Clay McIlrath

Clayton McIlrath
An introduction to Clay McIlrath

Welcome to my portfolio site and thanks for stopping in. Ive set up on this corner of the web, because I really believe that its important for people with valuable knowledge, unique skills, and creative thinking to share those with the rest of the world. I personally enjoy the process of learning, exploring, and doing all things creative and revolutionary as well as sharing those experiences with others. As we transition from web 2.0 and step into a world of web 3.0 if I may coin that term, I want to make sure that I am one of the leaders of the new trends in developing highly functional yet uniquely creative, websites and applications. With that said, I invite you to look at my blog, where I share business strategy, freelance work, graphic design, and technology.

Im currently only 21, yet I am self-employed focusing and specializing in corporate identity, branding, graphic design, front-end web development, and CMS integration with Content Management Systems such as Modx, Magento, Wordpress, and others. I am employable directly through my business, Chosen Development where I work full-time, or you can take a look at our other services via our sister company, Chosen Creative.
The Bio

I am a very strong Christian, and my faith is what has made me successful and helped me to gain favor from those who have blessed me over the years. I have achievements, successes and leadership abilities that derive from self-confidence not to be confused with arrogance in my abilities as a leader, a husband, and a humble servant of God. I also have a very quirky and jolly nature and I dont let impressions or embarrassment hold me back from being myself, laughing attelling dumb jokes, or being a little off center.

If I described myself in one word it would be technology. Like technology I can be very smart, useful, and hard working. But on the other hand I can also be very quirky, buggy, and frustrating if you dont understand me.

I have been very blessed with many opportunities and successes in my life, to grow, learn and expand my potential. I will openly state that I am a Christian. Not to be confused with a religious freak Im not one of the superficial, mumbo-jumbo, Im-going-to-scare-you-into-believing types. Put simply, I believe that God sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and that the Bible is our one constant. I dont listen to society, leaders, or all too many churches.. but mainly Gods word, which is the rock that Christians can stand strong upon. I have a great amount of love and compassion for people and a genuine interest in helping and teaching others. I attend Mount Hope Church in Lansing, MI on a regular basis, as well as volunteer there.

As far as interests go, I love computers. I play on them VERY often, doing anything from software development, to hardware building and modding, also including web design, troubleshooting, and tweaking operating systems and programs. To stay fit I skateboard, climb, and swim, and love doing them in that order.
Where I Work

My role at Chosen is a very broad and complex position. Not only am I a web developer at Chosen but I am also responsible as a project manager of the web development team, User Interface Expert UIX, programmer, graphic designer, print designer, and Expert in Search Engine Optimization SEO.
My Experience

I am very proficient in Front-End Web Development with over 3 years experience, as well as moderate skills in Back-End Web Development with custom created Content Management Systems. I also have 4 years experience in graphic design, including 2 years at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI

Where I currently stand in skill level 10 being the highestexpert:

* 9 HTMLXHTML
* 9 CSS
* 9 JavaScript
* 9 AJAX JS Libraries
* 8 PHP
* 2 Ruby on Rails
* 6 MySQL
* 5 FLEX Flash Actionscript

* 9 Photoshop
* 9 Illustrator
* 7 InDesign
* 7 Fireworks

I always say Im one step under expert because theres always room to learn more or expand more on what you already know. If I didnt say so already, I happen to LOVE my job and creating websites for a living. Its both fun and challenging and I cant think of a career i would enjoy more!