Rachel Batt Web Designer
Rachel is a multimedia graphic designer with AECdesign. She has been responsible for many of the web site interfaces that the AECgroup has been contracted to develop. She has a Bachelor of Communication Design majoring in Illustration and is renowned in North Queensland not just for her graphic design and web development skills, but for her freehand artistic talents. Last year she was commissioned by the Museum of Tropical Queensland to paint a 4m by 4m mural of the HMAS Nautilus for the Pandora Display.

What gives you most satisfaction from your job?
Bringing an idea to life. I have always loved drawing and cartooning. Flash Animation allows me to bring my artwork to life. Designing web sites is about helping users find their way - making it easy to navigate using movement as well as colours, lines, shapes and fonts.

Have you seen the web change much over the past few years
Yes. I have noticed that where sites used to use a lot of static HTML, they are now more updateable.

It's becoming easier for clients to change things themselves through the backend. Its great that you don't necessarily have to be technically-minded to be involved and I think clients appreciate this. As a designer I've also noticed over the past few years that the focus has shifted from websites being purely marketing tools to become more workable - a medium where you can do things, buy things, find things and even make money on-line!

Do you still do freehand art as well as graphic design
Yes sometimes. Most jobs I do I draw some images and scan them in before manipulating them on screen. I also use freehand drawing in the planning process as it is quick and you can instantly see what works and what doesn't.

As for enjoyment....I still draw occasionally on the weekends. When I draw outside of AEC I generally choose to do photo-realism drawings but I occasionally do a bit of expressionist work as well.