Web Design Inspiration Blog | SpicyWebDesigners.com

Michael Grinstead is a web designer who is self-taught residing in Romsey, Hampshire in England in the United Kingdom. He has been designing websites since 1999 using FrontPage (he has evolved to hand coding HTML and sometimes uses Coda today) and eventually landed a job with a local company as their in-house designer working on print projects but he was drawn to the web. He created “GiantPea” a one man web design studio built on the principals of a personal touch and extremely high standards.

1. How and when did you get started designing websites?

The first website I built was back in 1999 using… ‘cough’… FrontPage, I wanted a site to showcase my cartoons/illustrations I was doodling at the time.

Back then I was working for a local company as their in-house designer mainly working with print, but the web was a fascinating (but slow) place to be on, and creating a (crappy looking) website was the way
forward.

2. Why did you choose to brand yourself under Giantpea considering you are currently a one-man show?

If I had a cool name e.g. Michael Knight, then I think I would have been happy to trade under that.

Having a trading name broadens the opportunity for branding, plus as a one-man show I have a collection of freelancers I tend to call upon for larger projects, so it’s nice to say that we are all working within Giantpea.

3. When you were going to school where and what did you study? Did it help you become a better designer?

School! If I can remember that far back. Between you and me, I’m actually self taught. At school I studied art and design, but my goal was to go off to university and study to become a media designer for the film industry, designing film and studio sets, including storyboards.

Instead I became an accountant, it was only later on in life that I finally got to do my dream job, sadly not designing film sets, but designing in general gives me great pleasure. It’s really a paid hobby!

Though I’m self taught, I do wish I had gone off to university and studied design, it certainly opens doors if you’re looking for a job, plus at times I do feel that I’m not qualified to do the job as I don’t have the educational background.

I believe every job/design you undertake makes you a better designer.

4. Michael, what are some of your favorite tools that you use to design for the web?

I generally start with pen and paper, once I have a direction to head in I boot up Adobe Fireworks. As for coding (HTML/CSS/PHP) I prefer to use Coda.

5. What are some of the biggest challenges in designing for the web today? A lot of web designers naturally say “IE 6″ but i am wondering if you face anything else that is also a challenge?

Those brilliant designers out there, who churn out some awesome work like there’s no tomorrow. It sickens me to see such talent, and to be honest it can leave you feeling inadequate at times.

Another would be clients who don’t understand the importance of a website and that having one is an investment, it may not come cheap but a well designed site will produce a return on their investment.

Of course IE6 can be a challenge, but that’s what designing is all about, problem solving!

6. How do you stay up to date with current trends in web design?

RSS feeds/twitter, attending conferences, and chatting to industry peeps. It is hard to keep on top of the forever changing web industry.

Philip Beel is a web designer from Kent, England in the United Kingdom. He started designing websites back in 2004 and has been designing ever since. During school, he was studying for his Digital Media Degree at Canterbury Christ Church University in Canterbury and as he puts it he “didn’t really have a lot of direction” and found himself interested in web design and realized that this was where he wanted to be. He is heavily involved in developing JQuery plug-ins, XHTML, CSS, PHP, mySQL just to name a few. He even has some advice for those of you starting to learn CSS for the first time so read on…

1. Philip you mention on your site that you “found I had a passion for web design” after studying for your Digital Media at CCU. How did that all happen?

Before I went to “Uni” I didn’t really have a lot of direction, I knew I enjoyed creating things, but I never considered myself particularly ‘arty’. At University I was introduced to the art of web design, As I discovered typography, graphic design, HTML and CSS I was captivated by the possibilities, and I knew that this was the industry I wanted to be in.

2. You work with CSS a fair amount. What are some of your top tips to web designers learning to master CSS?

I would highly recommend paying CSS Zen Garden a visit it’s an Ideal starting point for any aspiring web designer. Having the freedom to dismantle someone else’s work and just play around with the design is a great way to gain hands on experience. This has the added benefit of teaching you how to create websites the right way and will set you on the standards compliant path to success.

3. I see that you write JQuery plug-ins. Do you design specific plug-ins for a certain platform or are they custom? Do you have any examples?

Plug-in authoring is something I have only recently moved into. Currently I currently only write JQuery and smarty plug-ins, but I’m looking to move into WordPress plug-ins in future. I really take a lot of satisfaction from seeing them used by others and getting feedback to improve them. My latest plug-in is called ‘truncatable’ it’s a lightweight SEO friendly truncation tool which is free for use, which you can download from my site

4. When did you design your first website?

I designed my first website in 2004; it was made completely from tables and was a real shocker. I learned a lot of lessons from it however, most of them the hard way. It really made me appreciate the level of dedication and effort that a design needs to make it a success.

