Michael Heald is a web designer from England in the United Kingdom and he is the guy behind “Fully Illustrated” a creative agency he built from the ground up.  With over 10 years of professional experience in design, Michael has really created a style that is all his own.

He has been featured in .NET magazine and Web Designer Magazine and has won a lot of awards.  Some of his achievements to date include…

• Michael’s Creative Agency “Fully Illustrated” is named 1 of only 99 top ranked creative agencies in the world
• His design work has been featured in the “Web Designers Idea Book” by Patrick McNeil and “Websites 2” by Zeixs
• Countless web and graphic design awards from various sites like CSSMania, CSS Crème, Web 360 award and Daily Slurp to name a couple.

Even though he started off in print design when he first got out of university he was introduced to web design on a few projects and since then he has expanded his skill set into 3D and motion design with game development on an online game called “Super Turbo Action Pig”.  There is no doubt that Michael Heald is an expert in what he does and I really enjoyed having a chance to hear from him about his experiences in design.

Luc asks: I know it’s been about 10 years for you since you started your career but i wanted to ask how and where did you start your career?

Michael says: I think my career officially started when my mum and dad bought me my Commodore 64!  I was into games in a big way and deep down wanted to spend my life surrounded by games in one way or another.  Ok, on a serious note, my career started when I left Uni and started working in a local 5 man design company.  I was a graduate on a steep learning curve and managed to work on a great mix of projects including branding, web design, exhibition stand design and then later a little illustration.  It was after my first taste of commercial illustration that I wanted to move on, I had the bug!  I soon found an advert for a position as an illustrator, applied and got the job!  So for the following 5 years I spent most of time drawing characters, with a little time spent doing web/application design and then later 3D modeling/animation.  After this I moved onto a dedicated web design position for a large international web agency where after 3 years I decided to move into business on my own offering all the disciplines I’d learned over the previous 8 years.

Luc asks:  How long have you been designing for the web?

Michael says: I’ve been designing for the web almost as long as I’ve been designing.  When I started out in my first job doing mainly print, it was around the time that the web industry was in its infancy and thus, I got the chance to design a couple of sites right at the beginning of my career.  Thankfully those sites are no longer online (he laughs to himself)

Luc asks: I see that your creative agency has been named of the best in the world.  Was it a surprise to you when you first heard about it?  And, what do you think makes “Fully Illustrated” a world class creative agency?

Michael says: Yeah it was big surprise!  I never thought that a small one man design company could ever be shortlisted for a place in the top 100, let alone actually win a place!  As far as what I think makes my work worthy, wow, that’s a tough one for me to answer.  I know that I love what I do, and look forward to starting work every day and if I don’t have a project on hand, there is always something I want to experiment with myself, so this must translate though to my work in some way.  Passion would sum it up I guess.

Luc asks: What magazines, websites and other materials do you read to stay on top of the latest trends in design?

Michael says: My sources of inspiration are vast to say the least and strangely, don’t include much in the way of design related sites, in fact, I can’t even think of any off the top of my head.  I actually spend my time looking at sites dedicated to 3D, motion graphics, games, concept art and photography, as I seem to draw all my inspiration from much less direct subjects.  I’ll often walk out of a movie full of ideas for a design, it’s weird I guess.

Luc asks: With so many accomplishments in your past already where do you hope to be in 5 years from now?

Michael says: Where do I want to be in 5 years time…hmmm, continuing to do what I love, only doing it much better

Luc asks: What is the one thing that you love most about what you do for a living?

Michael says: the fact that I want to get out of bed to do it, it’s that simple.  I’ve always loved my job, from the first day of my first job, to this day writing this article.  If you can get up in a morning and get paid for something you love doing, then that is one of the best things in life, as let’s face it, you’ll spend most of your life working than doing anything else.  Oh, and the fact that I get to play and create games might have something to do with it too

Luc asks: Tell me a few things about yourself that most people wouldn’t know about you if they met you on the street.

