Icelab is an interactive design studio that operates
out of state-of-the-art laboratories in Canberra
and Melbourne.
Actually, one’s a cosy apartment with couches, a kitchen and a great coffee machine. The other, a warehouse space with lots of light and a couple of beanbags. Both have a bunch of bicycles. And itinerant co-working designers. Come and visit — we’d love to have a chat about how we could work together.
We’re a small team of people that like doing interesting things, and we try to be the best at what we do. Sometimes we succeed.
Michael has a long history in design-related fields: His skills include writing and strategic communication thinking; interactive design and development; writing, editing, and post-production for television and video; print design and production; and environmental/spatial design. He also lectures at the University of Canberra.
Tim joined Icelab in 2010 after a successful two years modernising the web architecture at the Australian Medical Council, where he developed several applications to improve both customer experience and the efficiency of business processes. He also brings strong experience in building highly available web server infrastructure, an important but easily overlooked component of any successful web application.
Tim is an active participant in the Australian web community, as a regular speaker at the Sydney Ruby on Rails developer meetings, and organiser of the Canberra Ruby Crew.
An interaction designer with a passion for emerging technologies, Max believes interactive media should function as beautifully as it looks. His attention to detail, along with his appreciation for aesthetic and user experience, give him the foundation for crafting engaging and usable web experiences.
Since joining Icelab in early 2007 Max has worked with the Icelab team on projects across the web, print and television, for clients in government, retail, education and engineering.
Hugh is a versatile software developer loaded with the full gamut of expertise in software project delivery. Joining Icelab after a successful stint as the IT Manager of the Australian Medical Council leading a team of 10 he’s now reinvigorating his love for engineering and creation. Hugh’s approach to software development, places the user experience above all else. He’s also an active figure in the Australian Ruby community, and was the organiser of the seventh Australian RailsCamp in 2010.
Hugh is an avid cyclist and a competitive basketball player. He also loves reading and has a passion for history.
Andy joined Icelab in January 2011 as a front-end designer. Andy has followed in Max’s footsteps, recently completing a Bachelor of Arts (New Media Arts) across the road from the lab at the Australian National University. Andy started designing for the web during his high school years, when he created Harry Potter Fan Zone, a site which he has developed and maintained to this day. As such, he already sports a long history of practical, hands-on experience with web design and development. This has made Andy immediately productive here at Icelab, and he’s been instrumental in helping us get projects out the door in a timely way.
Narinda is a developer and media artist with more years experience than she cares to count. She studied computer science in the mid 90s and has worked in organisations of all shapes and sizes. She also has an honours degree from the Victorian College of the Arts, and her photographs and interactive installations have been exhibited widely.
Narinda was a web developer during the dot com boom and bust, and went on to become an Oracle database specialist. She has been honing her skills in web and mobile development since 2007 when she left her corporate job in search of a more agile and creative working environment. She comes to Icelab from Inventive Labs, where she was the go-to girl for custom Blueprint CMS developments, mobile web and iOS applications, and custom Rails applications.
Toby joins Icelab in 2012 after working as a front-end designer for Melbourne design studios Inventive Labs and the Golden Grouse. He doesn’t drink coffee, or use Twitter but has a passion for building clean and functional sites and email newsletters.
Melissa brings with her a diverse range of experience. She has a degree in Computer mediated art, is a trained tattoo artist and has a passion for contemporary art and design. Melissa loves cycling, skiing, banh mi and a good natter. On the flipside – possibly due to her German heritage – she thrives on efficiency. Melissa comes from a 3 year stint as Production Coordinator for a team of 8 designers and developers where she used her powers to bring order to chaos. She loves being part of the action and is driven to see projects delivered on time with delighted clients, satisfied developers but above all sleek well designed websites.
David has spent most of his career developing software in a university research environment. He has an Honours degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, and enjoys the theoretical areas of computing. He received the University Medal for designing and implementing a programming language that is currently used in biological research. More recently he’s turned his attention to web development. Prior to joining Icelab, David worked at The Australian National University, where he developed web applications to support medical research.
David is active in competitive road cycling. He’s a keen reader, and he fuels all of his activities with plenty of good coffee. He dreams of becoming Icelab’s resident barista.
John joined the Melbourne Icelab office in early 2013, following five years running small web design studio The Golden Grouse (nee Barking Sparrows). He has a Bachelor of Multimedia Design from Monash University, though opportunities to author interactive CD-ROMs are rare these days.
John comes to Icelab with a significant back-catalogue of web design and development work for entertainment, publishing, architecture, hospitality and arts-based clients in and around Melbourne.