How Blue Expanded His Portfolio with Skilled-Volunteering Projects| Swire Trust Go-Givers of 2021

Together with Time Auction, the Swire Trust Go-Givers Program encourages skilled volunteers for Swire Trust NGOs partners from 2020 to 2022. 10 outstanding volunteers will be selected annually as the “Swire Trust Go-Givers of the Year” with special rewards & recognition. Meet our 10 Go-Givers of 2021!

Meet Blue!

Blue was a full-time graphic designer for 8 years, creating visuals for several magazines. Following his passion for web design, Blue then decided to quit his full-time job and become a freelance UX Designer and WordPress Developer three years ago. Building a portfolio from scratch could be scary, but with skilled-volunteering, he has proved himself to be an expert in web design!

In the past, only secondary school memories would spring into his mind when talking about volunteering. Through overcoming hardship and adversity in life, Blue wanted to offer his help to people in need. Through Linkedin, Blue discovered Time Auction and the opportunities available. Following this, he decided to take his first step and registered to become one of our volunteers!

Starting out as a novice in WordPress design & development, Blue wanted to polish his skills and expand his portfolio. Upon scrolling through the projects available, he applied for several WordPress development projects and instantly matched with us!

Adding Interesting Projects to his Portfolio

Blue first contributed as Time Auction’s WordPress Blog Designer & Developer over the course of three months, responsible for creating our new blog (blog.timeauction.org) and migrating the existing content from our Medium blog, over to the new site. 

“Creating a blog might seem easy, but a lot goes into it actually. From data translation to typography to the placement of buttons - every detail matters.” 

We have to say, Blue has far exceeded our expectations! For each of our objectives, he went above and beyond in brainstorming the features and layout we need, and created a user-friendly, on-brand, website. 

After volunteering with us, Blue went on to volunteer his web development skills for other organizations, including the Sensational Foundation, helping to create an accessible website that is usable to all users irrespective of their situation or abilities (https://pdnhk.org). 

He reflects that “it was such an interesting and fulfilling experience for me, as it offered the opportunity to learn something new about UX design!” As a UX designer, it is important to build empathy and install an inclusive design mentality to celebrate accessibility when designing a website, and this project offered that exact opportunity.

“For example, the website has to work with screen readers and screen magnifiers for the visually impaired; making buttons large enough for easy clicking, for the physically impaired etc.”

Congratulations on Blue’s Well-Deserved Recognition!

"As a resource-constrained charity, we cannot emphasize more the importance of his contribution and professional services for this pro-bono project. Blue is a thoughtful, efficient and detail-oriented Designer and Developer, who has demonstrated to be a trusted team member with creative approaches to achieve the objectives."

— Fion Leung, Time Auction

When it comes to being selected as one of the Go-Givers of 2021, Blue was both happy and shocked at the same time-“to be honest, I didn’t even contribute that many hours!”As humble as he is talented, Blue is a dedicated volunteer, who deserves recognition for his work!

Blue encourages people who want to upskill to apply for skilled-volunteering projects - you’ll hone in your skills while contributing to a cause you care about, gaining invaluable experience in your field of expertise. Especially if you are making a career change, it can help you build and expand a portfolio, which you can share with future clients and employers. Often, you’re given opportunities to experiment with your newfound skills in the projects, and possibly reach new horizons!

Thank you so much to Blue for contributing 85 volunteer hours at Time Auction and more to come!

To see details of the Swire Trust Go-Givers Program and support their NGOs partners, head over to Time Auction website.

Interviewed & written by Leo Chick | Edited by Emma Lascelles