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Curriculum Bram Plessers
Freelance Developer & Trainer at Webdevotion
- Bram Plessers
- bram.plessers@webdevotion.be
- +32 485 276 604
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Born Oct. 27th 1981
De Race, Bram Plessers, Acryl on linen canvas, 200x100
Page Index
Roles
Team Lead (2016 - 2017)
I led the charge of an innovation team working for a multinational. As a seperate entity we were allowed, expected, to work outside the legal and bureaucratic restrictions.
We started from scratch. Recruitment, setting up the tech stack, configuring Jira from the ground up, making mistakes, reiterating, (bi-)weekly demos, … The list goes on and on. We learned a lot. We screwed up a lot.
Today the project continues as an actual company with thousands of active users.
Developer (2000 - Ongoing)
Twentysome years ago I started developing dynamic websites with ASP 3.0 and have been keen on delivering clean, readable code.
My interest in design patterns and well structured app designs is genuine while the numerous years of experience are invaluable.
Today I am a productive front-end developer and a driven iOS engineer. I can set up servers, use cloud based environments and develop containerized development stacks.
In an ideal project deployment is fully automated and the team uses Git.
I look at myself as a generalist. My field of interest ranges from design over frontend development to Dockerized setups.
Business Owner (2006 - 2011)
I dedicated 5 years of my professional life to Mr. Henry BVBA. What started out as a bootstrapped, creative tag-team, became a small, independent studio which is still going strong after I left the team in 2011 to pursue my personal goals as a freelancer.
Projects
Brussels Airport Company - Q1 2019
In early 2019 Brussels Airport needed a frontend for an internal software migration training for it’s employees.
Brussels Airport Company
The API providing the data was consumed by a Vue.js frontend. Users could switch between languages and defined user groups had customized entrypoints.
Cresco Law - Q4 2018
Frontend, API and backend for Cresco Law.
Authenticated users can use the Content Management System to write, edit and publish content in a very user friendly environment.
Once content is published it’s disclosed to the frontend via an API.
Screenshot of the 2019 design of Cresco Law
- Local development using Docker
- Iteration via Git feature branches.
- Deployed to staging via Capistrano
- Testing on staging environment
- Feedback
- A new version is tagged
- Pushed to Git repo
- Deployed to production via Capistrano
Zapfloor - Q4 2018
The final months of 2018 were spent in the offices of Zapfloor. A shared office space SaaS.
Zapfloor for shared office spaces
An external hardware vendor’s JSON API was to be integrated into the existing Ruby on Rails services of Zapfloor’s platform. It was an unique experience among excellent team members. You don’t get a chance that often to work with actual devices from a hardware vendor. Unlocking the power of hardware using the platform was rewarding.
In 2019 they locked in funding and are now valued at > €1.000.000.
Zapfloor for shared office spaces
Webdevotion.be - Q2 2018
My tiny company needed a new website desperately. After having my always up to date, no plugins used, WordPress installation comprimised several times in the course of one year it was time for a structural fix.
For reasons of stability, speed and ease of development I chose Hugo, a static site generator written in Go. The theme of my choice is Hyde for it’s simplicity and solid foundation for future extensions.
For the typographic logo I used Wild Spirit.
Screenshot of the 2018 design of Webdevotion.be
Development happens using realtime previews using Docker.
The Banking Scene - Q4 2017
Screenshot of the 2018 design of The Banking Scene 2018
The Banking Scene is a website to present the 2018 installment of this yearly congress on the future of banking in Tour & Taxis in Brussels.
The stack is a combination of static html, PHP templates, Gulp workflow, and Docker build components. Important parts of the websites are generated by consuming the API of Sched.com. After parsing the relevant data in PHP, the user is presented with a custom design on top of Sched.com.
iOS App POM - Q3 2015
Easily pay your personal SEPA bills with POM. Integration of payment and cloud storage solutions.