Michael says: Oh good question.  Hmm, how about…I originally started out life wanting to be a fighter pilot for the RAF.  Oh, and I farted really loud in school assembly when I was 12   There you go, not many people know those two facts

With well over a decade of web development experience, Simon Young, a front-end web developer from Chester, England in the United Kingdom has a lot to say about his experiences to date in web design.

Even though he is selective at times with the work that he takes on he is highly skilled in WordPress, Magento and Ruby on Rails development and goes by the title of “Front-end web developer”.  Because of his experience he works on a number of projects with varying scopes from planning the build of an ecommerce site to doing layouts in CSS and XHTML.

Simon mentions how much the average project he is willing to take on which clears up a lot confusion when it comes to pricing out his services in this excerpt from his site…

“To set your expectations accordingly, in most circumstances (i.e. unless you are a charity or other volunteer project) I’m usually unable to work on projects with a budget of lower than £2000.”

Whether you are interested in working with him on your next web design project or you are interested to know more about what he does and how he got to where he is today feel free to read on and learn more about this well-versed web design professional…

Luc asks: Simon, since you first started about 12 years ago what are your favorite things that have happened in web design?

Simon says: I think the most significant development during this period has been the advancement of web standards and continued exploration as to what is possible in the browser. From a personal point of view, after many years of working on Microsoft technologies, in 2006 I moved to working on a Mac and mainly using open source web technologies such as WordPress, Rails and Magento.  In retrospect, I wish I’d done this a lot sooner as I’ve found the flexibility of open source and the ease of use of Mac are the perfect combination for web development.

Luc asks: I see that you do a fair amount of web development using Ruby, Magento Commerce and WordPress and I wanted to ask what is your favorite platform/framework to work with and why is it your favorite?

Simon says: The three all have very different strengths and weaknesses and so I go through phases of which I prefer although I would say now that 90%+ of my work is done on one of the three.  I love WordPress because it is the ideal content management solution for many small businesses and it’s incredibly feature rich these days.  Whilst there are lots of more complex CMS products on the market few are as instantly accessible and flexible and for many small businesses it’s likely to be all they will ever need to create a really solid online presence.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Magento.  The feature set is phenomenal for an open source ecommerce project and there is very little that it can’t do out of the box or with an extension and the template system, while initially daunting, is incredibly powerful.  On the downside, the extensive feature set and powerful template system means there is a huge amount of lines of code within the project and so if something goes wrong or you really need to alter a small piece of functionality it can be tough to track down what you are looking for.

I think my favorite platform is Ruby on Rails and I use this for all of the web application builds I am involved in.  The concept of convention over configuration works really well for me and the in-built functionality is supplemented by so much great code in the community too.  I’m still really a beginner in many aspects of Rails but I just love the fact that every day you spend with it you come out at the end of the day with real progress and new knowledge.  Very few frameworks can offer you that!

Luc asks: As a front-end web developer fill in the blank about this sentence “_______ is the most important technology that i use as a front-end developer”

Simon says: “XHTML/CSS” is the most important technology that i use as a front-end developer.

Luc asks: I ask this of all front-end developers, do you prefer designing or developing (coding) websites and do you have any experience developing in the back-end or is your experience solely front-end development?

Simon says: I started off mainly on the design side as most sites were static when I first got in to the industry however now I find myself spending most of my time either coding layouts and integrating with WordPress/Magento or doing back-end development such as Rails.  I’d still class myself primarily as a front-end developer but I’m definitely picking up more back-end development experience at the moment.

Luc asks: Being a professional with more than 10 years of experience in the areas of web design and development are you more selective of which clients you take on or is anyone welcome?

Simon says: I’m selective to an extent.  I generally look out for clients who are going to be rewarding to work with and are keen to benefit from my expertise and with whom I can get along.  I like clients who pay on time too!

Luc asks: How much do you charge for an average project currently and what does this normally include?

Simon says: I don’t know that there is such a thing as an average project!  The charges will vary depending on whether I’m working through a larger digital agency in Manchester or London (where typically I’ll charge a day rate) or whether I’m doing a fixed price project for a small local business.  My involvement can be anything from just bringing PSD files to life as XHTML/CSS layouts right through to a full e-commerce plan, design and build.

