BIOGRAPHY

Hello! I am Matthew Freebairn and I will soon graduate with a Bachelor of Design Majoring in Interface Design and Minoring in Computer Science.

I have always had an interest in design which started for me when I was in Year 12 at high school. I enrolled in the Bachelor of Design at the University of Waikato soon after and have since gained valuable and essential skills in design. During my time at Waikato I found my areas of interest gravitate towards web design and UX design. Waikato was able to help me explore different areas of design with a client at a professional level through the internship program which I have turned into a freelance opportunity while I complete my studies.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Water is essential to humans, without water we would all be dead in as little as 48 hours. With water making up nearly 80% of each of us it is key to our survival. Water regulates our body temperature, our cells use it as a building material, our skin uses it to repair itself, and that is just a small drop in the ocean of how important water is to us all.

New Zealand gets the majority of its water from rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. So, with water being so important to us as humans, what are the conditions of lakes around New Zealand? In short, not good. My project is called Healthy Waters and it aims to help people better understand how their actions affect water quality.

Through Healthy Waters, I have created a website to help make people aware of how their actions affect water quality. The website includes visualizations containing data from different government organizations showing the effects of Nitrogen in our lakes.