Spicy Web Designer Interview with Toby Powell

Toby Powell is a web designer from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. He made the transition from print to web design nearly 18 months ago but Toby has been designing websites for about 6 years now. He studied at the London College of Printing (now called “the London College of Communication”). He also dabbles in 3D design using 4D Cinema to craft some amazing visual design that he also aims to incorporate into his web and print design work.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I started playing around with flash while studying typography at college. I loved  idea of and someone  exploring, navigating and interacting with my design.  For 2 years while working as a print designer, I continued playing with flash and learning XHTML and CSS from books, taking on the odd freelance web job whenever and wherever I could get them.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I finally managed to make the transition from print designer to web designer about 18 months ago, I got my first real web design role in a small web agency. But I’ve actually been designing websites I’d say from around my second year in college,  even though my course was 100% print based, i managed to slip a website layout into my final year project… so about 6 years in total.

3. What are the biggest challenges that you face in web design currently?

For me personally, it’s trying to keep up with the technology, one minute I’ll be thinking… should learning PHP, or should I learn Actionscript 3.  I think I’m my own worst enemy.

4. Do you code on any of your web design projects? And if so, do you consider yourself a “Front-End Coder”? Why or Why Not?

Yes, I code all my projects by hand myself, so I guess that makes me a front end coder. I think it’s a really satisfying process to go through the whole process from thumbnail sketches, Photoshop comps and then putting it all together in XHTML and CSS. I’m a bit of a control freak too, so by doing it myself ensures I get it the way i want it and to the level I want it.

5. Where did you go to school and has it helped you become a better web designer?

I studied at The London College of Printing (now called The London College of Communication)
Has it helped me become a better web designer? Yes I think so… Yes in the fact the tutors on my course really cared and were really passionate about typography which i think in turn rubbed off on the students. I was lucky I had a few good tutors. So I try to apply what I learned at college to my web designs.

6. Since you first started how has the web design industry changed? Has it changed for the better? If so, how? If not, please explain?

In my short web design career, I think it has changed for the better. When i first started out, web designers hadn’t long moved away from table based layouts. I’m one of the lucky ones, I just missed the days of table based layout, so picked up some good habits early on, rather than having to relearn the way i coded and approached a design. Also over the past few years a lot print design fundamentals have moved onto the web – grid based designs and more attention to typographic detail and that can only be a good thing.

7. What are your favorite tools to use when designing a website? Why are they your favorite tools?

Favorite tools, that’s easy. Pencils and paper at the beginning, then Photoshop, it’s such a huge program, with every tool you could want for web production. I experimented with Fireworks for a bit, but found I had a better work flow in Photoshop. Then I jump into Coda. I’ve been using coda for about 9 or 10 months now and i love it. It’s such a nice environment to work in, it does everything. You can write all your XHTML in one window and in a split window write your CSS and preview and upload all your files all within the one package. I know Dreamweaver does the same, but i feel the layout is a bit cluttered and more than I need. Coda is clean, functional and beautiful… I’m hooked 100%, I can’t recommend it enough. Then Firebug plug-in for FireFox, fantastic tool for web developers, I don’t know how i managed before without it.

8. I see on your website that you do a good deal of 3D production work.  How has this skill made you a better designer all around?

To make a convincing model, you really need to give a lot of time and attention to detail, it’s that extra detail that will really bring your model to life and make it feel convincing and solid, and you also need to have a lot of patience. I try to carry this attention to detail and patience through to my design work, I rarely get things right first time around and can spend a lot of time moving things around, adding texture and details etc.  The other thing I try to carry across from my 3d work is to establish a good work flow.