Leighton Hughes

Leighton Hughes

Web Developer in Melbourne, Australia

LinkedIn

Work Experience

2020 — Now
Founder at Alto Creative
Melbourne, Australia
  • Working with a client portfolio spanning the education sector, religious organisations, and creative industries.

Skills:
Software Development, Front-end Development, Design Strategy, Branding & Identity, Design Systems, User Experience Design.

2020 — Now
Remote Contractor
  • Enabled a content creation workflow for 6 content editors. This included a range of email templates built with MJML that could pull in news and events content.

  • Implemented a atomic deployment flow to enable continuous maintenance updates.

Skills:
Stakeholder Management, Design Leadership, Development collaboration.

Tools:
Laravel Forge, Buddy Automation, AWS Cloudfront, AWS S3, Craft CMS, Twig, MJML, Vite, Alpine.js, Tailwind CSS.

2023 — 2024
Remote Contractor
  • Led a cross-functional team to revamp a product onboarding experience. This included streamlining the consideration and registration process through iterative enhancement guided by user feedback.

Skills:
Design leadership, Code reviewing, Web Development, Prototyping.

Tools:
React.js, Next.js, Framer Motion, Mux, Shadcn UI, Tailwind CSS.

2022 — 2023
Melbourne, Australia
  • Worked on a variety of Laravel-based projects for clients in the construction, e-commerce, and hospitality industries.

  • Implemented a component library to help empower remote teams in building user interfaces at a higher quality.

Skills:
Peer mentoring, Front-end Development, Prototyping, Client Support, Laravel, Vue.js, Component Design, Tailwind CSS.

2019 — 2019
Contractor
  • Developed accessible component library adhering to WCAG AA standards.
  • Built a component documentation site for other developers to access when implementing new pages on the university marketing website.

Skills:
WCAG AA standards, Semantic HTML, Code reviewing.

2018 — 2019
Melbourne, Australia
  • Contributed to high-profile projects for Bunnings, one of AKQA's largest global accounts and a renowned Australian brand, as part of a cross-functional design team.

  • Collaborated closely with front-end developers to deliver exceptional, user-centric digital experiences.

Skills:
Agile Methodology, Design Collaboration, Usability Testing, Wireframing, User Interface Design, Front-end Development, Software Quality Assurance.

2015 — 2017
Hamilton, New Zealand
  • I orchestrated a comprehensive redesign of Mental Health New Zealand's online presence, including their invaluable A-Z mental health index, delivering an intuitive and accessible platform that empowers users with vital resources.

  • I collaborated closely with a prominent events space in Hamilton to craft an immersive and engaging digital experience, tailored to the unique needs of their diverse clientele.

Skills:
Design Leadership, Peer Mentoring, Project Management, Business Research, User Interface Design, Prototyping.

2011 — 2017
Hamilton, New Zealand
  • Collaborated with small and medium-sized businesses to design responsive websites and user interfaces, create engaging content, establish brand identities, and produce print materials.

Skills:
Branding & Identity, User Interface Design, Landing Page Optimisation, SEO, Email Newsletter Design.

Side Projects

2023

Developed a documentation website with guidelines on parish administration and management for 250 Melbourne parishes. Built on VitePress with AI search functionality.

2023

Designed and developed an engaging wedding invitation website using Astro with SVG animations.

2019
Newsletter Generator

Designed and developed a Craft CMS plugin to generate and automate the creation of PDFs that pull in news and event related content.

Volunteering

2023 — Now
Remote

Contributed pro bono design and development expertise to elevate marketing for new events and advance brand messaging, leveraging Tina CMS and Next.js to create an impactful digital presence.

2023 — Now
Small Group Leader at Church
Melbourne, Australia

Facilitated engaging small group discussions as part of the Alpha course, fostering an inclusive environment for participants to explore and discuss foundational concepts of the Christian faith.

2022 — Now
Music Ministry

Provided instrumental accompaniment to enhance the worship experience and support vocalists during services and special events.

2019 — 2020
Leadership Team at Holy Family Parish
Melbourne, Australia

Designed and developed a Craft CMS plugin to generate and automate the creation of PDFs that pull in news and event related content.

Education

2007 — 2009
Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design at University of Waikato, New Zealand