Mike Robinson is a web designer from Toronto, Ontario in Canada. He began designing websites using Microsoft Front Page and HTML for school projects in high school back in 1997. He didn’t begin to freelance until 2003 while at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario when he was studying Computer Science and later on he decided to study Web Development at Humber College. Because of his experiences in programming and design he feels this makes him a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the overall design of a website and the front-end coding needed to give it solid functionality.

1. How did you get started in web design?

In high school, I always did well in Computer Science courses and enjoyed graphic design as a hobby.  I tooled around with Microsoft Front Page and some rudimentary HTML and started making simple websites for school projects.  I got started in the industry during university with my first freelance gig.

2. When did you start designing websites?

If you count the tooling around in Front Page, that would’ve been around 1997.  My first professional freelance gig would’ve been in 2003.

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

This response is probably pretty common place but, I have to say developing for Internet Explorer.  Not only due to the difficulty in developing a cross-browser compatible interface, but more particularly because of its way of limiting the potential of a design and a richer user experience due to its shortcomings and its unfortunately large user base.

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?

Since I come from a Computer Science background I’m more naturally a programmer than a designer.  I like to pride myself on being a rare case of a programmer with an eye for design.  I can and do develop for server side, but I’ve always enjoyed working with front end technologies most; creating XHTML and CSS based layouts, enhancing interfaces with some JavaScript and AJAX.  As of late those have been my particular responsibilities in my day job.

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

After high school I went to the University of Western Ontario for Computer Science, and then to Humber College for Web Development specifically.  Both schools were more particularly geared to programming, but there was an element of design in the Humber course.  Where Humber really helped was the co-op placement at the end of the program.  My co-op position turned into a paying job afterwards and I’ve been in the industry ever since.

6. I like the fact that you do the creative as well as the coding.  Which are you stronger at?

Considering my background I’m stronger in the coding, but I definitely thank my interest in the artistic side of things while I was growing up. I was always playing around with programs like Photoshop or 3D Studio.  Web design was the perfect way for me to merge the things I did well at in school with my personal hobbies.

7. Do you currently work full-time and do freelancing on the side?  Does freelance work allow you do learn outside your current position and why do you enjoy doing freelance web design (outside of the money of course)?

I’m currently working full time at a web and interactive agency in Toronto, and do the odd freelance gig on the side.  Freelancing is great for giving me the chance to work on and improve my skills in the business end of things in this industry that I don’t often get the opportunity to do at my day job.

Lea Alcantara is a web designer from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. She has been designing website for over a decade and she considers herself a “self-taught” web designer. Lea designs for ExpressionEngine, it’s her CMS of choice and even though she says does not support other platforms specifically she works with WordPress and most other platforms. She was a presenter at SXSW in 2008 and is planning a return in 2009 to SXSW.

1. How did you first get started in web design?

It was through pure tutorials online, over a decade ago. Self-taught.

2. When did you first start designing websites?

I started designing websites when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. It makes me feel old to say “Yes, I was around when it was still 14.4 baud modems, and Netscape 1.” My first website was a hobby/fan website for Sailor Moon. I’ve always loved computers and art, so it just felt right to play around with. Professionally, I didn’t start designing websites until I finished college.

3. I see that you Handle ExpressionEngine web work. Do you support any other platforms (WordPress, Durpal, osCommerce, etc)? What do you like most about working with ExpressionEngine?

Yes, ExpressionEngine is my CMS of choice. I don’t really support other platforms, but I’m not anti-WordPress, or any other software. There are as many different preferences as there are people on the web. I’ve developed for WordPress before, for example, but I didn’t love it as much as I did with EE. I like EE the most because it’s such a powerful piece of software at a fair price; the templating engine is VERY favorable to designers. That means, EE conforms to MY design, not the other way around.

4. What is your favorite web technology to use currently? Why is that?

Twitter. It’s just a great multi-purpose way to keep updated on news, web related or not, filtered by your friends, while getting glimpses into daily life. My personal blog kind of fell to the wayside, so Twitter filled the void. I mix professional and personal tweets together.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a web designer?