David Curran is a freelance web designer based in Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. David originally studied Geography at the University of London and graduated in 2005 and later fell into web design by accident. In 2008, he started designing websites on a freelance basis and recently went full time designing websites. When I interviewed David he talked about how he started in web design, what it takes to make user friendly websites and his experiences working with various CMS systems.

Luc @ SWD: David, how did you first start designing website and how long have you been building them professionally?

David says: I first started building websites when working for a small computer firm in my local town, I was also servicing and building PC’s but I began to get more business for the websites so started teaching myself web design. I never had any training and pretty much taught myself through reading web articles and a few books. I still have a lot to learn and continue to teach myself from searching Google and checking the source code of sites I like. My first few sites were from using WYSIWYG editors but quickly saw the limitations to such programs, I now try to hand code sites as much as possible and use a minimal amount of standards compliant markup.

After a couple of years with the computer firm I started taking on clients outside of the business and eventually went freelance in 2008 and have been full time designing websites since then.

Luc @ SWD: Where and what did you study at college/university?

David says: I actually studied Geography and received a BSC from the University of London in 2005. At the time I had no idea I wanted to do web design and just sort of fell in to it a couple of years after university. I didn’t even know anything about computers when studying!

Luc @ SWD: How do you go about designing and building a website that is “user friendly”? Do your clients ever want things that aren’t as user friendly in a web design project and how do you deal with that when it comes up?

David says: I always try to design sites that are hopefully ‘user friendly’ by creating clear and simple layouts. Often using a minimal layout only displaying the information necessary to that page means that users don’t get confused as to what they are reading. I try to use traditional and familiar techniques, like descriptive headers, which are both useful for spiders and for visitors to understand the hierarchy of the page and to read the information as it should be read. In terms of clients ever wanting sites that aren’t as user friendly, I have never really had to deal with this as most of the people who approach me for a website do so because they have seen my portfolio and want a clear, simple and user friendly site!

Luc @ SWD: David, I see that you work with CMS (Content Management Systems) in your daily web design work.  Which CMS is your favorite to use or do you have a custom CMS that you use currently?

David says: The first few CMS’s I have worked with were custom built (through an outsourcing website) and these have been successful. Unfortunately I still haven’t much experience with PHP and other such languages used to build CMS’s so have to outsource such systems, although I am trying to teach myself PHP (but find it quite boring!). More recently I have built a couple of sites using Joomla and found that this is a great system which is very customizable. I am currently in the process of building a social networking/directory website and am doing so using Joomla so my client can have full control of the content after the site is built, and hopefully I will learn a lot about Joomla in the process.

Luc @ SWD: What are your favorite web design tools to use when designing?

David says: I mainly use Photoshop to sketch out layout ideas and then hand code in Dreamweaver. I know Dreamweaver, like many WYSIWYG programs does have a tendency to do create unnecessary markup but I do find it useful to hand code in and it has some very intuitive features.

Web design is something that has always been in Chris Godby’s blood. This web designer from Surrey, England in the United Kingdom got his start in web design while he was studying at Portsmouth University where he and a few friends had the idea to start a web design company. The company may have since been dissolved but this experience gave Chris the skills he needed to go out on his own as a freelance designer. While at Portsmouth University, Chris studied Computer Animation and wrote his dissertation on Search Engine Optimization so he is very knowledgeable on the topic and suggests to his clients to analyze the competition and coaches his clients on off-site optimization techniques since he does the on-site optimization himself. Chris Godby had some things to say when it comes to his experience of starting a company with a few friends from school, how he helps his clients with SEO, his experiences at school and how he likes to do business…

Luc @ SWD: Chris, i see that you started a web design company with a few friends and i wanted to ask what did this teach you about the web design business? Do you currently work for this company?

