Frontend development & UI design services in Chicago
Senior-level frontend work without the agency overhead. I plug into your team or run the whole build: design systems, marketing sites, web apps, and the performance work that keeps them fast.
SHEET 02-A · SERVICES INDEX · SURVEYED 2006-2026
02Field services
Four disciplines, surveyed in detail
Most projects draw on more than one. Every engagement ships with written documentation and accessible markup.
SVC-01
Frontend development
React, TypeScript, Eleventy (a static site generator), or dependency-free vanilla JavaScript: whatever the job calls for. Pixel-perfect builds from Figma, maintainable component architecture, fast JAMstack and static sites, and CMS integration across Shopify, WordPress, and headless platforms. Handoff is code your team can run.
What you get
Production-ready components
Semantic, accessible markup
Responsive down to the smallest screens
Documentation your team can run with
No framework lock-in you didn't choose
SVC-02
UI & design systems
Figma-to-production design systems: tokens, component libraries, and the governance that keeps a system coherent long after launch, from a one-product startup to an enterprise portfolio.
Field-verifiedI led a design system that covers 150+ commercial sites.
What you get
Token architecture
Figma libraries wired to code
Contribution and governance docs
Migration plans for existing sites
Adoption support for dev teams
SVC-03
Web animation
GSAP, ScrollTrigger, canvas, and SVG: motion that guides attention and respects the frame budget.
Field-verifiedI literally wrote the book on web animation: jQuery 2.0 Animation Techniques (Packt, 2013).
What you get
Hero and scroll animations that don't wreck performance
prefers-reduced-motion fallbacks by default
60fps discipline
Animation systems your team can extend
SVC-04
Performance & accessibility
Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse CI, and WCAG 2 audits. Numbers measured before and after the work.
Field-verifiedWeb Lead for WebPerf at Universe: automated WebPageTest, Playwright visual regression, and Metabase dashboards.
What you get
Core Web Vitals audits with prioritized fixes
Accessibility audits mapped to WCAG criteria
Performance budgets with CI enforcement
03Route plan
How a project runs
The same four legs every time, mapped up front, so you always know where the project stands.
01
Survey
A scoping call and a written estimate. You know the cost and the timeline up front.
02
Chart
Design review, technical plan, and milestones. The route is agreed before the build begins.
03
Build
Weekly demos and a staging URL from day one. You watch every change land on it.
04
Verify
A Lighthouse and WCAG pass, handoff docs, and 30 days of post-launch support.
04Engagement models
Three ways to work together
No prices on a webpage. Every project gets scoped first: pick the shape that fits, and we'll chart the rest on a call.
MODE-A
Project
Fixed scope, fixed quote. You approve the estimate before kickoff.
Home base is Buffalo Grove, Illinois. I work with companies across Chicago, the North Shore, and the Northwest suburbs (Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Northbrook, Deerfield, and Vernon Hills), on-site or hybrid, whatever the engagement needs. Outside Chicagoland, I've spent twenty years shipping with distributed teams, so remote works from anywhere.
If you need a frontend developer in Arlington Heights or Schaumburg, I'm a short drive away and happy to work on-site for kickoffs and design reviews. Northbrook, Deerfield, and Vernon Hills get the same service, whether the project runs on-site or fully remote. In-person meetings tend to speed up feedback.
FIX 42.15°N / 87.96°W · DATUM NAD 83 · ON-SITE / HYBRID / REMOTE
06Field queries
Questions, answered
The things people ask before hiring a freelance frontend developer, answered straight.
Q-01What do you charge?
Pricing is project-based and set after a scoping call. The price is fixed and in writing before any work starts. In a client's words: "His rates are reasonable, particularly considering the quality of work, and his work ethic is beyond any I have seen. He takes challenges personally, and strives to find a solution where others have given up." (Connor Uffman, co-owner, My Southern Child)
Q-02Are you available now?
Yes, I'm taking on new freelance projects. Current lead time comes up in the first call.
Q-03Do you work remote?
Yes. 20 years of shipping with distributed teams. And since I'm in Chicagoland, face-to-face is on the table when it helps.
Q-04Do you do design too?
Yes. UI design and design systems, from Figma through production code, all done by one person.
Q-05Can you work with our existing codebase?
That's most of the job. Audits, refactors, and feature work in legacy code are all welcome.
Q-06Who do you usually work with?
Marketing teams, agencies that need senior frontend muscle, and startups without a frontend lead.
Q-07How much does a website redesign cost?
It depends on scope, but a marketing site redesign lands in a defined range once we've scoped it together. I've published the ranges I actually quote, by project type, on the blog, so you can budget before the first call.
Q-08Do you offer ongoing website maintenance?
Yes, as a monthly retainer: a reserved block of hours for updates, fixes, and small features, so nothing sits in a backlog. See the Retainer model above for how that works.
Q-09Should I hire a freelance developer or an agency?
It depends on the project. I've broken down the real tradeoffs (cost, speed, continuity) in a full comparison, but the short version: a freelancer wins on cost and direct access, an agency wins on bench depth for very large builds.
Q-10Do you handle SEO and Core Web Vitals?
Yes. Technical SEO and Core Web Vitals are part of the Performance & accessibility service above: structured data, crawlability, LCP/INP/CLS targets, and Lighthouse scores to back them.
07Trailhead
Let's build something fast.
Scoping calls are free. Tell me what you're building, and you'll get a written estimate with cost and timeline fixed first.