About

About Timeshifting

Timeshifting Interactive is a small-but-energetic web development firm based in Hamilton, New Zealand, formed in 2003. We know what we’re best at, so we specialise in front-end coding and user experience (UX). We work with individuals, companies and agencies to produce outstanding web projects.

Why ‘timeshifting’? It’s a term that’s been around for a while now, and it seemed an apt description of today’s internet, media consumed to your schedule, and a comment on today’s busy society. (It also helped that the domain name was available).

Who Are We

Timeshifting is run by director Matt Gifford and a small team of developers and designers. We collaborate on many projects with other design firms and agencies, and also with Matt’s partner's firm, Butterfly Copywriting.

Matt Gifford

I come from a design, photography and IT background, having worked as a systems engineer and then in graphic design, and as a pre-press specialist. Having skills in many fields has its advantages: I’m a programmer who notices when an element is one pixel out of alignment, and a designer who can visualise how the UI would work in code. I’m all about the attention to detail.

I’ve done front-end coding since 1997, and with a strong understanding of web technologies I’ve worked on successful projects for clients like Cadbury, IKEA, Best Buy and Unilever. I like working with people to build big things, the creativity of ordered chaos and the beauty of well-crafted code.

All the writing, photographs, design and code on this site are my own work. My technical skills include Adobe Creative Suite (I’ve been a Photoshop Certified Expert since 1998), HTML/CSS3, all major JavaScript libraries, PHP, MySQL and Zend Framework, and a strong knowledge of design patterns and best practices.

Information design excites me, and I like drawing things too. I don’t take life too seriously and believe you have to like what you do and the people you work with, and care about the world you live in.

Outside work I race sprint- and standard-distance triathlon (I like to call it a hobby, my partner prefers obsession), and I like cycling, snowboarding and skiing, and giving new things a go. I also have an enthusiasm for organic food and seasonal eating, DIY and micro power-generation. One day, I dream of growing fruiting banana trees.

Eliot the Office Cat

Our usability testing extraordinaire, he presses all the keys on the keyboard that normal users do not—usually when he's asked not to!

Cats are always watching you...