Michael Dick talks about his success as a web designer and his CMS project called PureEdit

Michael Dick is a web designer and developer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the United States. He currently freelances for a number of clients outside of his day job at nclud, a creative web design agency. Michael originally started designing websites about 10 years ago and got his first paying gig in 2001. Even though he did not graduate from university he does not feel that this has hindered him from a successful career in web design.

Since he originally started designing websites he has gone on to master interface design techniques, front-end and back-end design and web standards practices. He has even built and designed a CMS called “PureEdit” recently to give web designers and developers full control over a website and still allow clients to make changes to the content on the website. Here is what Michael had to say about his experiences with web design, PureEdit and what great end web design takes so have a read…

1. How did you get started designing websites originally? When did you start designing websites professionally?

It was about 10 years ago that I was introduced to, hold your breath, FrontPage 98. My older brother and I were playing video games pretty hardcore. He suggested that we needed a website for our clan so he dabbled for a few days before realizing that it wasn’t his forte, thus handing it over to me. He continued to manage Clans/Teams and now does that professionally as I do web design professionally. You could say it was some sort of natural selection, I suppose.

I remember the first time I got paid making web sites, it was for only $100; I actually saved the envelope and had it framed. It was sometime around 2001 (I was around 15 years old); I had clans coming to me asking me to design their website when one of them offered to pay me to make theirs a priority.

2. Michael, I noticed that you bill yourself as a user interface designer and developer.  How does this differ from that of a traditional web designer in your mind?

When you’re designing a website you’re designing an interface, something people will use. The web is where I specialize and spend most of my time, but I also design apps for Mac/iPhone platforms. My art is designing something people will use and the psychology behind it…not just making something look pretty.

3. You designed a content management system called “PureEdit”.  What need does the application fit for clients interested in using it and where did the idea come from for it?

PureEdit is a unique twist on content management, it’s not meant to be an out-of-box solution, but it’s aimed at the hybrid designer/developer who wants full control over their website but need a system that will allow their client to still manage the content. It gives the designer/developer full control of the front design and coding.

The idea came from when I had developed a CMS that could be duplicated (copy/paste) pretty easily, all you had to do was code your input fields and a few lines of SQL. It was a pretty solid system until I wrote a way to automate it even further. That’s when I rebranded and called it PureEdit.

4. When it comes to software that you use to design, what are your favorite ones to use?

Photoshop is what I use to design in and TextMate is what I use to code in. I enjoy using Coda and Espresso, but it really comes down to simplicity for me.

5. What do you think great front-end web design takes to be successful?

Execution. Even if you have the most beautiful design, it’s a waste of a design if it’s not coded properly. Likewise, if you cannot correctly implement nice, semantic HTML/CSS code into a CMS, you’ve wasted the entire process.

6. What did you study in school and where did you go to school?  Has it helped you in your design career and if so then how has it helped?

I got about 3/4th of the way through my degree at a local university before I decided to take a leave of absence from it. I’m a very business oriented person and school was taking a back seat. I made the decision that “school will be school” five years from now, it won’t change…it will welcome me back if I ever need to go back. Opportunities won’t though. They’ll pass you up and never take a second look at you. It was the greatest decision I’ve ever made.