The biggest challenge is really realizing how much you’re worth as a professional and fighting for that. I think every designer goes through those stages, though. Knowing that nothing is perfect and you can’t win ‘em all.

6. What did you study in college? Has this helped you prepare for your career as a web designer?

I went to Grant MacEwan College here in Edmonton. I studied Visual Communication Design with a major in Design & Digital Media. Unfortunately, the state of post secondary education isn’t that great for preparing people for web work; this is true now as it is then, though there have been strides. What my college prepared me most for is for visual design, and also trying to output the highest quality product as possible.

7. I read that you spoke at SXSW 2008. How was that experience?

Nerve-wracking to say the least! Many people were interested in my branding talk, and I found myself being scheduled into the largest room on Monday morning, right before Guy Kawasaki’s session! Also, I was the only one on stage speaking to a thousand people at least. Pretty crazy stuff. I also didn’t anticipate my talk going as fast as it did, but I was saved by a half-hour’s worth of excellent Q&A. It was interesting being put on the spot and thinking on your feet; I think everyone should experience that. I was able to connect with a bunch of great people through the talk, and one of my current (and fave) clients I met after my talk at SXSW. I wrote at length about my experience speaking on Digital Web.

Alex ElChehimi is a web designer from Montreal, Quebec in Canada. He started designing websites using Geocities. He designs on his MacBook Pro and uses the latest software to create the websites that he designs for clients. He is a relatively new web designer having recently completed a program at Herzing College in Graphic Design for the web.

1. How did you first get involved designing websites? When did you design your first website?

The first website I designed was a 3 pages website and I used to use it to post some updates for my classmates at school, and I did this using geocities from yahoo.

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

1. I can’t live without My MacBook pro (I call it my baby) it’s the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before I sleep.
2. My Logitech MX Revolution mouse (the best mouse I’ve ever used).
3. My adobe master CS
4. my iPhone, it has nothing to do with design for me at least but this is one of the things that I can’t live without.

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

I was graduated from Herzing College in Montreal, I’ve studied Graphic Design For The Web and yes it helps me a lot, to be a designer the first thing you need is the talent, but to have the talent and to support this talent with education is really good.

4. 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?

I’ve been freelancing for more than 3 years, I recently started working full time at incomeaccess.com but I’m still also freelancing and working on some projects.

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

When I design a website/business card/ logo or whatever I’m designing I do it with love, I love working as a web/graphic designer… so I try to send this message to any potential client, I want the client to know that I’ll cover every detail when I design. also I love to show them that I know what I’m doing.

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

The most challenging part, is achieving the same look and functionality for websites in IE6, IE6 is a dead web browser but we’re still forced to code for it because we can’t ignore at least 27% from the internet users.

Patty Ho is a web designer from Toronto, Ontario in Canada. She studied at OCAD (The Ontario College of Arts & Design) for Editorial Graphic Design and then she decided to go to Sheridan College for their Interactive Design program. She first designed for websites in 2003 after finishing schools and most recently she has been working for Torstar Digital which owns the Toronto Star Newspaper and Toronto.com among a collection of other web properties.

1. When did you first start designing websites?

I first started designing websites professionally in 2003. I was hired by a small web design studio right after I finished my Interactive Multimedia program in Sheridan College.

2. What types of web design projects are you working on right now?

Currently, I work for Torstar Digital. The company owns thestar.com, toronto.com, yourhome.ca, parentcentral.ca…etc. I mostly do the front end maintenance work for them. That work could range from designing a new micro site to designing ad banners.

For my personal freelance web design in terms of projects, I did a lot of front end design. The majority of clients want my web design template and their own in house developer to build the website. There are also a few clients that I do the full website design from front to back.

3. What challenges do you face when designing a project for the web?

Oh, definitely client’s requests. Sometimes clients will have million changes, and I always have to work it out with the clients to minimize the changes.  Most challenging part is when design a full website, I have to educate clients to deliver a strategy upon content delivery. After all, website is about delivering key information in an interactive and a user friendly way.

