Origins

Revised: 02/02/2024

What's in a name?

Ishyamo (“Ish-ya-mo”) is just the name of the website and is entirely fabricated, fused from two greek words which I've since forgotten, and has no connection to Greeks or Greece!
Honestly, I just like how the name sounds; it is as simple as that.

Conceptually, 'ishyamo' was only a name for an undecided personal project back in 2014. After researching that it wasn't a name already used elsewhere; I registered the domain name, and well, then the World moved on with far more serious things and ishyamo got buried.

Who is writing this though?

By the way, my name is Matt, and I'm writing this to you in the first person because that's what I do (and writing in the third person is just really odd most of the time).
Unless stated otherwise, all the content on this site is written by me alone.

Former Map Professional and User-focused champion

Until December 2023, I supplied detailed, large-scale Ordnance Survey mapping to customers, and I also provided technical support for my employer's map system as the main helpdesk/support contact. I've also been directly involved with work on designing two map systems, and heavily revising another existing system too. Go back far enough, and you will also find I have an BSc.Honours degree in 'Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)' ...but that was a very long time ago. I developed numerous skills with my work, and those are directly transferable to other job roles.

Outside of work I have a strong interest in web design and used to be quite active in the Web Standards community at one point in time. More recently, I've gained some novice skills with web development to improve my skillset and gain more knowledge about the technical aspects of modern websites. My focus for web design was firmly built around the craft of design, but more than that, I care about designing for users and their needs, after all, I'd been supporting and empathising with users for over 18 years ...this led me to User Experience (UX) design.

Fast forward to today, and I will use the 'ishyamo' site to detail mostly UX-related content, when possible.

I'm definitely a UX novice in many ways, and it's unclear if that's where I'll end up, but if you want to help me get a UX role, or chat about anything, please email me at matt@ishyamo.com