Wave Web Design, a Berlin-based full-service web business, was founded by Rachael Page, a UK-born artist with expertise in UI/UX, design, marketing, and SEO. Rachael has worked for renowned advertising agencies and businesses, including IKEA, HSBC, ING, Rolls Royce, Caltex, and Vodafone. She runs her own web design company for small businesses and provides consulting services in business strategy, UX and UI design, marketing, and front-end programming. Rachael also serves as a UX mentor for students at Berlin’s Career Foundry, inspiring them with practical skills for the workplace.
Wave Web Design, a full-service web business situated in Berlin, was founded by Rachael Page. Rachael has a strong enthusiasm for the arts, and Wave Web Design is now flourishing thanks to her professional skills in UI/UX, Design, Marketing, and SEO. We cordially encourage you to discover more about Rachael’s career and personal past in this interview.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your background, and how did you get here?
I was born in the UK and currently live in Berlin. I’ve always loved painting and wanted to work in the creative industry. In addition to my expertise in UX, I also have skills in design, marketing, SEO, and other relevant fields like responsive front-end programming. Through my website Wave Web Design, I work for myself.
“With simple web design and the appropriate keywords, we help your business make waves so that your website is easily found by search engines.”
In the UK, I received a Bachelor of Engineering with Honors in Product Design. Since then (during the more than ten years prior to 2020), I have worked as a programmer, business analyst, graphic designer, web designer, and user experience consultant. I run my own Web design company for small businesses and provide consulting services in business strategy, UX and UI design, marketing (strategy, social media, Google Ads, Social Ads, video, and branding), as well as front-end programming for my customers.
I’ve worked for a variety of renowned advertising agencies and well-known businesses, mostly in Australia, including IKEA, HSBC, ING, Rolls Royce, Caltex, and Vodafone, as well as a number of prestigious advertising firms including M&C Saatchi, Ogilvy, The Monkeys, and BWM. I currently serve as a UX mentor for students taking UX courses at Berlin’s Career Foundry, and I like inspiring students and equipping them with knowledge and abilities that are applicable to the workplace.
I revamped the Sydney Universities website when I was living in Australia, adding a new database structure to accommodate the user experience insights I learned were necessary from user interviews. The project was quite successful, and a representative from the university gave a recommendation: “The user interviews, wireframes, and user testing materials that were produced surpassed expectations, and Sydney University was very happy with the work. I wholeheartedly endorse this.”
When and how did you introduce your business? Exists a compelling narrative here?
Since I started working full-time in 2020, I had to close down Artfuly.com, which I had launched in 2012. I gained a lot of knowledge through funding, developing, and managing a business, including website development, SEO, marketing, and all the potential pitfalls. Although I had to make a lot of personal financial and time sacrifices, it was ultimately a failure since I didn’t have a big enough marketing budget and direct sales of original work aren’t particularly scalable. The successful companies that followed after mine provide mass-produced art reproductions in addition to original works of art, as well as general interiors items or they collaborate with galleries rather than artists directly.
This is my second attempt at starting a company that provides design and marketing services. In 2020, I started Wave Web Design. I did this in Australia in the early 2000s while also running another side company as a personal trainer and working as a graphic artist for publications like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian. I liked how outdoor work and desk-based design coexisted in harmony.
Since that time, I’ve returned to Europe and traveled for two summers in my 6-foot campervan with my cat (Diva), who is no longer with us. I met my future husband while wintering at a 14th-century Swiss farmhouse on the coast of Lake Zurich. He is a Wandergeselle, and he and three partners have their own building company in Berlin. They routinely repair historical properties and have a great deal of knowledge with conventional construction methods.
On the website, the four collaborators made this suggestion. “Wave Web Design’s strategy was methodically crafted to meet our needs from the start. They managed to fulfill our need for a certain brand presentation on a very limited budget. Our main goal—structuring our internet presence to draw in as many business connections as possible—has been kept in mind. We were given clear explanations of the technological components of the project, and we are quite happy with the website. In the future, we will still work together with Wave Web Design.