4. I see that you’ve done a lot of work for Canadian media (Chum TV, Much Music, etc.)  How have you found working with companies like these?

Chum (now is called CTV) is a very fast paced company. You get a various range of projects all the time.  I was there mostly creating TV micro sites and sales websites for various channel brands. The creative is set by either the client or the creative department. So most of the website I did is to follow the creative guidelines and make it an interactive piece.  I left Chum after 3 years because I was tired of being a production person that takes orders. Websites for Chum or any TV channels are part of the marketing package, and they never going to be the first to set the creative guideline.  Therefore I went to Torstar for a senior web designer position which I can be the creative lead for most of the projects.

5. I also see that you are a graduate of OCAD majoring in Editorial Graphic Design and Sheridan College’s Interactive Multimedia program where you learned about front-end coding.  Which do you prefer more, Front-end coding or the graphic design of a project?

I personally like the “design” part of the project, mostly because I hate debugging between browsers. lol

However, because of Sheridan, I gained a strong front end coding skill. This favors me when I am designing a website. I will design “around” the cross-browser problem that most people would encounter when building website.  Therefore I can deliver the website in the shortest amount of time and increase flexibility for site expansion in the future.

6. What are some of your favorite tools when designing for the web?

Photoshop, illustrator and Dreamweaver.

7. What do you hope to accomplish in your career next?  And, what drives you to achieve this?

Again, I always have a passion getting myself into a creative lead. I like to deliver the creative concept of a project instead of a production person. If I am going to work half of my life, then I might as well push myself towards a job position that can excite me while I am at it.

Mike Precious is a web designer but foremost a multimedia designer from Brantford, Ontario in Canada. He originally started designing while in college and sought employment with design studios and advertising agency environments which gave him an excellent opportunity to move into web design. He first started designing websites back in 2001 and has since then built his own studio where he works on a variety of web and print projects.

1. How did you first get into web design?

Throughout high school, I had a keen interest in art, communication, technology and music. Through my senior years I began thinking about future career opportunities. Art itself seemed interesting but to be sustainable I would have to bring something truly cutting edge to the art industry, and the for music. However, a venue where art and business collided seemed to be a viable way to make a living and do what I enjoy doing. Insert design and advertising.  High school courses ensued in graphic design, photography, communication technology, drafting, and fine art.

After graduating high school I went through college for Advertising and Communications Media. This program involved me in all aspects of marketing, marketing communications, branding, advertising, design, photography and copy writing. While in college I freelanced as a graphic designer. My first experience in web design came in 2001. Myself and another designer took on a couple of projects, one a fairly sizable marketing and database-driven site. What intrigued me about web design was its breadth and depth of creative opportunities – some of which print didn’t offer. However, over the next few years, I maintained a steady workflow of print media working employed in design studio and advertising agency environments, while freelancing on the side. It wasn’t until 2007 I began taking on more web projects. In 2008 I officially went from freelancing and working fulltime to opening the doors of my own business. In 2008 I maintained a balance of roughly 80% web development projects vs. 20% print projects. I anticipate web continuing to comprise the majority of my work volume in the future.

2. When did you first start designing websites?

I began designing websites back in 2001.

3. What are some of the biggest problems that you face in the web design projects that you work on?

Probably the single greatest challenge I face in web projects is creating a design platform that works across the entire set of pages for the site. That’s probably what makes designing for the web such a challenge. I’m not designing in isolation, but considering how a particular layout treatment or design device will work across the series of pages.

I tend to take this ideology with me into projects: Any web designer can create a stunning, highly functional, and consistent web page. A great web designer can create a stunning, highly functional, and consistent web site. What differentiates a web designer from a great web designer is the great web designer can create a stunning and functional design that spans across a host of pages.

4. Do you prefer to be called a “multimedia designer” or a “web designer” or do you consider yourself both?

I’m kind of on the fence about this. I started off as a graphic designer, then with seniority, moved into an art director role for a couple of years. I run my own studio now serving clients both web and print media design. To call myself an art director sounds a bit stuffy and traditional. To call myself a web designer segregates me into the web-only category. As a multimedia designer I serve clients in need of services for both the web and print mediums. However, I have begun repositioning my studio to predominantly serve web development studios. When a web developer discovers I’m also an experienced print designer, they see the value in hiring one designer for all their web and print needs.