Pom logo
As the sole developer for iOS I introduced new features and maintained what was already in place. Pom is doing well these days thanks to the passionate team of founding members behind the project.
WWDC - Q2 2015
WWDC 2015 Logo
In 2015 I won The Lottery and attended WWDC in San Fransisco. Everything I’ve heard and read turned out to be true. What a blast.
iOS App Hangover - Q2 2015
Hangover app relies heavily on the MPC feature of the iOS SDK, connecting peers without access to the internet while still being able to sync files. Ideal for those moments when you are sitting in the back of a pub with bad cell reception or when you are at a crowded event.
Hangover Screenshot
The hardest part of the app was the actual testing. MPC is a weird beast. There are differences between hardware, there is a certain delay, a certain timeout, things hang once and a while.
The differentiating feature of the app is the fact that images and videos will only be unlocked when all the users of the original group are back together in the same physical space.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
iOS App bambuba - Q2 2015
Bambuba Logo
Quickfixes for Bambuba app. I jumped in at the client’s request and fixed some quirks with the data fetching using Parse’s SDK. This resulted in a less then optimal user experience.
The client was happy with the fast turnaround and was able to push a new release to the app store with various bugfixes.
iOS App ( NDA ) - Q1 2015
This app ( under NDA ) consumes the Foursquare API and looks for interesting restaurants in your vicinity. It was really nice to work with geolocation while keeping the presented data as relevant as possible.
The app is currently under review by the board of investors.
Training - Q1 2015
I gave a three days, in-company “Beginning iOS Development for iPhone and iPad” training here in Antwerp, Belgium. Starting from scratch and ended up with a simple drill down app using UINavigationController and UITableViewController.
Front End Development - Q1 2015
Building the prototype of the frontend of a Symphony powered PHP appliction for The Red Cross. Lots of fun to experiment with complicated workflows for their backend users.
Conferences and Workshops - 2015
Early 2015 I attended the “Stuff That Talks To The Internet” workshop so I could get some hands on experience connecting stuff to the … internet.
Dot Swift Conference
Followed by one of the very first Swift oriented conferences in the world in Paris, Dot Swift. Right before Apple released Swift 1.2 and the updated toolchain ( Xcode 6.3β ).
Conferences and Workshops - 2014
NSSpain logo
While iOS projects where replaced by Frontend Development ( see below ), I still attended NSSpain, NSScotland and UIKonf to keep up with changes in the API, toolchain and the new language introduced by Apple, Swift.
NSScotland logo
I followed Swift workshops by @dimsumthinking ( Daniel H Steinberg ) and Fernando Rodríguez and am still waltzing through “Functional Programming in Swift” by Chris Eidhof, Florian Kugler, and Wouter Swierstra. Mind boggling read.
UIKonf logo
iOS SDK Sign2Pay - Q2 2014
Sign2Pay logo
In the second quarter of 2014 I worked on the Sign2Pay iOS SDK together with the Rails team who provided the supporting API.
The SDK makes it easy to install and configure the Sign2Pay stack in your iOS application. The SDK tracks the user’s interaction with the app where appropriate and provides easy to use hooks to trigger the actual payment procedure.
Since the summer of 2014, the team has continued to develop the underlying technology and are getting ready to go public after intensive private betas.
The year of Front End Development - 2014
2014 was the year of frontend development for me. My client went from startup to Joint Venture with a huge international company. The JV is going public in Q2 of 2015, so I can’t share details. g The rest of my time was spent on multiple websites where I implemented the designs of my clients. So this year I got to work with CMS systems like Umbraco ( .NET ), Craft ( PHP ) and Symphony ( PHP ).
Grunt project logo
HTML / CSS / Javascript is built using transcompilation. Haml, Jade, Twig, CoffeeScript, SASS, SCSS, Bourbon, …
Smart Checkups - Q3 2013
Localized iPad-only application for property inspections.
