This is final post in the “7 Questions, 7 Designers” series, in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design.

To finish off the week’s discussions, we are going to take a look at some of wisdom that our designers have gained through their own, various experiences!

Well, here were are – the last day and the last question! Today, I’d like to ask you to share one story from your design career from which you think others can learn a valuable lesson. I’m gonna leave this one pretty open ended. It could be anything – something you learned while working on a project, an interaction (good or bad) with a client or even just something that you read somewhere that really stuck with you? Why is the experience meaningful and what do you think that others could learn from it?

Nick La
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Before you start on any project, always have a clear agreement with the client (ie. a legal agreement on the project scope, payment, etc.) because this will protect both parties in case conflicts arise.

Chris Spooner
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There’s one tip I’ve found that has resulted in more free time, which is to batch tasks such as email. It’s amazing how much extra time can be generated for working through client projects, personal projects or purely for more personal time simply by checking email once a day, spending an hour or two responding to every item, then leaving it until the next day, or even the day after before opening up that inbox again.

At first it seems crazy to ignore what might be some important messages, but in reality it makes no difference whether there’s a response within 30 minutes, or in 30 hours. I’m sure there’s stacks of other experiences more interesting to write about, but if there’s anyone out there still clicking the new email notification every time the ‘ding dong’ chime sounds – Try quitting email for a day and see the benefits!

Sneh Roy
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There are a lot of experiences that I have had, that have made me the person I am. Good or bad, they have enriched my knowledge and made me better equipped to handle a situation till the next crisis arises. One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb though is my first branding project. The client company wanted to see 3-4 concepts with appropriate taglines and a mission statement that would be used extensively. Now there were some hierarchy issues in the corporate structure and because of that the marketing director [with whom I was working] insisted that once the concepts were ready, I should explain them to the marketing manager and let them present it to the board in their upcoming meeting. I tried to tactfully steer the situation away from this direction and did manage to present it to part of the board. But I didn’t have much of a say and I had to eventually give up my thought process, my ideas and concepts to the marketing manager. I am sure they didn’t present it the way I would’ve presented it because I had lived this project for 4 weeks and had researched extensively before developing those concepts. They ended up choosing a very basic design because of “confusion” in the presentation where the concepts were cut off on the projector and couldn’t be properly viewed.

I learnt my lesson very quickly. It was my first project and I was obviously nervous and a bit intimidated by the whole corporate scene. But ever since, I and only I have presented all my branding concepts and design and in all my projects so far, the client has usually picked the first concept presented to them. The moral of the story is, If you are a chef and you cook an exclusive dish, you plate it and present it, don’t leave it to someone else who wouldn’t even know what ingredients went in it in the first place.

Mike Smith
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I can’t really touch on the specifics of the clients I have previously worked with, but if I could give a word of warning, it would be to make sure you’re not taking on clients because you’re desparate for work. Don’t let your guard down and always make sure you’re picking clients that will not burn you in the long run. If your guy tells you to move on – do it!

Jeff Finley
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I’ll go with something recently. I watched the Pixar Story and learned about how this group of artists and scientists got started and grew their business. It was truly inspiring and relatable as Go Media started in a similar way.

However, it made me realize that to truly pioneer in this industry you need smart “tech” people. I’ve realized that as art/design company we are truly experts in the art department, but we’re probably getting a B or C in the tech area. Unlike Pixar, we cannot engineer software in-house to suit our exact needs. There have been many moments the past few years where an idea we had fizzled out due to lack of technical resources and know-how. Brilliant ideas gone to waste. You need that perfect blend of artistry, science/tech, and entrepreneurism.

It made me wonder who in MY generation (born in the 80s) will be the pioneers of tomorrow? What small team of artists and tech guys are starting today? Could it be us? Could it be your team? I take the Pixar pioneering spirit as a huge inspiration for how I want to run an art/design company. I don’t know if we’ll be able to invent a new medium (3D Animation) but we hope to find a gap in the creative community and fill it. Do we stay a for-hire design company? Do we focus on filling a need for the greater creative good? These are questions that will be answered in the coming years.

Brad Colbow
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I learn best from screwing up. A couple years ago I had a fairly complicated interface project where I did everything right, or so I thought. Before designing I talked with the client, got a feel for all the features, and created wireframes of all the pages before designing, and the designs looked great. Just before launch they did some usability testing. It performed miserably. There were many reasons why, some my fault some not.

This experience changed my entire outlook on web/interface design. It’s great to know the tools and techniques of our craft but it’s all pretty worthless if you don’t understand the human side of what you’re doing. I’ve spent the last few years focusing less on the “how” and more on the “why” of design and at times it creates work that might not win awards or attention but it works.

Grace Smith
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One of the most valuable experiences I’ve had as a designer (and small business owner) happened one evening in January 2008 when i received a question on LinkedIn from Leo Babauta (one of my connections) asking if any of his contacts were available to design the cover and layout of an e-book he had written which was due to go on sale.

I didn’t have much experience designing e-books but i thought i would reply hoping my other portfolio items would show my graphic design experience as a whole. I sent a reply that evening with a brief overview of my experience along with a link to my portfolio.

In all honesty i didn’t think i would hear back (as e-book design was not my speciality) however a few weeks later i received an email from Leo. He explained although he had chosen someone else to design the e-book, he was very impressed with my portfolio and asked if i would like to design and develop a new website he was working on called Web Warrior Tools with this partner in the project – Glen Stansberry. After i had collected the necessary information i quoted for the project and once accepted we began work in mid February.