5. What types of media inspire you to create the type of design that you create?

I’m very heavily influenced by XHTML/CSS standards design, Flash based AS3.0 design, and traditional print media. I have a special interest in contemporary European design, and also enjoy immersing myself in retro 50s/60s style design. I’m also very much into studying typography.

6. Has your educational background helped you to people a better web designer?  Was what you studied related to design?

My educational background helped me become a strategic-minded designer. That is, designing with purpose. In a business environment, I find the design process much easier when there is strategic sense directing the design. Without it, design becomes extremely subjective and can cause tail spins of design revisions, and conflicting opinions on what works and what does not.

7. How do you usually price out your web designs and multimedia work?

Quote on per project basis, hourly, or time-based contract.

8. What are a few things that you couldn’t live without on a day to day basis?

My Mac, fonts, Google, and Photoshop. The support of my wife, routing me on with the growth and development of my business. Thanks, Sarah.  : )

Lisa Wilkinson is a Web Designer from Kanata, Ontario in Canada. She is currently studying Interactive Multimedia and Design at Carleton University and has been designing for the last 4 years and is passionate about CSS design.

1. How did you first get started in web design?

I’ve been interested in web design ever since I took a web development class in high school.  In 2006, I started the Interactive multimedia and Design program at Carleton University, which incorporates a fair amount of web design courses.

2. How long have you been designing websites?

I started designing websites about 4 years ago.

3. How do you generate most of your business as a web designer? Word of Mouth? Advertising? Agencies?

I started my own web design business on the side called DesignAbyss.  (www.designabyss.com). My business is mostly generated through word of mouth and advertising (flyers, business cards, online sites).

4. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a web designer?

My biggest challenge, to this day, is cross browser compatibility. Not only do you need to create a website to work in all major browsers, you need it to work properly in multiple versions of each browser because some people aren’t so quick when it comes to updates!

Another challenge was getting my business known by others and gaining a great reputation for it.  It was difficult for a small business like mine to compete with the big design companies who were already out there.

5. What is your favorite part of a web design project?

My favorite part is the creativity! I love how there are endless design possibilities when making a web site.  You cannot find two websites that look the same.

6. Has your education helped you to become a better web designer and if so, how has it helped?

Yes, my education has helped a great amount with both coding aspects and visual design aspects.  It was at university where I learned most of my CSS skills and basic concepts around Web 2.0.

7. How do you usually price your web design work for clients who are interested?

I would say my prices are generally cheaper than average. I price it based on number of pages and the complexity of the code.

Rolf Johansson is a web designer from Burlington (from my hometown), Ontario in Canada. He started designing websites when he was back in university while majoring in political science. After working with KPMG for a while learning about various web technologies, Rolf decided to eventually make the leap into freelance web design which he currently does full time.

1. How did you first get started in web design?

I started back in university, around 1996.  I was actually majoring in Political Science, but I was looking for ways to make a few extra bucks.  I had learned about the world wide web around the same time, and thought it was pretty ground-breaking that pretty much anyone could ‘publish’ nice-looking content.  I also noticed that the faculty and my department didn’t have a web presence, so I convinced the dean that it was necessary for them.

Having decided upon graduation that politics wasn’t for me (did I just waste 4 years of my life?), I applied for a short-term internship at KPMG Canada… they were looking for a ‘web-guy’ who could design an intranet for the Human Resources group.  One thing led to another and I’ve been involved with the web in one way or another ever since.

I have to say that I was very lucky in that I was hired by a very forward thinking person who realized the value of the link between the web and a traditional business function like HR.

