Spicy Web Designer Interview with Nilarian Motallebi

Niloufar Motallebi (Nilarian) is a web designer from Tehran in Iran. She has been designing websites for the past 6 years since about 2002 and before that she was involved in software engineering. She has crafted some amazing websites using W3C standards like XHTML, CSS, XML and other web technologies like AJAX and PHP.

1. How did you first get involved designing websites?

There had been always a passion of design in me since I was a child, but I also found a deep interest in computer technology when I was 12 years old which lead me to become a software engineer. Through the University I was introduced to web design by a great master who opened an enjoyable and exciting door in industry to me. Since then I made sure Web design is for me to cover my enthusiasm for both creative design and computer tech and after 6 years, I know I’m in the right path.

2. When did you design your first website?

It was exactly 6 years ago in 2002 when I designed my first web site after learning flash and action script which immediately brought me a good project from a good computer company that time.

3. What technologies could you NOT live without on a daily basis in your career as a web/graphic designer?

W3C standards like XHTML, CSS, XML and other technologies such as Ajax and PHP. My RSS reader to stay tuned with what’s going on around the web industry. WordPress is my favorite blogging platform. Beside these I would like to add I also find so much difficulty to create what I’m looking for without the Adobe Creative Suite and the music!

4. Would you say that your formal education has helped you become a better web designer? And why or why not?

Yes, it did help but I can say it helped me just 20% and the other 80% to improve my design abilities and skills had been my self-taught using web design online resources and tutorials, DVDs, magazines, etc. Because formal education didn’t cover everything I needed to become an up-to-date and skillful web designer. In the other words it was all about the basics as my start point.

5. How long have you been doing freelance web design? Is it your full-time job or do you currently moonlight as a freelance web designer?

At the beginning of my professional career in 2003, I started actually as a freelance web designer for more than 2 years, and then I joined a company as a fulltime senior web designer in 2005 which took me 2.5 years and for now it’s again for 7 months which I have back to freelance world which I feel more comfortable with after testing fulltime employment. However I have to add that they both (fulltime working vs. freelancing) have their own up and downs.

6. What do you want a potential client to know about you and your business if they were going to hire you?

The most important thing is that I’m truly passionate about what I’m doing which leads me to cover the client’s need with more than they just expect and taking care of every detail within the project to make sure it would deliver at highest quality. The other point is that I’m also so precise about the deadlines.

7. What is the most challenging part of being a web designer to you?

For me staying up-to-date as a non-stop activity is the most challenging yet enjoyable part of it. Web design is a collection of functionality and beauty to create better communication with the users. So to be successful in the web industry, you have to always stay tuned with the on-going and coming trends and technologies.