5. I see that you are a very active blogger when it comes to web design, writing some very articulate articles. How has it allowed you to showcase your design skills and grow your business?

I really enjoy blogging, when I learn something new it’s always great to share it. I have been able to build up a really great network from blogging and it has paid dividends in terms of growing my online business and my online presence.

Russ Kirby is a web designer from Brighton, England in the United Kingdom. Instead of making the choice to go to university Russ decided to join a band and play guitar and he started designing for his band. He studied web design at home after the band broke up and it taught him the basics of web design and putting together a website. Since then his work has been evolving with every project he takes on and his attention to detail shows. His portfolio is not that extensive just yet but he continues to design with a strong work ethic, his ability to code standards compliant websites using XHTML and CSS and beginning to learn PHP. Russ studied his A-Levels in Art, Design and Photography at the Sussex Downs College and took a year of art foundations.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I was always wanted to be a designer right the way through school/college but decided to skip university as I played guitar in a band at the time and really wanted to give that a go. This was all happening around the time MySpace was making a big impact on the music scene so I started getting into trying to make a cool looking page for my band and I guess things just went from there.

2. When did you start designing websites?

Soon after my band split I decided to do a home learning course in web design which taught me the very basics about putting together a website. After I finished the course I started designing websites for anyone I could find just to get as much experience as possible and to start getting my portfolio together. This usually involved in building sites for free, but you have to start somewhere and there’s no easier way to learn web design than by doing it…lots!

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

I suppose the biggest challenges I face as a web designer, are keeping my designs looking fresh and exciting, as well as trying to stay up to date with all the advances in technology that occur on pretty much a daily basis!

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

Yes I code all the sites I build in standards compliant XHTML/CSS. Most of the sites I have built recently have required a CMS so I occasionally have to do a bit of tinkering around with PHP although I wouldn’t ever claim to be an expert in server-side development. I’m not that smart!

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 Art, Design and Photography for my A-Levels at Sussex Downs College near where I live, then went on to do a further Art Foundation year to try and pin point which area of design I wanted to specialize in. This was back in 2001 so web design was not really covered in my course which was a bit of a shame, however, I do feel my Art Foundation year helped me a lot with how to tackle design problems, and got me thinking ‘outside the box’ which I used to have difficulty in doing.

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

I start most of my web projects by mocking up designs in Illustrator. I find Illustrator easy to use and I can quickly get an idea whether a design is going to work or not. After I am pretty much happy with the initial design I start chopping it up in Photoshop and then hand code the XHTML and CSS in Dreamweaver using the code view. When I was teaching myself web design I used to code everything in Notepad as typing everything over and over again really made the languages stick in my head, but now to speed things up I just code in Dreamweaver.  Next comes the fun part of making sure all the browsers render my design consistently! One tool that has been a real godsend is Firebug which is a Firefox extension. Firebug can save you heaps of time when trying to identify a particular element in your code that is causing problems and I would really recommend adding it to your tool set.

7. You currently use Behance to host samples of your portfolio work.  How has that helped your freelance business and how do you feel this service benefits your business?

Although I have only recently joined the Behance network I have started getting a few leads just from having my profile on there. Also there is such a big community on the Behance network you can be sure that the right sort of people are getting to see your work. I am certain that being on Behance will continue to bring me leads and hopefully land me some great projects in the future.

Jamie Barton is a web designer from Newcastle Upon Tyne, England in the United Kingdom. He earned his degree in Web Development and Management at a North East University but he doesn’t accredit that with helping him with the design of websites. He originally started designing websites back when he was roughly 10 years old and has continuously improved his skills since then. Besides working on his MacBook Pro, Jamie also takes time to learn using sites like Lynda.com most recently to improve his skills in PHP and mySQL.

1. How did you get started in web design?

In Year 5 of my Middle School I wanted a way to show off magic tricks I had been learning and add pictures of the tricks and also have a way for my friends to be able to see the magic collection I had and allow them to add comments, etc. But, it really became a problem when the aesthetic appeal to my site was very limited because I was using Netscape’s Site Builder at the time and only supported templates they had made. This is what started me in web design, because I wanted to have my own unique design and be able to make my website stand out from everyone else.