2. How did you make the move from human resources to web design?

Well, I really never actually made the jump ‘from’ HR to web design.  I guess you can say that they went hand-in-hand early on.  For the first 5 years of my career, pretty much all of my web experience was related to supporting the Human Resources function (intranets, basic collaboration, job boards, request forms, HRIS).  It was really a great experience looking back because I learned a great deal about business processes, organizational politics, power, human nature and how to make technology support all of that – not the other way around.

I formally made the jump out of HR when I joined the technology group at KPMG (first in Canada, then globally).  When I joined KPMG Global, I worked exclusively on their proprietary web-based Global Knowledge Sharing Tool for a few years.

3. How long have you been doing freelance web design?

I’ve been a freelancer for about 3 years now.  I had moved around in the Corporate world doing other things like Project Management and Corporate Communications, but after my 2nd child was born, my wife and I decided that someone should stay home with the kids.  I jumped at the chance.

I had always dreamed of running my own business, and this looked like the perfect opportunity to ‘ease’ into freelancing.  I started by working about 2 days a week while the kids went to pre-school, and I’ve gradually added more time to my work schedule as the kids have become more independent.  I’d have to say this year will probably be very close to full-time freelancing (both kids are in school now).

Looking back, it was a nice approach to take.  It was low-risk for us (my wife has been the major bread-winner), and I’ve been able to ease into the Freelancing thing.

4. How do you usually price your web design projects?

I almost always price by the project.  I’m big into fairness and treating clients well.  By pricing on a project basis, I feel that all the cards are on the table up-front, and there are no surprises for the client.  They appreciate the fact that they can set their budgets.  It’s working well so far.

The big challenge when I first started was making sure that I was pricing projects in a way that was fair to me.  I’m sure I underpriced a few projects early on when I didn’t really know what it would take to build something.  After 3 years though, I’m getting much better at it.

5. Where do you get your inspiration to design websites?

My main inspiration comes from other websites.  I don’t set out to copy, but I do look at other sites for inspiration on tone, structure, overall feel, technology…

The client’s existing identity and objectives, of course, plays a big role in terms of how a site develops visually and functionally.  I’m also big into design magazines.  I think print design can bridge over to web design in many ways.  I think we’re seeing that more and more in websites these days.

6. How do your clients usually find you? Through word of mouth? Agencies? Or
something else?

Referrals for me are everything.  You cannot get a better lead than a referral from an existing client.  That’s why my absolute, number one, main priority is to treat my clients well.  Not only is it the right thing to do (it helps me sleep at night), but you cannot replace the long-term benefits that come out of this.

I have had a couple of cold calls – where I was contacted – which have turned into very rewarding client relationships, but these are definitely in the minority.  Referrals from existing clients have certainly driven my business so far.

7. Do you design exclusively using ExpressionEngine? Or do you use other CMS
systems to design for?  I love using wordpress myself.

Expression Engine is my only CMS at the moment.  I had looked at WordPress early on, but I was seduced by EllisLab’s outstanding support.  They are definitely second to none.  I was also influenced by the fact that a few web designers that I look up to (Veerle is one of them) use Expression Engine and recommend it.  I love working with EE because it’s very flexible, and allows me to offer nearly anything to my clients (i.e. wiki, discussion forums, e-commerce), plus traditional content publishing capabilities.

I will probably look at another CMS or two in the near future, just to broaden my skill-set.  Wordpress will be one of them for sure.  I’m also on the lookout for a good e-commerce tool for small/medium sized businesses.  Magento is on the radar, but if you know of anything else, I’m all ears.

8.  What tools can you not work without when designing a web design project?

I cannot live without the following:

1. My Mac – which allows me to sit in front of a computer for hours and still keep me feeling happy
2. Coda – for all my html, scripting, etc…
3. Fireworks (yes, Fireworks) – I’m not a graphic designer – I’ve found it to fit the bill for me, and the price is right!
4. Firebug (for Firefox) – for finding all my mistakes that would otherwise drive me crazy
5. Basecamp – for keeping clients more than up-to-date on the progress of projects
6. iTunes – to keep me focused
7. My Guitar – to keep the creative juices flowing

Saeid Mohadjer is a web designer from Vancouver, British Columbia. As a Canadian web designer Saeid has established himself as a strong, independent and knowledgeable source when it comes to web design. Originally from Tehran, Iran and working as a multimedia design, Saeid eventually moved to Canada in 2005 and has been designing websites for the past 10 years.

