Matt Webb is a web designer from Sydney Australia. After starting as a mechanic (because he loved taking things apart and putting them together) he decided that it was time to do something creative so he went back to college, he felt In love with flash and got a job as a junior web design and the rest is history.

1. How did you first get into web design?

Well I always loved Art at school, I knew I wanted to do something creative but I wasn’t sure what until my Art teacher told me about the world of Graphic Design. After year 12 I ended up as an apprentice mechanic funnily enough, as I also loved cars and the technical side of pulling things apart and putting them back together and making them go faster however it was never going to be permanent and it wasn’t long before I started looking at becoming a designer. I Studied Graphic Design at Shillington College in Sydney and ended up working in their in house studio working on print based projects. After a while I discovered flash and my eyes were opened to the world of web design – a mix of design and a technical aspect which quenched the same thirst that lead me to being a mechanic… I love figuring out how to build things from a design I have put together. I became restless with print design and found myself animating stuff in Flash 4 in my lunch hour and not long after I was given the push I needed and took a job as a junior web designer with K*Grind.

2. Where do you find your creative fuel that helps you design your web design projects?

I think the answer to that is technology. As things progress and get better and better, it drives me to want to take advantage of whatever that new technology is available to complement and enhance the interactivity of my design.

3. Do you usually work with other freelance web designers on web design projects?

I’ve actually just started a Design Company called The Squad (www.thesquad.com.au) with a good friend of mine who is a great Print designer. So I don’t really “Freelance” as such anymore however we do work with freelancers all the time! There has been plenty of work to go around.

4. I see that you’ve worked for the likes of Sony, Volvo and other large organizations? Do you find that there are different requests and direction on larger projects like this and how do you deal with it?

Well every project has different objectives, whether or not the company is large or small and I always deal with the project differently depending on what the objectives are. The only difference is, the larger companies can sometimes take longer to get feedback to you due to their size and approval process.

5. How do you usually price your projects and what kind of details do you like to collect about a project before you give a quote to a potential client?

For most jobs we quote on a project basis. But also have base hourly rates for different things as a basis. We extract as much information as humanly possible from the clients before quoting on a project!

6. You say that you are interested in photography (on your web site); do you currently do any photography?

Unfortunately photography is a hobby and when you start your own business, you don’t get much time for anything else. So I haven’t really been taking as many photos as I would like

7. How does your education in graphic design help you when you are designing websites?

It was the foundation of my career. The same as any… I wouldn’t want a doctor to operate on me if he didn’t have a good education.

8. Do you currently live in Sydney Australia? And do you prefer working with local clients or does that matter?

Yep – I live in Sydney and it really doesn’t matter if they are local or international. Although, it’s always nice to have a face to face meeting at the beginning of a project, there is never any confusion that way.

More about this Web Designer

URL: MattWebb.com.au

Email/Contact: hello@mattwebb.com.au