2. When did you start designing websites?

Very young, I think in Year 5 of my Middle School in England I was 9 or 10. Every day since I made my first website for my magic tricks I have been developing new ways to designing websites and advancing my skill-set. I believe today my abilities have progressed so much further and I am able to offer my ever-long hobby now as a service to others.

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

Competition and being a step ahead. Today’s web design and development industries focus completely on being different, I communicate to my clients in a friendly and professional way, and always work with them and not for them, I take each project seriously and don’t just treat it as ‘another project’ or a ‘way of this month’s rent’, I spend hours getting it right – and that’s what competition usually doesn’t do, at least the bigger companies, and this way of communicating with my clients is really hard to make stand out, because in a testimonial on a website they’re just words. Another challenge is networking, at the moment, because I’m in Higher Education studying Full Time I find it hard to go to networking events and hand out business cards and speaks with other people in the industry or those who require my services, this is losing potential clients and not getting the brand name ‘Escensi’ out there.

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

When I first started designing my own websites I slowly picked up html and how to use tables back in the day. Today, everything I know is all self taught. Languages I am currently fluent with coding without reminding myself are xHTML, CSS, PHP and SQL. I mostly all of the time code the web designs for myself if I was hired to get a company’s website online, but, most recently I’ve been given work to just design the pages, and not code, so it’s nice having a break from doing all of the designing and the coding, but I still love coding. Currently I am learning Ruby on Rails via video tutorials on a popular screencasts website.

5. I saw that you study your degree in Web Development and Management at a North East University and wanted to 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?

To be honest, my degree hasn’t helped me design my websites, because the course I did focuses more on the Development side, and designing has always been a hobby and something I’ve done on the side. I have always taught myself in design via experimenting in design applications. If I hadn’t have started my course I would not be using PHP and MySQL now to create Content Management Systems for my clients, I would probably still be just designing and coding into static pages. Another advantage of my course was the amount of deadlines there was. Meeting deadlines helped me get over the perfectionism I had a lot of in my younger years, and most recent, but they seem to be vanishing now and it is allowing me to work more efficiently and quicker on client work, because I’m getting things done without putting them off because it just doesn’t ‘look right’.

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?

Cascading Style Sheets I think saved my life. CSS has become massive over the past few years and the technology behind this is only getting better and better. If it wasn’t for CSS, I think I would have given up completely on coding any of my designs, and like without my Development course, I wouldn’t code in any language all together. So, I think the industry has changed a lot, ‘Web 2.0′ has been, and I think is going, but if it wasn’t for that trend hitting it big and being so much in the media, websites wouldn’t be how they are today.

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

I work on a MacBook Pro that is connected to my 24″ Apple Cinema Display, with 4GB of RAM and a 2.4Ghz Processor, it really is a tool I couldn’t live without, I will never go back to designing on a PC. On the Mac, I use popular industry applications such as TextMate, CSSEdit2.0 and BBEdit, for coding/programming and Photoshop, FireWorks and Illustrator for Design work, and any moving image or animation work I use Flash and After Effects.

8. After checking out your site i wanted to ask why you chose a one page format to represent your skills on the site?

I was asked to show all of my work, and I didn’t want someone to click through folders in a directory I have set-up with my work uploaded into, instead I wanted somewhere they could just click through and see instantly, without having them to do much work, so I just started with having the one page and having mini screenshots to show the work, and once clicked a larger piece of work was shown. I didn’t want there to be much content on the site at first, in the next version of my site, that I am currently planning will focus more on me as a Company and have a lot more information on what I exactly do, and go into the portfolio work a lot more in-depth.

9.  I see that you code in a number of languages including PHP, AJAX, CSS, HTML in your projects and i wanted to ask you what resources either online or in print do you use to stay up to date with learning more about these languages?

I currently use Lynda.com – My father paid for a year’s subscription after I had been paying for a few months and was staying up all night to learn PHP and MySQL in more depth than I was learning on my course. Lynda.com is the only and best resource, I have about ten books on each of languages but I prefer watching someone doing the screencast and me following along. I just work that way better.

Shirley-Ann Dick aka “Missy” is a web designer from the county of Berkshire, England in the United Kingdom. She started designing websites in her own words, “A very long time ago!” before CSS existed. Since then she has gained a great deal of experience and developed a passion for understanding and improving usability for her clients. Some of the recent roles she’s been held include New Media Developer and Senior Designer.

1. After reading your resume I see that you’ve had a lot of working experience and I was wondering when did you first begin designing websites.

A very long time ago!