1. Where did you start your web design career? As a freelancer, an employee or something else?

I started around 10 years ago back in Tehran, Iran where I worked as a freelance multimedia designer and 3D animator. I never worked as an employee in Iran partly because the salaries weren’t that exciting back then and partly because there weren’t too many companies around that I wished to work for. After three years of freelancing, I moved to Germany where I worked for another three years as 3D animator in computer game industry and finally moved to Seattle in 2004 and immigrated to Canada in 2005.

2. Is there a tool you use for designing websites that you cannot live without?

For coding there isn’t really any tool that I can’t live without, though Firefox Web developer toolbar and HTML-Kit (both free to download) come close. HTML-Kit allows validating inside the editor as well as comparing Firefox and IE renderings side by side which are neat features. For design, Adobe Creative Suite is all that I use. Some other tools that I like and use often are CutePDFWriter, Basecamp, and Filezilla.

3. Do you follow compliant CSS and XHTML design standards?

Definitely. I’m a big fan of W3C standards and always validate my markup and CSS both during the development and before the final delivery. I try to avoid CSS hacks and keep the markup semantic, though it’s not always easy or even possible. I also offer free lifetime warranty with the Websites that I build, so by following Web standards in a way I’m saving my own neck as it’s less likely that future versions of browsers will break the Website.

4. If you could tell a potential client that may be reading this interview what your pricing is like for projects what would you tell them?

I estimate the number of hours it will take me to complete the project and then multiply it by my hourly rate which provides me with a figure that I refer to as the raw quote. To make the raw quote as accurate as possible I make sure there is nothing about the project that is not crystal clear to me. After I have the raw quote, I go over a list of things that could affect the price and adjust the quote accordingly before submitting the final quote to client. For example the timeline available for project can affect the cost, the tighter it is, the more expensive it gets and vice versa. Also how interesting the project is to me, does it have any educational benefit, can I reuse the code I write in future, have I worked with client in the past or not, etc. All these can have an effect on the final quote.

5. How did you get involved in designing Panago Pizza’s website? And what challenges did you face designing a website for an established brand like Panago Pizza?

I was only involved in Flash development of Panago’s Website. A friend of mine knew the creative director at Mercer Group which does all the branding and design for Panago and recommended me when they needed help to build the Website. One challenge was that we had to build the Website based on InDesign mockups rather than Photoshop or Illustrator mocks. The lack of pixel measurements in InDesign was frustrating at first and we had to follow a tedious process to reproduce the mocks in Flash that involved grabbing screenshots from InDesign, taking them into Photoshop for resizing, and then dropping them in Flash as semi-transparent layers so we could follow the kerning and placements accurately. Also integrating Google map into Flash was challenging since Google had not released their GMap API for Flash at the time.

6. What are the most important aspects of a web design project to you?

It depends on the project, for example search engine optimization may be an important aspect of one project and not even considered in another project. It’s very important to know the users of the Website nevertheless. Perhaps what matters most to me is how useful a website is to the end user and how does a user emotionally respond to the Website. I try to consider these in every step of the design process. One thing I avoid doing is to compromise the usability of a Website for pure aesthetic reasons. I read this quote once somewhere that said “don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful”. I think that quote sums up my approach to Web design pretty good.

7. What type of educational background do you have and did it help you get into web design?

I don’t have any academic education in web design or related fields. Most of what I learn comes from everyday experiences, books, magazines, DVDs, and online resources. I visit Vancouver library almost once a week and check out galleries or art exhibitions regularly. I just returned from Paris where I spent a month visiting the various galleries and museums. Studying the work of people whom I admire not only is a source of inspiration for me, but also helps me to educate myself.

