Youth In Focus: Brandon Lee

The development of ZILLO didn’t happen over night. ZILLO was brought to life through partnership and collaboration with the team at Wirral Met College. Key to bringing the project to life was Wirral Met College Student Brandon Lee. Brandon worked with us to help create the vision, concept and look of ZILLO. As part of our Youth In Focus series we spoke to Brandon about his time working on ZILLO and his passion for all things web development.

ZILLO: Hi Brandon, tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Brandon, I am an aspiring front end web developer. I have been studying computer science for around 5-6 years my passion and what I enjoy doing the most is web development.

ZILLO: What inspired you to take up web development?

So, several years ago at the beginning of my college education I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, I enjoyed computers growing up, but I didn’t expect it to be the path I would go down, I was unsure what I wanted to do, which I’m sure a lot of people can relate to. I always kept the mentality that I didn’t need to know what I wanted to do just be curious enough to try something new. So, I went with a computer science education in college because I like technology, then I took a module on web development and I fell in love with the way it worked, building something from lines of code, manipulating elements on a page to do something dynamic which I enjoy.

ZILLO: What are you working on now?

At the moment I’m currently doing my final year of my degree and so independent projects of mine are on hold, however I am in the process of developing a portfolio for myself that I can use in the future with work I’ve done shown from the past.

ZILLO: Why should other young people consider taking up a career in web development?

I’m still in the learning process of exploring web development and finding more things I enjoy about it, but I can offer some insight to my own experience. Web development is a fantastic growing industry that is only getting more and more relevant with the way we live our lives and the world we live in. I love art, how people can take nothing and build, draw, write something extraordinary from their own imagination and thoughts. Web development is how I create art, I use lines of code instead of paint brushes, but I enjoy building something out from the ground up and creating websites people would enjoy and use frequently. If you have a curious nature and enjoy a fast moving, dynamic environment to work in that also gives you a freedom to explore your own creativity, web development is for you.

ZILLO: How did you get involved with ZILLO?

I was a part of the level 5 computer science foundation degree course at Wirral Met College that was working closely with the Wirral council to create designs and prototype works for the website ZILLO. I was immediately hooked on the idea and worked on the design throughout my own assignment. Although I stopped working on the project after I ended my academic year, I still followed it and enjoyed how it turned out. It also allowed me and my colleagues who were involved, to experience how working with a real client would require open communication and interaction to produce a good working website.

ZILLO: What are your plans for the future?

I’m currently finishing my last year of education to acquire a degree in applied computing, and then I want to join the industry at an entry level position as a front-end developer. I would love to grow and get better at what I enjoy, improving my abilities and knowledge of web development.

ZILLO: Where can people find more about the work you’re doing?

At the moment I’m still in the process of developing my own portfolio, and so in the near future I will have my own space for people to see the projects I have done so far.

To find out more about the web development and computing courses available visit Wirral Met