When the Internet was first being developed I was working as a technical consultant for a company with close ties with the European Commission and CERN. We were running parts of the JANET academic network, and won various contracts to produce some of the earliest HTML-based applications for electronic distribution of academic papers.

There was no CSS back then, so content was limited to text, graphics, and only the simplest of navigation. Design was more about content structure in those days.

Over the next 5 or 6 years the internet became more public facing and browsers appeared on our desktops, but styling capabilities were still very restrictive. Anyone who complains that CSS 2.1 is limited would think again if they had to use CSS 1.0!

Some of the earliest public-facing sites I worked on were for Greenwich Council and the Citizens Advice Bureau. Since both projects were in the public service arena, accessibility was paramount. I’m often amused by those who think that accessibility is the “in thing”. The early internet was inherently accessible because back then we simply didn’t have the technologies to make content hard to access!

2. I see that you have a great deal of experience using web technologies like JavaScript, ASP.NET, HTML, CSS and Visual Basic.  Do you consider yourself more of a web designer or a web developer?

That’s a really good question, which I sometimes struggle to answer in interviews. Most of the roles I have held have been a hybrid of both but usually more inclined towards the visual design.

I’ve always been passionate about usability, so to me even the most stunning design is rendered pointless if it’s hard to use. Many back-end developers don’t have a clue about usability. It doesn’t matter how good their code is; if the interactions don’t make sense to the user, then we’ve failed to design a good site.

In my current role as Lead Designer with a major car rental company, I’m involved in various aspects of the development of the e-commerce websites. 70% of my work is based around UI design and browser stability; the other 30% is working closely with the development and requirements teams to ensure that what we’re asked to produce will result in the best user experience for our customers.

3. I see by going through your site that you’ve created an extensive and accurate portfolio of your work.  Why was it important for you to be so detailed in documenting your work?

Primarily I wanted to show that I’ve been in this game for a long time and my experience is broader than the average (younger) web designer. I’ve held many senior roles and that’s not something you can substantiate with a handful of screenshots. Prospective employers want to see beyond the visual design and understand how you met or exceeded the customer’s expectations.

It’s also important to let your personality shine through, which is reflected in the way I present my work alongside personal projects and my blog.

4. On your site, you say that you are looking for a specific position or role within an organization and I wanted to ask how has the feedback from potential employers been so far?

Obviously any career change has to be right for me, as well as the employer. There are many recruitment agencies out there that are only interested in their commission and who want to put your forward for roles that are totally inappropriate. I’ve also been stung a couple of times by smaller companies who have misled me about their stability and have gone bust.

So I decided to make it absolutely clear about what I’m looking for. If a role doesn’t meet my specification, I simply won’t give it the time of day.

The feedback I get is generally excellent. Having a broad portfolio means the recruiter or employer gets to learn as much as possible about my skills before any interview. Giving as much information up front makes for more interesting interviews. There’s less “tell us a bit about yourself” and more “we liked what you did for company X, have you used that solution anywhere else?”.

5. Missy, since you first started how has the web design industry changed? And, has it changed for the better or worse?  Please explain?

When I first started out there wasn’t a web design industry at all. It was very much an elitist profession, with hardly any specialist agencies or applications. Now everyone and their dog can produce a website if they want, which is why we’re now seeing so many “shake and bake” template-driven services.

The industry has definitely started to change for the better. Improvements in consumer hardware, bandwidth and JavaScript support for example have removed barriers that constrained designers for many years.

In many respects we’ve gone full circle. The internet started out as a distribution mechanism for information. From the late 90’s to early 00’s information became entangled in graphics and video – everything became designer-centric and increasingly inaccessible.

With the advent of SEO, blogging and social networking, content is king again. And rightly so.

6. What is/are the biggest challenges that you face in web design currently and how do you manage to overcome them?

Standards support always has been, and always will be, the biggest challenge.

In my job I have to make sure the websites (all 13 of them) are stable on as many as 8 browsers at any given time. The browsers our customers use are reviewed every three months, which means if there’s been a new release of Firefox (say) the list can shift dramatically from one quarter to the next.

Working with legacy mark-up is a challenge too. Migrating mission-critical e-commerce sites from table-based layout to valid semantic mark-up is a massive task, one which has at times been hampered by the bad habits of well-intentioned developers.

To get around this problem I’ve recently developed an intensive training course, centred on UI best practice and CSS. Even thought the course hasn’t completed yet, I’ve already seen a huge improvement in the quality of mark-up coming from the developers, which means I can return to focussing on the visual design rather than validation errors and browser bugs.

7. Missy, what advice could you give to young professionals starting out in web design today when it comes to finding full time web design work?