PDF generation Core Data REST Dropbox
Smart Checkups.com Available at App Store
True Notify - Q3 2013
Proof of concept iOS application. Client was doing research on how to integrate push notifications in their new notifications platform. The result is an iPhone application which receives push notifications and keeps an up to date list of notifications on the user’s device(s). Finished the concept, complete with Rails API and backend in 5 working days.
Available at App Store
Reservation System for iPhone - Q3 2013
Second iteration of the Reservation System. A returning client is a happy client, n’est-ce pas?
Plinx - Q2 2013
iOS app that aggregates videos you shared on your Facebook profile. Powered by a Rails API I also developed.
At Home Healer - Q2 2013
iOS app powered by a Rails API. Users can connect with their Massage Therapists. Each Therapist can disclose videos to demonstrate patients how to do given exercises properly. Videos are given permissions on a per user basis.
Night of the Proms - Q2 2013
Event app for multinational. English and Chinese language support. Team of 3 iOS developers + 1 designer.
Fresh Future - Q1 2013
After working on the initial prototype, Fresh Future gave me the responsibility to develop the App Store ready iOS application. Features: API to upload and download files, system-wide “open …” integration ( pdf, ppt, txt, images ) and a lot of attention to user feedback. App sends documents from your device to their printers, installed at various locations in the US.
This project was a complete success! Bram immediately understood the requirements and got started. We were in a hurry to get a prototype working, and Bram delivered in 1 day. In addition to being an expert at his work, Bram is easy to chat with, and very friendly. I would highly recommend Bram! We’ll be using his services again.
- Mike Hapner - Fresh Future
Reservation System for iPhone - Q4 2012
I worked in a team of designers, app developers and backend coders to produce a Reservation System app for iPhone. Relying heavily on geolocation and push notifications to support it’s core feature. A lot of customization was needed to satisfy the UX and UI requirements of the project.
Event App for iPhone - Q4 2012
iOS consultancy for a big, recurring event. I was part of a team of 1 designer, 1 Android developer, 1 Rails developer and off course 1 iOS developer. The project required: skinning, geolocation, RESTful API requests, custom views, push notifications …
Gogoyoko - Q3 2012
Universal iOS project for Gogoyoko. Gogoyoko is an Icelandic music store with a worldwide reach. It offers an honest deal for end users and artists. Some of it’s features are streaming, buying, rating and mobile apps.
It has been an absolutely dream to work with Bram on our iOS application for our business clients. Although, he works from abroad it was easy for us to get him working with our team which is spread over three countries. He’s quick to respond to issues that come up, proactive with providing necessary updates for OS upgrades and above all the app worked great and helped us to impress some important B2B clients. Alison MacNeil - CEO Gogoyoko
Training
- Numerous training sessions on iOS, Flash, ActionScript and discussion panels.
- Instructor led groups or 101 training.
Managing Partner at Mr. Henry
As managing parter of Mr. Henry I developed the business unit and made strategic decisions. In my role of senior developer I directed the team of developers ( 4 - 9 persons ).
June 2006 - August 2011
Development for the Flash Platform.
Ruby on Rails applications.
Flash Developer
at Atomik Studios
Merged with Duval Guillaume nowadays.
2005 - 2006
Flash Developer
at Alligence
Development of CD-ROM for Lexus owners.
September 2004 - March 2005
Flash Developer
at Kult
Led by Peter Decuypere
October 2003 - August 2004
Clients
I had the privilege to work for:
-
Brussels Airport
-
Carlsberg
-
Coca Cola
-
Federal Mogul
-
IBM
-
Lexus
-
Philips
-
Night of the Proms
-
Range Rover
-
Rode Kruis
-
Sony Ericsson
Skillset
Familiarity
- Node.js
- Vue.js
- Server Management
- Amazon Web Services
- User Interface Design
- Product Ownership
- Start Up,Thinking
- Jira
- …
Bucket list
- Arduino
- Data Visualization
- Decentralized applications
- Metaprogramming
- Painting a 3mx1.80m canvas
- …