I’ve always been fascinated by how people think, communicate and understand the world around them. Long before websites became part of my life, I was reading about psychology and human behaviour, while also spending hours drawing and painting with my grandmother. She was a poet and painter, and I’ve always been proud of her.

Choosing to study graphic design felt like the natural next step. I went on to study at Lycée Corvisart in Paris, where I learnt the principles of visual communication.

Websites came later, almost by accident. I joined a marketing company in an administrative role, but after teaching myself ASP and developing an internal client management system, I found myself moving into web development. It wasn’t something I’d planned, but it quickly became the career I loved.

Over the last 25 years, I’ve worked with businesses, charities and organisations with very different goals and audiences. One thing I’ve learnt is that the website itself is only part of the job.

The real challenge is understanding the people it’s for. What are they looking for? Why are they here? What matters to them? Once that’s clear, decisions about content, structure and design become much easier.

One client came to me wanting a website for her “computer lessons for seniors”. But that wasn’t really what her clients were looking for. They wanted to stay independent, keep in touch with their family and feel more confident using everyday technology. The lessons were simply how she helped them achieve that. Once we looked at the business from that perspective, the message became much clearer.

The same is true of every project. The website isn’t the starting point. The people using it are.

My interest in psychology has turned out to be far more useful than I ever imagined. Combined with empathy, it’s influenced the way I approach every project, helping me understand not just the business, but the people it’s trying to reach

Finally, I’m French, I love England, I have three cats, and if you do get an email from me at 5 am, there is nothing to worry about. Your website is fine. I’ve just been up since 4.