1) Be realistic about the industry.

Web design isn’t just about creating awe-inspiring concepts with your Wacom; your designs have work in practice and deliver a great user experience. Learn as much as you possibly can about usability, accessibility and design patterns and put that knowledge into everything you produce.

2) Be your own worst critic.

Deconstruct every project you complete to identify what you could have done better, so that next time you will do it better.

James Chambers is a web designer from London, England in the United Kingdom. His original background is in graphic design but he has slowly made the move to interaction design since he first started in college. James has a BA in interaction design from the London College of Communication. He has been designing websites in 2005 and started to tinker in web development in 2006 and he has been developing and designing ever since. He currently does the majority of his work using Ruby on Rails, PHP, mySQL, jQuery and HTML & CSS.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I originally wanted an online portfolio to show my graphic design work. I spent some time learning HTML and CSS in order to make it and caught the web design bug.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I started tinkering around in late 2005 and got more into development in 2006.

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

Internet Explorer.

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

I tend to develop most of the sites I design myself – what I use depends a bit on what the application is. In the early days I wrote all the code myself using PHP and MySQL, but recently I’ve moved to using MVC frameworks, particularly Ruby on Rails and CodeIgnitor. Rails in particular is fantastic in terms of the community and plug-ins available, and Ruby is a joy to work with. For smaller projects I’ve been well served by WordPress – it’s so well documented, has great support and is really flexible if you’re willing to get your hands dirty.

5. I saw that you studied and earned your degree in Interaction Design at the London College of Communication and wanted to 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’ve was really lucky to have some truly fantastic tutors, and it’s very inspiring to be around people who have so much enthusiasm for their subject. At university I was exposed to lots of design and had to figure out where I wanted to situate myself within it, then develop the skills needed to make it happen. Design is such a broad field that it’s impossible to teach everyone all the skills they might need during a 3 year degree, but LCC was fantastic in terms of the facilities and expertise available so when I wanted to follow something up or learn more there was always somewhere to turn. I think my design education has been about learning how to think critically, and in this way it’s hopefully helped me know the difference between a good and a bad idea a bit quicker, which has been helpful in all areas of my work.

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?

It hasn’t been all that long since I started but the obvious change would be the growth of social applications. When I was working on 5oup the only major social site was MySpace – Facebook was still just for students. Of course that’s all changed now, but I think the range of applications out there at the moment forces developers and entrepreneurs to think more carefully about their target market and really focus on it.

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

I start with pen and paper, then move into Illustrator or InDesign when I’ve got a good idea of what I’m going to do. I try to iterate through this process two or three times before committing anything to code to allow the design to evolve without the constraints of HTML. When it comes to development I really love Textmate for the Mac for its simplicity, and I’ve recently started using the Blueprint CSS framework as it’s got good cross browser compatibility and is a great way of getting a design into code with the minimum of fuss.

8. I read on your site that you “began studying as a graphic designer before moving into interaction design” and i wanted to ask how has the move from graphic design to interaction design affected the way that you see design in general? And, which do you prefer?

It’s been said that 95% of web design is typography so a graphic design background has been very helpful in that respect. I wouldn’t say I prefer one discipline over another as the principles that underly them seem to overlap a lot of the time, but I would say that working in interaction design has given me the opportunity to explore a lot of new and interesting subjects that I might not have done otherwise.

Tim Potter is a web designer from Belfast, Ireland in the United Kingdom. He has been designing for the past 10 years when he started playing around with FrontPage Express and Paint Shop Pro. Tim studied Interactive Multimedia Design at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Tim currently teaches on a part-time on web standards & professional practice to current Interactive Multimedia Design students and continues to develop his skills as a web designer.

1. How did you get started in web design?

My humble entry into the web design world began around 10 years ago when I started playing around with FrontPage Express & Paint Shop Pro. Armed with my new found knowledge of iframes, tables, animated gifs and marquees, I began to create some very primitive websites for personal learning.

2. When did you start designing websites?

After leaving school at 16 I went on to study Computing at college. One of the assignments involved designing, then coding a website for a fictional clothing company entirely in notepad. I really enjoyed learning HTML and I began to advance my skill set by building websites for several local Irish bands.

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

I would say ‘standing out from the crowd’ is a continual challenge, i.e. the ability to be seen and stay competitive in an industry with an ever growing number of freelancers and design agencies, without grossly under-selling yourself. Some other challenges include keeping up-to-date with current technologies and practices whilst balancing daily commitments. Finally, convincing clients that the website they want you to make theirs look like is absolute rubbish!

