Digital Producer, Consultant & Entrepreneur / wolf@luecker.net
I have worked for 20 years in digital media, crossing several platforms, technologies and sectors in the process. From being one of the first web designers in a rapidly growing 'new' media agency in the mid-1990s, to starting up three successful production service agencies, I closely experienced the growth of the internet as a place of business, entertainment, education and culture. The latter two have always been closer to my heart, which is reflected in my client list and the projects I have contributed to over the years.
I feel at home in any stage of the interactive media production process - from consultancy, conception and strategy right through to art direction, technical management and hands-on design and development. I have managed production teams of 2 as comfortably as ones as big as 20, whether they were close-knit, in-house groups of colleagues or distributed teams of remote collaborators.
Although my personal background is more rooted in the artistic side, having been a professional musician and started my media career as a designer, working predominantly on technology-driven projects has given me a thorough understanding of the many different technical aspects of online media. Though not a programmer per se, I can 'read' code and fully understand the principles of technical architectures, OOP, frameworks, APIs etc.
My history of running start-up agencies provided me with the opportunity to work with a range of clients of varying sizes, sectors and business models. These include
I have a sound understanding and first-hand experience of all technical and creative aspects of digital media projects. I have art directed designers, artists and animators, as well as written functional and technical specifications for developers. Most of all I thrive on getting the best out of the client's ideas and the production team's skills and expertise.
I can see projects through from initial client contact and ideation to full delivery, using formal and less formal methods to produce outstanding results.
During 15 years of entrepreneurship, proactively seeking out and winning new business has been a major focus of my work.
I have many years experience of production across platforms and technologies, whether it is editing static or motion graphics, basic programming, data entry or even music technology. I like to know exactly what is involved in a technological solution.
Helped by my previous career as a performing and teaching musician, I enjoy sharing work, learning from and collaborating with my peers and learners of all ages - currently I am volunteering to run a Code Club at my daughter's primary school. I have spoken at various conferences and make it a priority to keep up with developments in technology and the creative industries.
A micro-business set up to provide interactive media services for a range of clients, with a mostly technical and educational focus. The company is fundamentally a consultancy as much as a production house, which consist of myself as business developer and project manager, and varying teams of hand-picked professionals to design and build the commissions.
Building on my strong client base from Ash Luecker, I expanded the business into new areas such as Mobile Learning, desktop applications and E-Learning.
A selection of recent projects is available at this address: http://www.luecker.net
2004 ~ Current
Ash Luecker
Interactive digital agency specialising in innovative applications, games and websites.
Ash Luecker was highly regarded as an agency with a focus on technical understanding and a strong development team, steeped in online gaming, as well as being outstanding creatively. Particularly for BBC Learning we produced a series of ground-breaking and successful learning tools and games, rewarded with the EMMA Interactive Award in 2002 for BBC History's World War One Movies.
We also ventured into Mobile and Interactive TV very early and built first Mobile Java games for BBC Bitesize and Universal Music. This lead to my personal involvement with Mobile Learning, speaking at MLearn and other conferences about this emerging field.
Ash Luecker also had continuing success with commercial gaming projects such as Carlton Interactive's Jamba brand, subsequently sold to Gala and turned into a fully interactive pay-to-play games site. The project launched Ash Luecker's reputation as one of the leading developers of games for the betting and gaming industry. The company continued successfully as Ash Gaming and was later acquired by Playtech.
2000 - 2004
NT Media
Small and specialised agency, building online games and websites.
Founded by three former Foresight developers, NT Media provided interactives for many high-profile sites, including the first Teletubbies games for BBC Learning, the BBC's first full Flash site (Science In Action), a fully animated 'Purple Ronnie' site for Vimto and many casual games for Carlton TV's entertainment sites Jamba (Gaming) and Popcorn (Film).
1997 - 2000
Foresight New Media
HTML, graphics and Flash production for this highly regarded agency, specialising in web sites for the Film/Entertainment sector. Clients included 20th Century Fox, Buena Vista, Disney Channel and Universal Pictures.
1996 - 1997
London
After studying at the Guildhall I continued my musical development and had the opportunity to play with many great artists at various venues, events and festivals in London and the rest of the UK. I also gave individual piano tuition and worked as a tutor on music workshops, seminars and groups (including two of the best known summer schools at the time, Wavendon Jazz Summer School and Glamorgan Jazz Summer School). I enjoy working with learners of many different ages and collaborating with diverse groups of people to achieve their creative goals.
1994 - 1996
NMK/University of Westminster
1997
Guildhall School Of Music And Drama
1993 - 1994
Universität Hamburg
1990 - 1993
I would rank Wolf as higher than almost any other supplier I have ever worked with, for his creative energy, inventive ideas, pragmatic approach to solving problems, project management and down-to-earth communication skills. He led the development on many of our more innovative products, ensuring that even the most unwieldy of technologies delivered a delightful user experience
Geoff Stead
Senior Director, Mobile Learning, Qualcomm
Wolf is very personable and easy to discuss ideas with, always able to explain clearly why something isn't going to work but always willing to do his best to achieve what the client wants. Great knowledge of the industry and an extensive background in education work.
Lawrence Chiles
Head of Design and Digital Media,
Royal Museums Greenwich
