Marcus Andersson

Swedish Hyper Island Mobile student, specialized in HTML(5) and Interaction design

I do like ICS, but iOS ain't shabby either :)

A short summary

I'm a 22 year old guy from Helsingborg in southern Sweden. I consider myself to be a calm and open-minded person that believe in my own ideas without running over people. One of my favorite things is problem solving which really sparked my interest in programming.

If the weather allows it, I'd love to play a round of golf or take a trip with my longboard. During those rainy days I'm fine with just chilling out with a video game or a movie.

After high school I started my own agency named Creative Youth and ran it until I began studying at Hyper Island. Just before Christmas I finished my internship at Makalu Interactive.

Skills & Knowledge

My primary interest and skill has always been on the front-end side of web-development. But recently I've also learned to appreciate programming and the challenges it brings. Over the years the years I've gradually transitioned from doing simple static websites to building CMS's and now finally towards making fully fledged web apps using AngularJS or just good old JavaScript.

I like to stay on top of things and I try my best to embrace new things such as CoffeeScript, Haml, AngularJS, HTML5/CSS3 etc. The constant flow of new ideas, techniques and so on is what keeps me excited about the web and it's future.

During my education from Hyper Island I specialized myself in the areas of mobile development and design, both in terms of native and web development. But my learnings from Hyper Island expand far beyond just that. They're about being a good and competent co-worker. They're about staying hungry and to motivate yourself and empowering others.

Just recently, during my internship at Makalu Interactive, I drastically improved my skills as a designer and how I look upon design and typography. I was also able to incorporate a more professional workflow and really sharpen up my programming skills.

Internship

Some highlights from my internship at Makalu Interactive in Marbella, Spain

A polished and user-friendly editing section for RaceSplitter

A very interactive investment calculator made with javascript and SVGs

About my internship

After graduating from Hyper Island I was blessed with the opportunity to join forces with the great people Makalu Interactive for half a year. At Makalu I spent my time doing both the front-end and back-end related work for several web applications. I did everything from the concept to the planning, design, markup and the programming of the product.

With the help of my great mentor Alex Bendiken and a ton of books I managed to vastly improve my skills and adapt to a more professional way of work. One of the areas where I progressed the most was in design & typography. I no longer design merely to make something beautiful. Instead I've learned to use design and typography to also aid the user and create better, cleaner interfaces.

Another area where I feel like I also improved a lot is programming. I've gone from being able to mostly add visual flair to my websites to making sites that make use of pretty complex javascript logic. I had a blast working with the awesome library AngularJS. AngularJS is made by Google and it enhances HTML to make it easier and more logical to create web applications.

Lastly, I've learned that the sun is unfairly biased towards Spain and that churros and other sweets makes the best breakfasts.

About Makalu Interactive

Makalu Interactive is a small but nimble crew located in the sunny Marbella, Spain. Together they produce great in-house applications for the iPhone and create solid web apps for high caliber brands such as Google, O'Reilly and Virgin America.

Samtala

A communication enhancement tool for people with Aphasia

Use the pre-made expressions or create your own

The Brief

We were given a mission to develop a rehabilitational tool for people with cognitive disabilities. We decided to focus on aphasia, a cognitive disability that drastically decreases one's ability speak.

The Idea

The current standard of rehabilitation of aphasics is to use a simple folder, which is a rather primitive and clunky thing. Not only is it slow and tedious to use, extending or customizing it takes a lot of time and effort. Our goal was to replace the folder with something more enjoyable, easy to use and customizable.

That's why we made Samtala. Samtala can best be described as an interactive folder that can be tailored to fit and assist any aphasic in their speaking. It features a vast library of expressions but also the ability to extend it on the go with the built in Camera. You can also use the built in tools such as the Drawing Board, Maps, Calculator or the Calendar to get your message across.

At the moment we're working on our first update in which we will incorporate some of the feedback we've collected so far. A simplified and streamlined iPhone version is being worked on and it should hit the shelves fairly soon.

Visit the site (Made by me)
Available on the
AppStore

Meer.li

A really great community for mobile designers, with a touch of Hyper Island

The Brief

We received no specific brief or client, instead this was a chance for us to develop an idea of our own.

The Idea

There are a lot of prominent mobile communities out there today. But they've all kind of derailed from their original purpose. Instead of showcasing a design in progress you show a small part of something complete. Often modified and blurred quite heavily. That's okay, I really like that too. But we felt the need for a site that could be incorporated in one's workflow, where you could receive instant feedback on things you're currently working on. Without having to worry about if that pixel at x:43 y:133 is razor sharp or not.

Oaks

Oaks helps parents keep track, capture and store memories

The Brief

We were given a rather open brief to create a concept that is based on solid research with an actual demand from the potential users.

The Idea

We started off by conducting quite a bit of research. We asked parents about their relations to technology, what they felt was lacking and conducted a few surveys. The question we asked ourselves was simply how can we make life easier for new parents? The solution had to be something mobile of course.

After a lot of idea generation we came up with Oaks. Oaks is an application that helps parents keep track of their babies first memories and steps. You are also able to share your golden moments with others or maybe just some relatives - you decide. After your baby turns one you'll have the opportunity to order a book featuring all the major events in your babies life so far.

Personal Projects

Some smaller things I've been working with during spare hours

The Sören Andersson site in it's responsive glory

SorenAndersson.com

This a blog that I recently built for my dad. He's currently working as an energy strategist at PEAB, one of Sweden's leading construction and engineering companies. The majority of the content will be related to sustainability and how we can adapt ourselves and others to a more environmental-friendly lifestyle.

Our goal was to create a simplistic and readable layout with a slight connection to the environment. Of course it had to be repsonsive as well. The blog is built upon the Skeleton CSS framework and is powered by WordPress

Visit the blog

Landskronakarnevalen

My mission was to create a simple but intuitive Android application for the event Landskronakarnevalen 2012. The event itself is a weekend where the inhabitants of Landskrona celebrate their hometown.

This application was my first attempt ever to create an application for real. It was a great learning experience and I think the result was over my own expectations, considering it was my first attempt. It's not perfect in any way, but it's a good start. And if I had to redo it again I would have plenty of ideas of how to make it even better.

Find the app on Google Play

Hello there, I'm Marcus

I just finished my education at Hyper Island and my internship as a Web Developer at Makalu Interactive in Spain. Keep scrolling to find out more about me!