4. Do you ever refer to yourself as a Front-end developer or a web designer? Do you code any of the web sites that you design currently? If so, what language(s) do you code in?

It really depends on who you are pitching yourself to but generally I find it easier to classify myself as a web designer because most people understand exactly what it is you do.

I generally prefer to carry the design process through to the implementation stage and build the web site, or as much of it as I can myself. I usually code in XHTML & CSS, but some sites incorporate dynamic elements that require additional programming in PHP, XML & Java Script.

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

I studied Interactive Multimedia Design at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. The course helped me improve my visual appreciation and ability to critically analyze and understand the important elements of successful design e.g. layout, color, typography etc.

I was able to develop my skills through the continual engagement with the broad range of applications, hardware, industry practices and trends relevant to the creation and development of websites

I am now a part-time lecturer on this course and I teach web standards & professional practice to current Interactive Multimedia Design students.

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?

Flash was coming to the forefront as I became more heavily involved in web design. I’ve always found Flash to be a valuable resource, but have never enjoyed building or viewing websites made entirely with the software. I’m forever reminded of the seemingly never ending loading bars, inability to bookmark specific pages, terrible shape tweens and the accessibility issues. Of course the technology has advanced as have the designers using it and I feel today it is used in a much more refined application.

Social networking has exploded over the past few years and it is not uncommon for a request to design a skin for the likes of a Myspace or Bebo profile instead of designing and building the client their own website.

Finally, I think the favorably titled Web 2.0 trend has brought a lot of great, accessible websites to the forefront as well as advocating web standards.  Designers are taking pride in their work and delivering aesthetically pleasing, validating, HTML/CSS designs and long may it continue!

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

I always like to start a new design by sketching out my ideas on paper. I find it a useful way to draw and note down thoughts that can often happen spontaneously, rather than jumping straight into Photoshop.

Once I am satisfied with a design, I construct a visual of it in Photoshop and refine it until I am happy. I have been using Photoshop since my days at university and think it is a valuable resource in web design as it aids your thought process in relation to the choice of fonts, typographic layout/hierarchy, colors, image size, placement, layout etc and it is a great way to send the client over a comprehensive visual before even coding a single page.

Development wise I use Dreamweaver/Notepad ++ and always find IE Tester useful to make sure it renders correctly across the multiple versions of the dreaded Internet Explorer.

8. You say on your site that you have “extensive experience in the planning, design and development of websites” and i wanted to ask how important is it for a company to know their strategy on the web as it pertains to the development of their website?

The development process is like a journey. More often than not you know exactly where you want to go, sometimes you have to stop and ask for directions, and other times you just want to see where it takes you. A company may only require a basic presence on the web that serves nothing more than their contact details and is not considered an important part of the day-to-day running, then again a business may rely solely on their website to make money, therefore I believe that it is important for a company who is relying on their website to deal or attract new business to know their intention from the outset so that the best strategy can be identified and implemented through the various stages of the design process. Others can just enjoy the ride.

Grace Smith is a web designer from Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. She currently runs a freelance web design business called “PostScript 5” and her own personal site where she discusses the latest web design trends. She graduated with a degree in Multimedia Design from University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Grace owns, manages and runs a number of sites including CSSLoaf and Thursday Theme outside of her freelance web design work and she has been designing professionally since she left university in 2005 even though her original encounter with the web and design started back when she discovered Geocities.

1. How did you get started in web design?

After I graduated with a Multimedia Design Degree in 2005 I started work as a graphic designer for a local print company. Concentrating so much on print work made me miss working online though, so after a year I started to freelance in my spare time and build up both my contacts and portfolio to the point where I could freelance full-time.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I remember creating sites using Geocities when I was a lot younger, so it’s been a long time since my first site but I didn’t start properly until my first year at University.

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

Keeping your knowledge current and up to date with the latest trends, practices and technology. It’s easy to get comfortable and get into a habit of using the same practices and techniques so I continually push myself to learn new languages and tools as well as keeping a close eye on design trends and movements.

4. Do you ever refer to yourself as a Front-end developer or a web designer? Do you code any of the web sites that you design currently? If so, what language(s) do you code in?

I prefer to think of myself as a Front-end developer because I tend to concentrate on the User Interface, combining both the design and front end build in (X) HTML and CSS. Rather than the back-end, simply because my passion lies in user interface design. Although I have experience of working on larger development projects where I concentrated on the back end development and I do think it’s good to have an understanding of the entire development process even if you choose to specialize later.

