Chris Free

Chris has been designing and building websites since 1998, and doing so professionally since 2006, when he graduated from Bradley University with a degree in Multimedia. As CEO, Chris focuses primarily on shaping Chromatic’s strategy, vision, and team culture. He practices a lead-by-example management style and believes strongly in transparency, both internally and externally.

Throughout Chris’ career he has worked across the stack — from the early days of designing pages in Photoshop, to contributing to open-source Drupal modules, and even configuring web servers with Ansible. More recently, he has begun writing apps for iOS as a way of keeping abreast of emerging technologies as well as scratching his own creative itch.

Chris has spoken publicly about the challenges in running a digital agency, keeping remote workers engaged, and on the values of networking in your career. In early 2020, he began coaching other business leaders in tech.

Outside of work, Chris is a proud Chicagoan, taco lover, BMW enthusiast, and avid CrossFitter. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica. Together they are raising their 5 year old daughter Anjali and are expecting the birth of their first son in December.

Skills

• UI/UX Design
• Web Performance Optimization
• Strategy & Ideation
• Marketing & Branding
• Business Development & Strategy
• Recruitment
• Culture & Team Cultivation
• Leadership & Guidance

Language & Software

• HTML
• CSS, Sass
• JavaScript
• PHP
• Swift
• iOS Development
• MySQL
• Drupal
• Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere, Lightroom
• Other static design tools: Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, Zeplin

Factoids

• Employee since ‘06, owner since ‘08
• Building websites since 1998
• Appearances: So You Want to Start a Digital Agency, Litera.tv: Keeping Remote Workers Engaged, Developing Up Podcast: Values of Networking
• Proud Chicagoan, taco lover, interested in cars, design, photography
• Fitness enthusiast