In 1994, advertising agency Cross Hill Conwill were seeking to expand their operation with the launch a multimedia division, exploiting new business opportunities presented by disk-based multimedia. This senior creative position allowed me to exercise art direction, client handling and creative skills across a diverse client base.

CHC pioneered interactive CD-ROM, kiosk, web design and e-commerce applications for retail and blue-chip companies including; Boots, Raleigh, GEC Alsthom, Jigsaw Systems, British Midland Airlines and Experian. Most notable was a Point-of-Sale application for Raleigh cycle dealerships utilising Philips low-cost CDi digital video platform and a PC-based touch-screen application for Boots Company Plc.

In the 90s, multimedia developers were a rare breed and many ambitious projects were the result of collaborative efforts between rival companies and individuals. Throughout this period I worked closely with CHC Director Mike Conwill, Multimedia Graduate Ian Lawrence and web pioneer Sean Clark - then Research Fellow at the University of Derby. Strategic alliances were also forged with multimedia developers at iBIS Multimedia in Suffolk and Leamington-based Symbiosis.

Papers on innovative work were regularly published or showcased at trade exhibitions and seminars for organisations such as IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), Adobe Systems, Philips Media and Apple Computer (UK).

There was some degree of speculation regarding the future direction of multimedia, but as time progressed, it became clear that web-based projects were going to outstrip disk-based media.

Web-page editors such as Adobe PageMill and Dreamweaver promised to open up this new field to graphic designers. These tools promised the same level of control that Mac-based DTP applications had delivered a decade before. However, it soon became apparent that manual HTML scripting was labour-intensive and inefficient. Database programming skills would be required to take web-design to the next level.

As areas of specialisation began to develop, project management skills became increasingly important. After years of hands-on experimentation, the real challenge in web-development lay in pulling together the disparate requirements of the designer, programmer, marketeer, client, and most importantly, the end-user.