Chris says: I started the web design company as part of my degree (to use in my dissertation) mainly as an experiment.  In the end it was an extremely useful way of learning the ropes of the web design business, and business in general.  I now work as a sole trader, but running an Ltd company is quite different.  We’ve since dissolved the company but it mainly taught me; the portfolio is everything, you have to be very motivated and make sure you’re surrounded by equally motivated people otherwise it will fall flat on its face! And of course to not quit even when business is slow (as it always will be in the beginning).

Luc @ SWD: Did studying Computer Animation at Portsmouth University help you with your web design skills?  Why did you choose to go into computer animation and not a more web related course of study?

Chris says: Coming straight out of school and having to make the decision that’ll affect the rest of your life is always tough. I originally wanted to go into marketing, but I saw the head of 3D Animation doing a presentation and it sounded like it was for me, so I signed up there and then!  The course had a little web design in it, and it covered flash animation which is always handy.  My passion for web design really sparked during the course so I pursued it myself, pretty much taught myself over the summer.  That’s the great thing about web design, thanks to such an outstanding community, there are tons of free resources around to teach you the skills required.

Luc @ SWD: Considering that you did your dissertation on Search Engine Optimization what tips do you give clients about good SEO practices and how do you stay knowledgeable about new SEO trends?

Chris says: Plenty! I find half the battle is teaching them how important it is and that it isn’t a onetime thing – it’s ongoing.  My main tips are off-site as I tend to optimize any sites I create.  I always say; keep an eye on your competition, analyze what they are doing and do better.  Build relevant, preferably one-way links. I’ve found building a blog with great content people will want to read is loved but search engines and users alike and is a natural way of building traffic.

To stay knowledgeable about SEO I’m a member of a number of SEO/Web forums and resources such as SEOMoz, SEOChat, and grokdotcom to name a few.  The sheer number of SEO related resources can be pretty intimidating so I’m sure everyone has their favorites!

Luc @ SWD: How did you first start designing websites? What are the benefits of hand-coding web pages in your own opinion?

Chris says: Haha well I guess it was back in school with an early version of Dreamweaver and a teacher telling us all about tables and how great they were..

I think hand-coding gives you a lot more control over the medium.  It’s also much easier to find errors if you’ve entered every piece of code by hand.  I tend to mix it up with Dreamweaver and notepad plus to get the best of both worlds!

Luc @ SWD: How do you usually approach a web design project? Do you prefer to meet the client face-to-face or does that sort of thing matter to you?

Chris says: I love meeting face to face, much preferred over phone or email, but sometimes this just isn’t possible or productive.  I work with clients all over the world so sometimes we just have to make do with Skype or email, and sometimes Basecamp.

Kean Richmond is a web designer and developer from North Yorkshire, England in the United Kingdom. He first started designing websites using FrontPage and quickly moved up from there. Today his work in web design, web development and front end development is very professional largely in thanks to the education and his drive to learn more about web design. In 5 years from now, Kean wants to be doing what he does currently but better and that’s not to say his websites are bad or not high quality because they are. When asked about how he started web design and how it feels like to work in a company where he is the only designer here is what he had to say.

Luc @ SWD: How did you first discover web design?

Kean says: I don’t quite think this is when I discovered web design but the first site I ever built was one I’d built as part of my ICT course at college. We had to build a site using FrontPage; I think it had something to do with Pirates or Treasure. Of course being a newbie I covered the website in loud colors and odd DHTML animations.

Luc @ SWD: When did you first charge for your services as a web designer?  What was the web design project all about?

Kean says: I was on placement at IBM, which I did as part of my University course. My then manager’s son was part of a band and he asked me to build them a website. The site was a fairly simple one, though it did push my Photoshop skills. Half way through the process one of the band members left so had to be removed from the group photos they have professionally done. Luckily for me the site has since disappeared, and unfortunately I think so has the band.

Luc @ SWD: Kean how has your educational experience at Teesside University helped you to become a better and more confident web designer?