I work on a near daily basis with WordPress, both on personal and client projects so a good understanding of PHP is essential. I also particularly enjoy working with other languages such JQuery and Ajax because of the added functionality you can incorporate.

5. Why do you enjoy coding your web projects using web standards?

Personally because I know I am creating websites the way the web should be designed and built. With accessibility and usability at the forefront, knowing you are contributing to this is a good feeling!

6. Where did you go to school and has it helped you become a better web design professional?

I went to the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and it did help progress my design and web development skills but the biggest influence it had was making me aware of web standards and web accessibility.

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

I started learning web design with Dreamweaver and Tables so the industry has changed enormously since I first started! Most web designers now straddle both the design and coding world with knowledge of both design and style and front end technologies like CSS, JQuery and Ajax.

It has without a doubt been a positive change, with standards-based design and development now best practice, many designers now incorporate user testing, validation and accessibility analysis into their process.

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

While I love Adobe Photoshop and it is the design application of choice for me personally I have to say my Moleskine notebook is my favorite tool to aid in the design of a site. Due to the fact most of the designs I work on start out as a brainstorming session and then a sketch, all of this preliminary work is done in my Moleskine notebook. I sketch out User Interfaces and site structures. This work is then taken into Photoshop to work on the next stage in wireframing and eventually the actual design.

9. Have your experiences in the print industry helped you to become a web designer?

I was a web designer before I was a print designer so I straddle the two mediums quite comfortably although my work is now nearly entirely web based. Great print design usually means an excellent use of typography. This was one of the areas I improved upon most while working as a graphic designer. My appreciation and skill with type is something I can attribute to my time spent working within a printing company.

10. Tell us more about the projects you are currently involved in including CSSLoaf and Theme Thursday? Do you own and operate both of these sites? If so, why did you decide to work on each project?

I own and will be operating the Theme Thursday website which is due to launch in two weeks, as well as managing the Theme Thursday event and twitter account. It was borne out of an idea I had on Twitter to gather resources and links on a new theme on a particular day, as Twitter is so fast paced and sprawling. It means there is a focused set of content each fortnight on a unique theme chosen by those on Twitter, at the moment it has over 600 followers after just a few themes. The site will help it to grow and develop as well as being a real aid to those interested in any of the themes each month.

I’ve been running CSS Loaf for around a year now, it’s been a superb way to see inspiration on a daily basis and to showcase the work of a lot of talented individuals and companies. CSS Loaf was the first side project I took on and it’s been a really enjoyable experience in terms of managing and maintaining it and without much promotion it has a healthy number of RSS subscribers and followers on Twitter. It takes around 15 minutes a day to manage so the time commitment is minimal and as the owner of a design gallery I tend to see a lot of the websites before they hit the mainstream which is great.

I enjoy working on projects which are not client related as it lets me experiment and work at my own pace as well as putting some of creative energy into projects that build up my name and brand. I also have plans for another two projects which I’m currently working on as I tend to have a constant stream of ideas.

11. In your web design studio, Postscript5, explain your approach towards wire framing and prototyping for clients? What can they expect from this process? How does it help you design and put together better websites?

Wireframing is an essential step in my design process. It’s a tool I incorporate on projects as it allows for rapid prototyping and helps both myself and the client to pinpoint any potential problems. I also find it invaluable on projects to have a visual representation of content, hierarchy and layout.

One the initial research and discovery phase has been completed I create sketches (using my trusty Moleskine) of the layout which are turned into wireframes (usually in Photoshop first, using the grey-box method) for review and approval before the actual design process begins.

The wireframe itself gives a strategic view of the positioning of elements within the layout and shows how the content will flow on the page. It’s an important step in determining the placement of content, function and navigation. It really acts as the blueprint for the content, design and construction work that comes later.

By using wireframes I find the entire design process is much smoother and more efficient. I know by talking with my clients that it is a step in the process they have come to appreciate because it makes for a more efficient project.

Ana Rita Cruz is a web designer from Cardiff, Wales in the United Kingdom. She originally started designing websites about 7 years ago and even though she originally started off in electrical engineering she has since been designing some amazing sites. Ana studied Design in Media at University of Glamorgan and after she began freelancing. She learned to program when she was doing engineering and later learned more about design including front-end coding and now she designs and codes her own sites.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I started on web design on my first attempt of higher education, rather strangely I was being taught on how to be an Electric Engineer and a part of the course was programming, they taught me PASCAL, DOS and then HTML. That was the point of no return for me, which got me interested in web design because I didn’t want to be just a coder, all the rest matters as well and plays a very important role. From that on I decided to invest on a multimedia course.

