Kat Terek – Creative Engineer

Senior Creative Engineer


Creative Technologist • Front-End Fairy • Team Lead

Visionary creative and engineer with over 10 years’ experience at the edge of innovation — always a few steps ahead of the curve. Former senior front-end engineer turned multidisciplinary creative director, fluent in systems thinking, emergent technologies and visual storytelling. Founder of Spores magazine, documenting the pulse of London’s neo-psychedelic underground. Known for fusing art, code and narrative into immersive, future-forward experiences that feel inevitable in hindsight. Ready to join Phantom to help shape what’s next—before the rest catch on.

SELECTED PROJECTS

This section describes the key features briefly.

Brook House Films

Leading the design and development of Brook House Films’ new website — a work-in-progress project built on WordPress. I crafted a clean, cinematic design that reflects the company’s visual identity and growing portfolio.

The site is built for flexibility and future growth, with a structure that allows the team to independently update projects and press features. I also implemented custom analytics to track user journeys and engagement, laying the foundation for data-informed decisions. Final stages of development include content integration and performance optimisation.

TDM.Space

As Head of Marketing at TDM.Space, I led brand strategy and multi-channel campaigns that positioned the agency at the forefront of retail design and visual storytelling.

I developed a bold brand voice that resonated with luxury clients like Dior, Nike and lululemon. From rapid case studies to newsletter and LinkedIn content, I drove visibility and engagement.

I led B2B content strategy, crafting project write-ups, pitch decks and client materials aligned with our values of speed and precision. I implemented editorial systems for streamlined content delivery and worked closely with the founder to bridge creative production with business development.

The Kobras – Rabbit Hole (MV)

A hallucinatory dive into ritual and rebellion. Filmed with green screen cinematography. After Effects animation and custom expression scripting, the visuals blur myth and modernity—unfolding in a surreal, symbolic trance that channels The Kobras’ wild spirit.

Inspired by themes of transformation and primal archetypes, the video was designed as an animated descent through inner dimensions—drawing from underground comix, cult cinema and Dessy Baeva’s illustration style.

I led the project from storyboard to final composite. Procedural animation added fluidity, while green screen layering created a mythic, otherworldly feel. The result: a hypnotic visual world amplifying the band’s raw essence.

Strategy & Innovation

As a Software Engineer in NatWest’s Strategy & Innovation team, I contributed to the design and delivery of scalable digital solutions across multiple brands. My focus was building user-centred, forward-thinking web applications in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

I unified several projects under a shared monorepo, creating consistent UI libraries, theming systems and architecture patterns that improved dev velocity and enhanced code sharing across teams. I developed and maintained frontend features using React, Typescript, GraphQL, Node.js and Styled Components, while building flexible tools like a dynamic SVG Icon Library to streamline cross-platform styling.

Projects included a CMS-powered multi-brand marketing site, single sign-on frontends integrating with AWS Cognito and multi-step user flows that digitised legal guidance for SMEs. I also implemented analytics pipelines using Segment, GTM and GA to inform design decisions and identify upselling opportunities.

Beyond coding, I led retrospectives, mentored junior developers and regularly collaborated with stakeholders to align scalable solutions with business goals—driving product maturity through clean, modular, user-first code.

The Kobras – Stardust (MV)

Directed a psychedelic rock music video that captures The Kobras’ raw energy through bold, cinematic storytelling. Blending analogue grit with a stylised, high-contrast aesthetic, the piece explores themes of identity, spectacle and transformation.

Led the production from concept to final edit—managing a fast-moving shoot, tight budget and full crew coordination. Oversaw everything from visual planning to delivery. Achieved a vintage, textured feel entirely in post through editing and colour grading, enhancing the rhythm and visual punch to reflect the band’s theatrical presence and gritty glamour.

SPORES Magazine

Creative directed and produced the debut of SPORES Magazine — a psychedelic, community-led publication exploring mysticism, counterculture and experimental design.

Led a team of 10+ contributors across writing, photography, illustration and editorial. Developed a custom production system inspired by the Kabbalistic Tree of Life—balancing creative chaos with structured collaboration.

Oversaw every aspect of the launch: art direction, layout, editorial workflow, visual identity and budget. Built a cohesive voice and aesthetic across print, digital and social media—establishing SPORES as more than a magazine, but a living, breathing creative ecosystem.

Culminated in a high-impact London launch night featuring live performances, projection art, immersive visuals and an electric sense of community. Managed everything from logistics to creative programming, transforming the event into a portal for collective experience and cultural momentum.