8. Do you like listening to music when you are designing websites? If so, what do you find yourself listening to lately?

I don’t listen to music when coding, but when sketching or creating mockups I don’t mind listening to some music to get the creative juices flowing. I don’t have time to follow the music industry closely and most of the stuff I listen to are pretty old. I like listening to jazz or classic music too as they are not as distracting as the music with lyrics.

9. I see that your portfolio lists a lot of agency work. Do you work with agencies exclusively? Or do you accept new clients?

I accept new clients, but my clients are mostly design or interactive agencies. There are advantages in working with agencies such as one can count on continued supply of work and the opportunity to work on diverse projects. Also, I prefer to spend my time on design and development rather than looking for clients. Establishing good working relation with couple of agencies means no more wasting time looking for clients.

10. What are your future plans for your web design business?

Future doesn’t usually unroll according to my plans, so I think it would be wise to skip this question.

11. How long have you been building websites?

Off and on I would say ten years, but it’s only the last four years that I’ve focused solely on Web design and development.

More about this Web Designer

URL: SaeidMohadjer.com

Email/Contact: saeid@fastmail.fm

Phone: (+1) 604 683 9665

Skype: (+1) 646 797 3163

Claudia Adler is a web designer from Montreal West Island, Quebec Canada who we recently interviewed. She is a designer that uses WC3 standards to develop and build some exceptional websites but also does print design as well as web design. After interviewing she had the following to say about web design…

1) What is the most exciting web project you’ve ever worked on?

The most exciting web project I’ve worked on is Powerwatts. It is the product of a very fruitful collaboration with a group of bike racing Pros. They were completely open to my suggestions concerning design, development and SEO which allowed me to use technology that I felt worked best i.e. DomScripting for the Header animation rather than Flash, collapsible and tabbed panels and a WP-blog ….

We just launched the site in August.

2) Do you find a lot of your clients who’ve had a bad experience hiring a web designer before? How do you deal with that when the topic comes up in conversation with a potential client?

Actually I only had one client having a hard time with the web team they hired from India. They felt that they were not getting what they wanted, a communication problem working with a large team.

But there is always 2 sides to a problem, I try to be diplomatic when it comes to work of other designers. But information is key, I try to supply as much as possible so that the client has everything in hand to take their own decision, no pressure.

3) How did you first start in web design?

I started as a graphic designer working for a large international consumer products company in Montreal, when they were sold and moved to Toronto we all got compensation and I went back to school to learn web programming.

4) Where did you go to school and did that influence your choice to become a web designer?

When I first studied Graphic Design at University of Quebec in Montreal in 1990 there was not much going on in web design, things started to happen a bit later when connection speed picked up and browsers were able to display formatted pages.

In the early days web design was excessively ugly. As a graphic designer I got interested when Flash came out because it allowed you to actually “design” a web page.

When I went back to school in 2002 I wanted to catch up with the technical aspect of web coding, I like to know how things work, WYSIWYG was out of the question for me. I like to use Dreamweaver to spead up the process but write my own code.

So I went for the real deal JavaScript, XML, PHP, HTML, CSS. With the web you never stop learning I am upgrading my skills constantly.

5) Are you working on any interesting web design projects at the moment?

Yes, but its to early to talk about it.

6) Do you have any other creative talents that you like to pursue outside of designing websites?

Mostly photography, I carry my camera with me all the time. I sold a few images and some of my photos are used in web sites I created. I also like to draw and paint but rarely have time.

7) Have you ever worked with a creative agency on web design projects?

I used to work for IATA as a senior graphic designer and HTML specialist, I created HTML email campaigns and Flash animation. When we got “restructured” I decided it was time to go solo as I had enough background to do design and coding.

How do you usually become involved with new web design projects? Word of Mouth? Agency? Advertising? Etc.?

It may be luck but usually clients find me via the web or word of mouth.

In the beginning I bid on projects on GAF (Get a Freelancer) and GAC (Get a Coder), occasionally I still do. I also design for print. Being versatile definitely is a plus. Many of my clients come to me because I offer both, print and web design.

More about this Web Designer

URL: ClaudiaAdler.com

Email: info@claudiaadler.com

Phone: Not Available