2. When did you start designing websites?

As I mentioned before it was during my Engineering days, which was around 7 years ago.

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

The biggest challenge I face right now is the fact that design keeps multiplying itself as the technologies expand and it makes it challenging to accompany it as design gets obsolete in very little time.

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

Yes. All the web work I do, I try to design it, build it and code it. An example of it is my current portfolio, that was launched about a month ago, which was coded in CSS and XHTML. I have also done some other works such as http://lhyo.site40.net/ that was all done in Flash. I do like mixing and learning new stuff, although I do enjoy CSS and HTML best.

5. How has your education from the University of Glamorgan in Wales in Design for Media 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?

Well, to say it lightly I think that design education is overrated. It wasn’t a good experience at all and I wouldn’t recommend that establishment to anyone I know, but in some way it taught me that if you want to evolve don’t rely on anyone else but you.

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?

Through my course years, I was only producing work for school and some personal projects, not grasping then the industry that well. After I finished the course I started trying to get into the design industry (in July 2008), my first break was a freelancing opportunity to design and partially code a Facebook targeted  RPG game interface called One Ring – Lord of the Rings. From there on, I have only managed to do work for some friends to keep my skills fresh. After launching my portfolio I was contacted to start working on a new project which is good and hope it really gives me the chance to follow through and get a job in this area.

When you asked if web design has changed for the better I have to say it did, since I first started there were just a handful of my colleagues that looked upon web design, nowadays when I speak to them most of them want to try it out, there is a general enthusiasm towards the web, and with all the possibilities it gives the user and its constant evolution it makes it even more appealing.

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

Well when I start designing a website my first port of call is always my trusted pen, books and Firefox. Then off to Photoshop for some mock ups, sometimes a bit of Illustrator for some vector crisp graphics, when I consider it to be ready I dive into Dreamweaver to build the site frame and only then I write the CSS, I like to use CSS Edit to preview the CSS real time. After that I use Cyberduck to upload the finished piece and it is done.

8. I see that you list Flash, Director, After Effects and 3D Max as technologies that you use in some of your design projects.  How experienced are you in motion design and do you rate this as one of your strengths?

Well to be honest I don’t rate Motion design as one of my strengths or priorities, I have indeed done some pieces for my course but they were mostly for experiment sake. I like to consider myself multi-tasked and can’t say no to a challenge but I am more into Illustration and Web design, which I consider to be my strengths as a designer.

Pete Hellyer is a web designer from London, England in the United Kingdom. He studied Fashion Writing and Culture at Southampton Solent University which gave him his first taste of web design during his degree studies. Originally he designed his first website in 1997 and has since progressed further using tutorials and books to practice and learn new techniques.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I first studied a web-design module at University as part of my Digital Fashion Journalism degree; I has always designed posters, painted and made huge murals on my bedroom wall. After initially wanting to be a journalist I realized the power of words and images working together, rather than independently as in traditional journalism, and wanted to combine them both. The web is the future of graphic design and being a bit of digital junkie I decided it was the way to go. Four years on I was right.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I incidentally made my first web-site in 1997, aged 12, on Microsoft Publisher. A horrible flashing-gif-background and unreadable mess that I thought was great at the time. Second time around was at university and things went much better.

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

The biggest challenge I face is balancing commercial-ability and my design process, and walking that fine line. Also just keeping up-to-date with new developments, techniques – let alone ahead.

4. Do you ever refer to yourself as a Front-end developer or a web designer? Do you code any of the web sites that you design currently? If so, what language(s) do you code in?

I am designer first and foremost, but I enjoy making things work and if that includes some development work then so be it. Usually the interactive qualities of a design are what make it ‘special’ – so making sure that they are as I want them is very important. Xhtml, css, php, MooTools and Flash are all in my design tool belt currently.

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

I studied Digital Fashion Journalism at Southampton, England. I honestly feel that it helped me very little in practical terms and a couple of books would have been as useful. It did open doors however, as only a degree can.

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?

The community side of things, wealth of examples and tutorials has, for me, been crucial to my own development and for that I am very thankful. There is no elitism anymore, and that is very refreshing in design.

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

First stop is always Photoshop, and then Dreamweaver. Big fan of MooTools to make things interesting, used sparingly its effects can increase UE without affecting the usability of a site. And if used correctly they can enhance the UE to a level previous reserved for Flash-only sites.