Designer Interviews

Q. For those who are not familiar with you or your work, could you please tell us about your background and how you got into web design?

A. Sure! Well, it all started on a cold and windy night, with candles lit and a glass of wine… just kidding! I was in 5th grade when I first started building Web sites. I was so interested in why people had Web sites, that I figured I could make one too. After a couple of years, I started getting away from Angelfire Web sites and began learning more about CSS. This is when I started building more personal Web sites and got into making fan Web sites. The first fan Web site was for Beck, which I developed when I was a freshman in high school. My first client came when I was 15. It was a small business in my hometown of St.Charles, Illinois. It was an interesting experience for me because I wasn’t really fluent with design. After that, I took a couple of years off to focus on other things. Then, when I started college I got back into it a little bit. This was right around the “.com boom”, so I had a lot of people interested in my skill set. I attempted to start a small company, but got distracted with school, women, and enjoying weekends with friends and beers. Finally, I launched P41 Studios, which is my primary focus right now. Soon after, I began writing on Hell Yeah Dude. So, as you can see, design and the Internet have both always been in my life.

Q.Do you think formal design education is necessary?

A.Now that is a great question! In my opinion, it really depends on the person. With that said, I think that people learn better having a hands on approach. Don’t believe me? Well, lets say you want to bake some cookies. You don’t just learn by looking at the pictures and reading the instructions. You learn how to make the cookies when you start preparing the batter! If you want to learn design, nothing is stopping you.. There are a vast number of resources online and in books that can teach you how to apply design concepts. I learned from a book that I bought in 6th grade. In my case, I felt it would be of stronger value for me to go to school for business and learn about management. It helped me to begin building networks and also introduced me various types of people.

Q.How did you come with an idea of ‘Hell Yeah Dude’? When did the website launch?

A.In all honesty, I guess I just came across so many Web sites that didn’t care about quality. My approach to everything, from my business model at P41 Studios, to what I write on Hell Yeah Dude, is focused on helping others. I wanted real, intellectual content. I wanted to talk about the stuff that other people were not talking about. On my site, I want people to feel free to be who they are, and to enjoy the content that will hopefully spark interest and inspiration. It has really become a collaboration of all topics. The Web site launched in September of 2007, and the name Hell Yeah Dude was inspired by my college life.

Q.Why is ‘Hell Yeah Dude’ unique?

A.The topics can be about anything. Most people don’t realize that I am documenting my life in what I write. I feel that I not only convey interesting and inspiring content, but I also connect with the reader in a more personal way by drawing from my own experiences. I will never stop learning new things. The day that I stop learning, is when I will grow wings! The topics I choose to talk about are very relative to my day-to-day life. I worry that others may have only one goal: to drive traffic and get tons of advertising.

Q.The idea of ‘Hell Yeah Dude’ revolves around the Wikipedia thoughts and the Digg user theories. Could you speak more on how it’s going to be realized?

A.If I am understanding the question correctly, I think there are a couple of differences between what I talk about and what is developing as the Web. I talk about the theories of design. I talk about the “rules” that we should all keep in mind when creating, to better help ourselves develop successful products. But, the user-generated, social media driven life that most are seeking right now, is something that I think, will either cap off and die, or continue to grow into something bigger. We’ll see how things go.

Q.You are the only author on the website right now. Are there going to be more? What qualities does one need to possess in order to be a part of ‘Hell Yeah Dude’?

A.I am the only author at the moment, but I have had plenty of people want to write, which is great. Unfortunately, most only wrote one article or so and then stopped. Originally, the purpose of the Web site was to have all types of people documenting their journey in learning like I was. But, most people would rather start their own Web site than contribute to something larger. In this sense, I didn’t portray that enough on Hell Yeah Dude, and the idea failed. But now I realize that discussions are just as powerful as having other people write long articles. With that said, I have been concocting a new design for Hell Yeah Dude that will accommodate this new direction. In order to write, you just have to be passionate, that’s all!

Q.What are some of the topics you plan on talking about on Hell Yeah Dude in the nearest future?

A.I would love to do more speaking events, and also to expand on the brief topics I mention on Hell Yeah Dude. All of the articles do relate to each other. I would also love to talk more about business related topics. Also, about marketing strategies that actually work, which doesn’t include making an e-book on how to increase ROI on twitter…haha!

Q.Any current design trends you find intimidating? Why?

A.This is probably going to sound slightly arrogant, but I don’t actually find any design trends intimidating. I have been doing this for so long, that if you asked me to create a Web site that was just like another one, I would have no problem being able to do it. It’s all about setting your goal, and then building a strategy to reach it. In design, you don’t always have too many options, so it’s like all of the designers are picking up different brushes, but are painting on the same canvas. I do remember the first time I saw a “fat footer”, and that was something that really struck me as a good idea. Trends fade away, but good idea’s stay.

Q.As a web designer, what are the key principles you follow in your daily work?

A.In the words of my longboard skateboarding self… keep charging. To charge something means to put everything out there, and to go at it using all of your energy, without hesitation and without worry. Every day, I am working on building my skills and making them better. I don’t think I could ever stop improving myself. Every day I push for innovation. I follow grid layout, keep Web standards, and enjoy organizing CSS. So basically, my key principle is to continuously grow, improve, and move forward.

Q.Tell us about how your design process flows. What toolset do you use? Any special software or hardware?

A.No special software, the Adobe suite, and Coda. That’s about it. I spend time gathering inspiration and browsing industry driven Web sites for styles that I can steer away from. I guess you could say that my design process is mostly research, and then careful execution.

Q.What is good design to you? What’s the key to it?

A.I really appreciate a form of design, when I can go back to whatever it is at a later time, and still find something new and interesting about it. Something that really continues to amaze me time after time. Those designs are usually by people that are doing it because they love it, and are using their work as a way to express themselves.

Q.Where do you get inspiration?

A.All over the place. I browse a lot of graphic design Web sites. I also love to look through design books and magazines like “Print” and “EYE”. But, sometimes I will just look at an old book cover and become inspired. Inspiration is relative, and anything can spark it.

Q.What are a few websites and web-related books you admire and why?

A.I really admire the 37Signals blog, because Jason writes about intellectual topics, and gets a lot of really great discussions going. I think a lot of people would just think that the content wasn’t entertaining enough and leave. But, Signal vs. Noise has so many contributors. I love The Brilliance as well.

Q.Latest font that you like?

A.Definitely Lucida Grande and Avenir.

Q.Best music for you to listen while working?

A.For those mornings when I am looking for inspiration, it’s a lot of M83. Later in the day, I get my hips moving to some Notorious B.I.G. remixes on hypem.com

Q.Favorite drink during work?

A.I drink a lot of coffee and juice. The amount of which they are drank depends on the day.

Q.What advice would you give to beginning web designers?

A.Don’t quit. If you love it, you will naturally grow and develop in what you do. You can never put too much effort into something you have a passion for. Don’t stop learning new things. It doesn’t have to be radically different from what you do now. But, remember to acknowledge the fact that there is always room for improvement.