Our campervan makes it easy for us to remain in the summer when I can work from “home” and his place of employment is far away.
I became aware that the world was finally prepared to welcome remote workers in October 2020, and I seized the chance to change my Berlin lifestyle to better suit my requirements, including flexibility and freedom from the commute and soul-crushing office cubicles. I now have clients in Colombia and Germany, where I spent two months each winter before. I lived in a high-end hostel and ran their social media and daily yoga classes from there.
El Rio’s advice “WWD established a marketing plan and followed it, which allowed us to raise our member base from 12,500 to 24,000 in just seven weeks! The high-quality content, outstanding hashtag research, and well-written pieces and segments expanded our reach—some postings reached 60% of those who weren’t already following us! Similar postings were also made for us by WWD on Facebook, with the proper adjustments (links and hashtags) for that platform. In order to post drone video on Instagram in return for cost-free, high-quality content, WWD formed relationships with regional tour operators. We were thrilled since WWD was excellent and attentive! There was also fast-motion work, photography, and video editing.
This website was built this year when I was working with the motorbike tour firm “Adrenalin Addicts” and a yoga retreats company. There are numerous people launching tourism-related businesses.
Statements of junkies to adrenaline “We have been collaborating with Rachael for a number of months with the goal of boosting our social media presence and followers as well as organic traffic to our website (Adrenaline Addicts Motorcycle Tour and Rentals, Colombia), and we are very happy with the progress we have made. She communicates clearly and shows us in straightforward words how her approach will help us and how we can support her efforts. Overall, a really detailed and professional service that I would strongly suggest to anybody!”
What do you think you would be doing if you didn’t have a full-service web business?
I would be working as a contract user experience consultant in Australia ($1000/day rates), but since I don’t speak German well enough for business in Germany, my possibilities are limited. Brexit has had a negative effect over the past three years as well, as many employers mistakenly believed that UK resumes were useless because the applicant might not be able to work in the EU (which is untrue; as part of the withdrawal agreement, I now have a five-year residence visa in Germany and am able to work and freelance in Berlin).
How can you keep working productively all day long?
I love using lists to stay organized, but they quickly grow out of control, so I use Asana to be as effective as possible. I can help organizations manage projects, teams, and responsibilities effectively as an Asana Pro. Additionally, Asana and other platforms, such marketing automation, offer many options to automate corporate activities. By incorporating automated procedures into the websites I create, I emphasize enhanced efficiency while educating businesses about these potential. As a result, entrepreneurs may concentrate on business growth rather than routine tasks and “busy work.”
What does “being successful” mean to you?
Success to me means having a decent live, which involves being well and relishing each day by, for instance, working with pleasant people and having an enjoyable job. freedom to choose a lifestyle, regular exercise, wholesome diet, and creative downtime.
In my opinion, a company is successful if it provides a valuable service that customers need and would pay for at the asking price without endangering the environment.
What do you like to do for fun while not working?
In addition to my regular jogging, yoga, and cycling, I enjoy things like learning quad rollerskating this year. Travel – I’d like to see much more of Latin America and I love Colombia’s Caribbean Coast. Anything artistic, including writing blogs, watercolor painting, designing T-shirts, and spending free time watching movies, listening to podcasts (my current favorite is “Stuff you should know”), and reading non-fiction. I’m watching the fourth season of The X Files right now since I love science fiction. Bladerunner is my favorite movie, while The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is my favorite book.
What advice do you have for a developer or business novice?
If you want to operate a successful business or produce high-quality products, learn “Design Thinking” inside and out. Include guidelines for doing efficient user research. Pay attention to user needs and offer scalable, valuable content. Although a great team with expertise in areas like legal, fund-raising, technical, and marketing is required for initiatives, these are the basic competencies.
For more information:
You can check my website or contact me on LinkedIn
We bring you exclusive interviews with leading experts in the fields of web development, web design, and SEO. Discover the unique stories of these individuals who have transformed their passion into remarkable achievements. Our team thoughtfully gather inspiring stories from across the internet, aiming to spark your creativity and engage your interest through our closely monitored case studies. You can find other inspiring case studies here.