EXPERIENCE

Creative Director / Interim CTO — Spores Magazine
(May 2024 – Present)

Worked with 10+ contributors across emerging creative scenes, influencing the evolving identity of psychedelia in the UK.

Designed and launched a cult print magazine amplifying London’s most visionary underground artists.

Developed editorial systems, visual identity and digital assets with future scalability in mind.

Freelance Creative & Web Designer (Jan 2023 – Present)

Rebuilt personal brand and practice with a cinematic Instagram re-entry and multiplatform presence.

Delivered standout digital campaigns and branded content for fashion and music clients ahead of trend cycles.

Led marketing, visual direction and web presence for TDM.Space, shaping their recognisable high-impact aesthetic.

Conceived and launched alt+ctrl+delete — an experimental creative agency concept rooted in rebellion and system redesign.

Directed visual content for music artists positioned to define the next wave (Common Goldfish, The Kobras).

Senior Front-End Engineer (2011 – 2022)

  • Enroly — Survived chaos, delivered under fire, recalibrated path toward creative tech.
  • NatWest Ventures — Embedded in Strategy & Innovation Lab; prototyped tech-driven platforms to future-proof SMEs in the banking ecosystem.
  • Mentor Digital, Path, Step — Front-end expert across multiple agency environments. Part of Natwest Ventures,
  • Cloud.IQ — Engineered CRM tools for brands like PayPal; enabled scalable campaign systems.
  • Imagination Technologies — Pioneer in video encoder integration (OMX + Android); shipped high-performance media experiences before mobile video became mainstream.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2025 CV

CORE SKILLS

The frameworks behind my vision and velocity.

Strategy & Innovation

Technical leadership / Mentorship / Interdisciplinary thinking
Driving vision-aligned engineering, nurturing talent and uniting product, design and code through systems thinking.

Front – End Frameworks

JavaScript / TypeScript / React / Hooks
Component-driven development with a focus on scalable UI architecture, accessibility and team handoff clarity.

Design & Creative Direction

Experience leading creative concepts across branding, editorial and digital spaces — guiding visual language and campaign execution.

Design Systems & Component Architecture

Storybook / Styled Components / Atomic Design / Figma integration
Building maintainable design systems that bridge dev and design workflows in fast-moving teams.

UI/UX Sensibility

Interaction logic / Micro-interactions / Product intuition
Translating complex requirements into clean, human-centered interfaces through iterative, feedback-led development.

Web Platforms & CMS

Gatsby / Strapi / WordPress / Netlify
End-to-end builds for scalable marketing sites and content platforms, with custom CMS setup and dynamic templating.

3D & motion

Premiere Pro / After Effects / Storyboarding / Expressions Language
Motion design for product, editorial and events — building storyboards, kinetic typography and cinematic assets.

DevOps & Automation Pipelines

GitHub Actions / CI/CD / Nx / Monorepo setups
Setting up streamlined engineering workflows that support velocity, testing and code reuse at scale.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

BEng Audio & Video Engineering — University of Glasgow (2010-2014)

An engineering foundation rooted in digital signal processing, visual computing and creative systems thinking.

Final Year Project: High Dynamic Range Optimization
A prescient exploration into visual fidelity, algorithmic tone reproduction and perception science—before HDR became an industry standard. The project fused technical analysis and creative application, using Python (NumPy, SciPy, PyQt) to develop a bilateral tone-mapping filter. It deepened my understanding of how machines see, process and reproduce imagery—skills I now apply in modern UI, motion and immersive experiences.

Design & Creative Technology Training

AI Prompt Engineering — Self-led training (2023–ongoing)

Deep experimentation with generative AI systems (ChatGPT, Midjourney, RunwayML), exploring their creative potential across design, code and content strategy. Integrated prompt engineering into my workflow for prototyping, ideation and pipeline automation.

Graphic Design (Short Course) — University of the Arts London, 2015

A foundational course in visual communication, typography and layout for both print and digital mediums. Gave me the language and instinct to collaborate deeply with designers and lead creative direction on brand and product campaigns.

Sound Engineering & Artist Development — Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, 2023em>

Two intensive summer schools focused on the full sonic pipeline: from mic technique and DAW mixing to performance strategy, brand development and industry navigation. Strengthened my intuition for rhythm, pacing and storytelling in visual work.

Artist Management Accelerator (Seminar with Dr. Mathew Knowles) — London College of Contemporary Music, 2023

A strategic seminar led by Beyoncé’s father and ex-manager, focusing on brand development, legacy building and multidisciplinary team leadership. Expanded my toolkit for working at the intersection of creativity, identity and long-term strategy.

Blog

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