Spicy Web Designer Interview with Rhiannon Cunag of 21 Ruby Lane

Rhiannon Cunag is an illustrator and web designer and is one half of the team at 21 Ruby Lane who lives in Fountain Hills, Arizona in the United States. She graduated from the Ringling College of Art in 2005 and Design in Sarasota, Florida where she gained a strong foothold in the sound principles of design and illustration that has served her well in her career to date. She started designing for the web back on college and has incorporated the web into her designs ever since.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I’m an illustrator and designer by trade, but I’ve always enjoyed the internet and made my own websites for my portfolio. I had a good many friends who needed help making websites for their portfolio, so they always came to me. I devised a personal project that required a website that was a bit out of my technical realm and sought out the help of a professional and found Valerie. We worked so well together that I proposed we team up and start a web design business. This gave me the opportunity to work in the areas I was more comfortable in, such as design, marketing, and even face time with clients. And for Valerie, it allows her to expand her skills as a coder.

2. When did you start designing websites?

In college, so in my twenties.

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

Competition! Lol, actually I’d say that the biggest challenge is how the internet is constantly changing, it’s important to be able to keep up with all the different browsers, their different versions, etc. As well as all the different uses that the internet has – once upon a time, the internet was just about simply relaying information, usually in one form, now it’s developed into several different forms, forums, blogging, social networking, etc. The internet is seen as a business tool.

4. Why do you refer to yourself as a Front-end developer over calling yourself a web designer?

Is it a way to brand yourself to your clients? I don’t think we actually go by a particular label – names, though they may have meaning, are just fancy talk in my opinion. Though I will say that for me, with my background in visual arts, I’ve always felt that the way a website looks is the first impression anyone is going to receive. Functionality is absolutely important, and does not take a back seat. But I think looks are what set you apart – when your audience visits your website, you want them to be able to say this “looks” like a professional, and reliable website, whether you’re selling books, clothing, or just information. Next comes the user experience, how everything flows, how easy it is to maneuver through the site.

5. Where did you go to school and has it helped you become a better web designer/front-end developer?

I attended Ringling College of Art and Design, and in terms of graphic design and illustration, yes, I would say that the education I received there was extremely important for getting me to where I am today. Valerie attended Ivy Tech, a CC in Indiana, and she would say it did not really contribute to getting her to this point. She is mostly self-taught, which shows her passion for web design. She has completely immersed herself in it.

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?

Probably the switch from table-based layouts to CSS, which has been ongoing for the past 5 or 6 years. So we’ve seen some of that transition.  I don’t think anyone would disagree that we are much better off with CSS!

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

For the design aspect, I love to use Illustrator, I’m not a big Photoshop fan, I love clean and simple vector graphics. For developing websites, Firebug (FF add-on) – for easy troubleshooting for any CSS issues, and also test changes in real time before changing the code.

8. Where did the idea for 21 Ruby Lane and how do you guys currently divide the work?  I see that you are more graphic design oriented while Valerie has more of a development background?

The name? Lol, I liked numbers and Valerie liked colors, so we both picked two we liked and put it together. We liked how it sounded like an address. I then built our first website to match that idea, as if the viewer was looking into a storefront (you can see 21RL VER1 http://original.21rubylane.com/).  I concentrate on all the visual design aspects, the look and layout of a site. I also work with clients one on one, discussing their project needs. Valerie concentrates on all the technical aspects; I can just hand a site design to her and she gives it functionality.

9. What do you think are the benefits of working with a smaller organization such as yours?

As a small business, and as a freelancer, I find that it’s easy to come across many people who want to take advantage of you. For me, creating 21RL was about bringing my personal sense of aesthetics, as well as my desire to help bring to small businesses the opportunity to work with people who understand what it’s like to be a startup and to be a small fish in a big pond (web and graphic design is an extremely competitive field) who will bring their vision to life and be there every step as their business grows. And being a duo, we are able to concentrate and work along side the clients better than a large company divying up the work. We can give them a unique website, not something templated, that really speaks their voice, and has their personality. And on a personal level, I like to think that I really do care about the success of their business, giving them unique and great design will hopefully help them achieve that success.