Kean says: Before going to University I didn’t know enough about Web Design to go straight into a job and lacked the drive to learn at home so University was where I felt I had to start. I’m don’t think University made me a better designer but without going to Uni I don’t think I’d be a Web Designer at all. In fact if it wasn’t for Teesside offering a full web course I could have gone on to do any IT related course, as at the time I was certain I was going to University but not sure about what to study.

Luc @ SWD: Where do you want to be in 5 years? Still in web design? Why or why not?

Kean says: Definitely. In 5 years I hope to be doing pretty much doing what I do now just hopefully better. I love the work I do so all I would want to happen is to do more stuff that compliments that. I’ve always liked the idea of getting more involved with clients as well as involved in the larger web design community. I like the idea of being able to pass on the stuff I’ve learnt to others just starting out.

Luc @ SWD: In terms of tools that you love to use, what are your favorites?

Kean says: I don’t tend to use that many different tools, mainly because I don’t work on a Mac where most fun apps live. Instead I tend to just use Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Firefox. These are pretty much all I need and they compliment how I work.

I started using Photoshop and Dreamweaver as they seemed the industry standard at the time. Changing from these would just make simple jobs harder to do as I learnt new software. Firefox I use mainly for the plug-ins, I have stuff like Firebug, Echofon, ColorZilla, MeasureIt and more all installed that make building sites a lot easier.

Luc @ SWD: In your work experience as the lone designer at a company do you find it hard to talk about what it is you do with other colleagues?

Kean says: Probably Yes. Though the people I work with are awesome and really know their stuff I can’t imagine having conversations over border-radius or the 960 Grid System. I don’t think it affects my work though, being the only designer forces me to push my own skills as I’m responsible for ensuring all the design work we do is usable and is a high standard.

Ryan Dean-Corke is a web and graphic designer from sunny ol’ England (Birmingham in the United Kingdom) to be specific. From the time he was in college at the University of Worcester, Ryan’s interest around web and graphic design grew from CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) programs and later he discovered Photoshop and the web. Since 2007 he has been designing websites professional but originally he studied Creative Digital Media at university which has allowed him to lay the ground work for his career. Ryan’s style is board hinging on his passions for web, graphic, identity and 3D design and when asked he had this to say about his knowledge, skills and education.

Luc @ SWD: How did you first start designing websites and how long have you been designing them professionally?

Ryan says: While studying product design at college, I took a keen interest in the CAD programs. My teacher later introduced me to Photoshop 6.0, which changed my life pretty much. I began reading tutorials on the web and experimenting in my spare time. Eventually I wanted to bring life to what i was creating, and initially used Geocities (RIP) to build (very awful) websites for myself and friends. Once i had a taste for the web I self taught HTML + CSS, so i could build sites properly! My first actual paid work was while i was at University (2007), that’s also when i was taken on as a designer for Wapple.net.

Luc @ SWD: Where did you receive your degree in Creative Digital Media?  Has it helped you become a better web designer?

Ryan says: I earned my degree at the University of Worcester, which was a very interesting experience. My course was very broad, so I wasn’t taught a great deal about web-design, but the whole course in general was more about getting a taste of something in lectures, and learning more off your own back. So in that respect, it’s very similar to what I’m doing now (makes me wonder why it all cost so much…). I however did learn a great deal about project planning, time management, usability, collaborative projects, and generally matured as a designer.

Luc @ SWD: Why did you decide to work part-time for Wapple.net and is your goal to go freelance on a full-time basis?

Ryan says: It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but i felt like i needed a change. Now I get to try new things and develop new skills, and continue to work as part of a creative team. Freelancing is probably my end goal, but i personally love working as part of a great team, so i don’t think it’s something I’ll do anytime soon. Besides, i think there’s much more for me to learn from experienced individuals before i can go solo full time!

Luc @ SWD: What are your “tools of choice” when you are designing?

Ryan says: Moleskine note book, Photoshop, Illustrator, skEdit, Mac OSX

(Also, on occasion: Logic Express, 3DS Max, After Effects, Premier)

Luc @ SWD: I see you’ve worked on a number of projects outside of freelancing including AcidPie Productions?  Do you enjoy taking a more “entrepreneurial” approach towards your career as a designer?

