand development, combined with overseeing successful delivery of projects on a day-to-day basis.

  I enjoyed working with a dedicated team of professionals. I have been refining my knowledge in brand experience, with a focus on copywriting, communication, and practical application of human behavior to create customer engagement that delivers results.

  My personal objective at Globi was to continually question the status quo and influence the way we do business, searching, pushing, exploring, and reaching into new areas and concepts to create the greatest impact with our projects as possible. I have enjoyed working at Globi and have brought a refreshingly new perspective to Globi that has pushed our team's ability forward.

• Ongoing
  HTML KickStart

  My First Open Source Project, used by over 100,000 Web Designers and Developers around the world

  HTML KickStart is an Ultra–Lean framework of HTML Building Blocks for Rapid Website Production. Used by designers on multiple high-profile platforms, including: Symphony, CodeIgniter, DotNetNuke, Processwire, Wordpress and many more.

  I created HTML KickStart to enable web professionals to produce high quality, standars compliant, HTML5 Websites with speed and ease. This has been highly rewarding! I have enjoyed being an active part of the web design community and contribute something back to this amazing community that has given me so much.

• The Future…

  I hope to meet some of you as I go about my adventure. Who knows what the future holds? All I know is that whatever it is…
  it's going to be great!

What people are saying…

“Joshua is part of a new generation
of bright, young developers who possess the triple-threat: technical prowess, marketing/communication smarts and design savvy.”

Rob Hunter, www.organicapacific.com

“I consider him a valuable asset to PR To The Trade
My public relations business caters to high net worth individuals in the arts and it is always difficult to find a designer with an aesthetic sensibility as well as the tech know-how. Joshua not only rose to the occasion, he breathed fresh life into our project. I consider him a valuable asset to PR To The Trade.”

Regina Kolbe, President, PR "To The Trade"

“I would recommend Joshua to anyone
Execution of the project development was flawless, quick, and extremely organized. I hired Joshua to design and develop my website projects. When I hired Joshua, I didn't really know what to expect. Joshua completely blew me away from the get go … His excellent detail in planning before jumping into a project impressed me. Not only did Joshua plan well, but his execution of the project development was flawless, quick, and extremely organized. Communication between was/is excellent. As a client thousands of miles away, I have better communication than I would get from many people in my own city. I would recommend Joshua to anyone looking for a project to be completed with great excellence, on budget, and on time! Joshua truly cares about your business and shares your excitement. His primary goal is not just to knock out a design project, but he truly focuses on business workflow. He wants to make your business a success … and his extremely sharpened skills can make that happen for you. I am yet another completely pleased and happy client!”

Brian Groce, www.bookMyCharter.com, Nuposh

“Please don't use him – we want to hog him for ourselves.
We like Josh! Over the last five or six years we have repeatedly contracted many successful design projects to Josh and he has done an outstanding job every time. He is a great guy and a fantastic designer who gets the job done with raves. Please don't use him – we want to hog him for ourselves. ”

President, Woman's Health, Wellness, & Rehab Inc. www.vaginismus.com

Non-Technical Skills

• Visual Design, Identity, UI/UX Design
• Marketing Communication & Strategy
• Brand Development
• Presentations
• Strong Writing/Communication
• Sales & Client Relations
• Teaching & Training
• Relationship Development
• Positive Reinforcement & Encouragement
• Conflict Resolution
• English & Spanish

Technical Skills

• HTML5 (& XML, XHTML)
• CSS, OOCSS, LESS
• JS, jQuery, jQuery UI/Mobile, MooTools, JSON, REST, AJAX
• HTML KickStart, BootStrap, Foundation, Skeleton
• Responsive Design, Mobile Web
• PHP, OOP/OOD, ORM, Active Record
• CodeIgniter, Zend, Processwire, Kohana, Wordpress
• Coda, Transmit, GIT, Keynote, Omni Apps, Firebug/Web Inspector
• Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Fireworks, Freehand, Dreamweaver
• Flash, Flex, AS3, AMF
• Mac OS X, Linux (*nix), Windows

Interests & Things I love

• VW Beetles
• Apple
• Usability and UI Design
• Communication
• Human Behavior and Psychology
• Chokies & CocaCola
• SomaFM, Groove Salad & Secret Agent
• Relationship Studies
• Human Dynamics
• Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
• Media Temple
• Vonage
• 37Signals
• Panic Inc.
• The Road Less Traveled
• Seth Godin
• Ted Talks
• HTML & CSS
• jQuery
• PHP
• CodeIgniter
• ProcessWire
• Playing Guitar

About me

As you know, my name is Joshua. I think names are important. I am a 32 year old guy from Calgary, Alberta, Canada who one day got sick of the cold and moved to Mexico where I have been living ever since.

(Update: I have moved back to Calgary after 5 short Years in Mérida).

I have two wonderful children, Star and Caleb, and a really super cool 1982 VW Beetle. I like to keep things simple. I like LOVE people. My friends make a joke about me that I should run for mayor because I shake so many hands wherever we go.

I am on a continual search for the finer things in life such as; wisdom, patience, compassion, tolerance, and joy. I think that I must be learning something because I am finding some of these things more than I used too.

I think the most valuable thing that I have learned in the last few years is that I am human and so is everyone else. I try to live life in the moment. I believe that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have – always. When I make a mistake I try to fix it, and I try to learn something from everyone and everything I encounter. Bottom line for me is that life is an amazing adventure and I get to do it every single day.

How can I help make your life easier?

Let's get in touch.

Phone Canada	587.435.2147
Email	joshua@99lime.com
Website	http://www.99lime.com
AIM	joshuagatcke@mac.com
Facebook	Joshua Gatcke
Twitter	@htmlkickstart

This website was made on a 13" MacBook Pro and 23" ACD, hand–coded in Coda, designed in the browser (Safari 5.03 to be exact) using CSS3, HTML5, and jQuery 1.5. © Copyright Joshua Gatcke http://www.99lime.com 2011–2012. All Rights Reserved.