Ryan says: Since the early days, I’ve always wanted to create new sites and realize ideas. Very few of them actually come together for one reason or another, but at the moment I working on a couple blogs in my spare time, which i hope to build into community driven projects. The first being Vgrepublic.com and the second i can’t really talk about as it’s just on paper at the moment!

Acid Pie Productions was something me and Tor Burrows (of notorious design) started during university, for our dissertation project. Through this we met some great people, and designed/produced some great work. I just love the thought of people using something I’ve created or been a part in creating, and that’s always been my drive.

Joseph MacDonald is a web designer from Essex, England in the United Kingdom who has enjoyed working with the web since he was 14 years old. Now 20 years old, Joe looks back on his experiences to date and says that he is glad that he took a more direct route to becoming a web designer. He has been designing websites professionally since he was about 17 years old and has been doing so for the last three years. Joe says that his passion is web development and that he loves seeing his ideas come to life online. He enjoys using Codeigniter, PHP and JavaScript in his projects but he is equally versed in Adobe CS4 and CSS which he uses to add a little flare to his projects. I had a chance to recently talk to the Essex based web design working in London and he had this to say…

Luc @ SWD: Joe, how did you first start doing web design work?

Joe says: When I was around 14 I became very interested in digital art and dedicated a lot of my time creating pieces for fun, during that time I picked up fairly good knowledge of Illustrator and Photoshop and decided I’d like to try and design myself a website where I could showcase all of my personal artwork. I created the design and spent the next few weeks learning about the key aspects of web development, I eventually got the site up and running and once I saw the final product in the browser I was hooked and have been building websites ever since.

Luc @ SWD: How long have you been professionally designing websites?

Joe says: I’ve been designing and developing websites professionally since around the age of 17, after 3 years of messing around in Photoshop and spending hour after hour staring at code I felt I had the necessary skills to put myself out there in the real world and hopefully get a job in the industry. I began freelancing to try and gain some commercial experience and boost my web portfolio, after a year of freelancing I landed a full time job as a front-end developer and haven’t looked back since.

Luc @ SWD: Where and what did/are you studying in college or university?

Joe says: I was never fantastic at school; I wasn’t interested in the subjects and had no real motivation to learn so instead of going to college and learning something that I wasn’t 100% enthusiastic about I decided to search for a more focused college course. I took a course that focused entirely on web development and management which then enabled me to come away with a good solid foundation to build my web career on.

Luc @ SWD: I see that you have a good amount of experience using PHP and JavaScript.  Do you consider yourself to be more comfortable with web design (designing) or web development (coding/scripting)?

Joe says: I would definitely say development, as incredibly geeky as it sounds I absolutely love to code. I really enjoy sitting inside TextMate going through lines and lines of JS or PHP. I enjoy being able to take a well thought out design concept and bring it to life online. I’d like to think that I have a fairly decent knowledge of design also and am able to judge between what looks good and what doesn’t but development is definitely where my passion lies.

Luc @ SWD: What tools do you enjoy using when designing a website project?

Joe says: As I’m currently a full time front-end developer it’s not often I have to use too many design tools however from a development point of view I love working with frameworks such as jQuery and Codeigniter. jQuery never ceases to amaze me at what can be achieved using it and likewise I find Codeigniter to be the best PHP framework around for smaller – mid size projects. I suppose the only other thing I use day to day would be TextMate, it’s in my opinion the best text editor available and I probably couldn’t function without it.

Gary Davison from Norwich, England in the United Kingdom is a fantastic web designer and the man behind “Attack of the web”, his personal web design portfolio. He first started designing websites back in college when he was studying at the City College Norwich for his diploma in Multimedia Design and he has been designing professionally for the last two years. Gary does work with both web design and development and does the majority of his web design while he is freelancing for clients.

Luc @ SWD: Gary, I really like the graphic for your “Attack of the Web” portfolio site.  It seems to have a “comic book” style to it.  What inspired it?

Gary: My love of comic books, and pop culture I guess as well as the desire to create a site that didn’t follow the standard web 2.0 look. This is the fourth re-design of my site within two years, I was never happy with any of the previous designs as I never felt that they successfully got across my personality, and what I do. And whilst the look and feel of most mediums has made their way onto the internet over the years, the aged “comic book” style hadn’t at least not to my knowledge.

Luc @ SWD: When did you first start designing websites? How long have you been designing websites professionally?

Gary: I designed my first website in college four years ago; I built it using Photoshop, ImageReady and Dreamweaver. After my course finished I joined a digital agency in Norwich, where I started out as a Junior Web Creative before being promoted to a Web Creative. My role covers both web design and development, with the main focus being on development. I find that I do the majority of my design work in my free time, on either a freelance basis or just for myself.

Luc @ SWD: What is one tool you feel that you couldn’t live without as a web designer and what are your favorite tools from software to web technologies that you use in your day to day work?

Gary: Pen and paper, I think all web designs should start here, after that Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Dreamweaver; they are the two tools that I use the most in my day to day work. Occasionally I use Adobe Flash when I have to create Flash banners and interfaces for clients. I know most developers prefer using applications such as CSSedit or Coda to create and edit their CSS and HTML, but because I was taught on Dreamweaver I have just grown accustomed to it. Photoshop is brilliant tool and I would say my favorite, I enjoy doing everything from retouching photos to designing websites in it.

Luc @ SWD: Do you feel that your education from City College Norwich in Multimedia Design has made you a better designer?

Gary: Yes and no, it’s there where I was first taught to code XHTML/CSS and where I was first shown how to use Photoshop. But I feel that I have learnt most of my skills from working commercially, working to brief and deadline something entirely different to college where you are allowed to choose your own subject matter and deadlines are never as tight.

Marceline Smith is a web designer from Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom. She has been working as a web designer for the past 10 years now ever since she decided to take an IT course and learned HTML and Photoshop. Marceline studied Art Printmaking at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland and says that during university, “We barely got to touch the computers at art school so being a web designer had never entered my mind at all.” Her style is more illustrative but Marceline definitely has a unique and well developed style that is all her own and to see it all you need to do is look at her portfolio of work. Her work is funky and highly creatively however if you are looking for a more “corporate” you may want to look elsewhere as Marceline’s work is not for the faint of heart… It’s bold, colorful and action packed

1. How did you get started in web design?

By accident really! I was a bit lost after i finished art school and ended up doing an IT course which eventually led to me learning HTML and Photoshop. I’ve been a web designer ever since, both freelance and for various universities and internet companies.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I’ve been self-publishing zines since I was a teenager so I started putting some of the content online using some free web space I got with a magazine. This was back in the late nineties so the internet wasn’t such a big thing. I started designing little websites for my friends in bands and it all just grew from there.

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

Internet Explorer 6. It’s my personal nemesis. There must be so much time and money spent making sure sites are compatible with all its idiocies. Compliancy and accessibility are extremely important to me – I hate to see sites that put style above content and end up frustrating their users. On a more personal level, the challenge of being a freelance web designer with Repetitive Strain Injury. It’s hard to keep a balance of earning enough to live well and meeting deadlines without damaging my health.

4. Do you code any of the web sites that you design currently? If so, what language(s) do you code in?

I do a lot of the coding, mostly HTML/CSS and Shopify’s Liquid, and I know enough PHP to get by with the sort of projects I work on. A lot of my work involves Shopify and WordPress so it’s template-based and there’s less coding to do than in my early days when I had to code the whole thing in Notepad.

5. I wanted to ask if and where you studied at college or university, what you studied and ask how has your education helped you become a better web design professional? What other skills has it helped you to gain and what else has it taught you about design in general?

I studied Fine Art Printmaking at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland. We barely got to touch the computers at art school so being a web designer had never entered my mind at all. It did give me a great creative base to work from, not just an understanding of color and composition but how to start and finish a project and what to do when you’re uninspired.

6. What are your favorite tools to use when designing a web project? Why are they your favorite tools?

I’m a very visual designer so usually Photoshop or Illustrator. I love to just play around with colors and shapes and fonts for ideas. I also doodle a lot in my sketchbook and keep folders of imagery and color schemes that I’ve saved from websites and magazines. You never know what might jumpstart an idea in my brain. I also love working with Vision on Shopify sites – I could happily only design with Shopify for the rest of my life I think. Everything about it just clicks with how I like to work.

7. You’ve got a very unique style of design that is shown in your web design work. How did you develop your style? (Not an easy question to answer I’m sure but i had to ask)

Thank you! I’m pretty sure it’s because I come from a Fine Art background and not design or computing. I have no qualifications whatsoever in anything to do with web design or programming – I’m completely self-taught – so I probably work in a very different way to most web designers. I’m not saying that’s better, but I’ve often found it helps me stand out at job interviews. I approach web design the same way I approach anything creative I do, from collage to illustration to printmaking to sewing. It’s all the same to me.

8. What are some of your favorite techniques to use when you are working on Photoshop and illustrator?

Because I’m self-taught I know I don’t use programs in the way they’re supposed to be used but hopefully that’s what makes my style unique! I do love to scan in things from my sketchbook and use them as a base for designs – there’s a character to my hand-drawn sketches that I just can’t recreate on screen.

Christine Wilde is a web designer from Fareham, Hampshire in England in the United Kingdom. While at University she studied Graphic Image Making at the Southampton Solent University and a National Diploma in Art and Design from the Fareham Tertiary College. Christine first started to design websites while she attended university and has been professionally designing websites for over 2 years now. Her dream is to eventually work for Pixar studios which have fueled her passion for 3D modeling and motion design but this has not stopped her from designing some amazing web design work for various projects that involve her passion of both these subjects.

1. I see that you’ve done a lot of 3D, motion design and print work but I am interested to know how you got into web design?

My course at university was all about 3D modeling and motion graphics, but whilst at university I worked for a family friend in his website design studio. This gave me a lot of work experience and pulled me into website design. After I graduated from university I fell into another website design job but this time it was full time. My dream was to work for Pixar animation studios and work on the next big film. The one thing I like most about website design is the fact that people from all over the world can see your work without moving from their desk. A website has to be the only worldwide promotional tool. I just like the fact that no 2 websites are the same, the internet can be an art gallery for website designers.

2. When did you first start building websites and how long have you been doing it on a professional level?

I built my first websites when I was working part time at university. I’ve been creating websites professionally now for just over 2 years.

3. How has your education from Fareham Tertiary College and Southampton Solent University helped you to become a better web design professional?

I studied art and design at college so this refined my drawing and creative skills. I touched on website design very briefly back then but nothing that could really help. Also at university we did a couple of small projects on website design but it was more of the functionality side of website design such as navigation and adding images, etc. I created my first personal online portfolio back in university with the help of a friend, I created a full flash animated website, and I didn’t know anything about search engine optimization back then. Everything I know about website design has been pretty much self taught with a bit of guidance from employers, friends and Google.

4. Christine, in your own words, what do you think are the base skills that a web designer needs to be successful in today’s job market for web design positions?

I think the main skills a website designer needs is creativity, imagination, ambition and passion. With so many web designers out there today you need to keep ahead of the pack and stand out, otherwise you’ll get lost in the big ether that is the World Wide Web.

Main computer skills would be Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, but with website designers doing a bit of everything nowadays you will need to know basic CSS & HTML to update websites, slice your designs up and creating template pages.

5. You seem to have a good base in print and illustration how has your experience in print and illustration in general helped you in web design projects?

Print and Illustration skills do help a lot when working with clients, because it gives you the opportunity to offer more. This is so your client only has to come to one place for all their design needs, such as business cards, flyers, headed paper, etc. Clients like to be able to have one designer that does everything so it’s less hassle for them. Otherwise they would have to have different designers for different jobs.