It was an amazing project to work on, Leo and Glen were an absolute pleasure to work with. We collaborated well together and the final result was both a very successful launch and website.

Shortly after finishing work on Web Warrior Tools, Glen and Leo referred me onto Muhammad Saleem, one of the top Diggers and social media mavens, along with Jay White, creator of Dumb Little Man, an amazing life and productivity blog both of whom have also sent me referrals since working together. I have recently finished a new project with Mu and have just completed the second redesign of Dumb Little Man and two other projects for Glen, which shows the connections i have made have been long-lasting.

In answering one question i have had the privledge to work with some of the top experts in their niches, this has had a hugely positive effect on my freelancing. Although i had carved out a successful freelance career before this, the contacts i have made since working with Leo and Glen have been invaluable.

The takeaway lessons for myself (and hopefully anyone else reading this) is to make the most of your opportunities and build your network before you need it because by doing this I was there to answer a question that ultimately opened up a niche of clientele that otherwise i would not have had access to.

That’s some great advice for young and aspiring designers, or even for those with a bit more experience. What do you guys think? What are some the experiences that have provided valuable lessons of knowledge to you in your design career?

I would also like to take a moment to say a huge thank you to Chris, Sneh, Jeff, Brad, Mike, Grace and Nick for all agreeing to be a part of this interview series. It’s been an absolute pleasure, and I know that many of my readers have also really enjoyed reading their answers! So thanks to out 7 great designers!

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This is the sixth (and second to last) in the “7 Questions, 7 Designers” series, in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design.

Today’s discussion is about something that is very important to me – the concepts of charity and social justice as they relate to design. I was really interested to read our designers opinions. I hope you will be too!

We’re rapidly approaching the holiday season, when people seem to think more about the needs of others and the less fortunate – Peace on Earth, Goodwill Towards Men. With that in mind, what do you think is the role of the design community when it comes to issues of charity and/or social justice? Do you think that we can play any unique or special role? Are there any causes or organizations that you support?

Grace Smith
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The design community can be incredibly generous and supportive when the issues of charity and social justice arise. I’ve seen designers raise five and six figure sums through Twitter alone for causes ranging from Cancer to equipment for their local school.

The web community is an incredibly generous one at it’s heart. People enjoy giving back to a worthy cause. I think design and designers can play an incredible role when it comes to Charity, from the more obvious like designing a charities site and branding to physically volunteering and helping to raise awareness. Organisations such as as the Taproot Foundation enable professionals to work alongside organisations in need of their expertise in a logical, well organised manner that is truly beneficial to all those involved.

Committed artists and designers who want to offer their services on a pro-bono basis or volunteer ‘for the greater good’ do have a unique role to play when it comes to social justice. Design is ultimately a tool and it has the power to generate emotion and become part of a universal ‘shared experience’, especially when that is used for the benefit of others and to raise awareness for specific issues.

I support several charities that I have had personal experience with, including; Epilepsy Action, the Chest, Heart & Stroke Foundation and the Meningitis Trust. I also contribute to worthy campaigns online, most recent was Movember.

Nick La
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I think the design community can help bringing awareness of these issues by blogging. Some of the organizations that I support are FreeRice.com and BlogActionDay.org.

Chris Spooner
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It’s always great to see causes springing up every now again. Blog Action Day has been a success over the past years, and another that springs to mind is the ‘grow a mo to help a bro’ cause for Movember which seemed popular this year. With resources like Twitter it helps the word spread quickly, and soon captures the interest of the online communities.

Sneh Roy
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Christmas is a time of giving and sharing but I think a lot of the people in the developed world don’t really wait until the holiday season to give. People are becoming more aware and educated about the sufferings of the less fortunate, in third world countries and in their own backyards. As designers, we can make a small difference in a variety of little ways. I have offered my website designing skills to the local community school in the past. I know of other designer friends who have developed logos for non-profitable, charity organizations for free. Throughout the year, every month I support Save The Children. It is a fantastic organization that works very hard to build schools, rehabilitate children after natural disasters and man made calamities like war, houses them, clothes them and educates them. They work hard at eradicating child labor by educating people in the civilized world and by active development in the affected areas of the world. Besides that every alternate month I support The Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Children and our local Rural Firefighter’s Association [I live in the bush!]. Especially at Christmas time, we make our boys fill up a box of old toys that they have out-grown to give to less fortunate children. The sense of pride at giving and the kindness they have dealt to a total stranger is amazing to watch on a little child’s face.

Mike Smith
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The holiday season is always a time that people put the “charity” hat on. In my opinion, I can’t stand when people do that. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that they’re doing something – but what about the rest of the year? If you’re only doing charity around the holidays, what are you doing it for? To genuinely help or to get the credit from your peers?

I support a few different charities and organizations that help the homeless, the Veterans of our armed forces and children with illnesses. I’ve done things for the past few years for each of them and donated as much as I possibly could. This year I am going to be doing things a bit more publicly through the launch of GIANT Themes with a couple contests in the upcoming months.

Jeff Finley
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I think that’s all fine and but it’s a tough sell. In America, most people are looking out for themselves. It’s not likely you’ll find a designer more interested in helping charity than padding his or her portfolio. BUT, having said that, designers are in a superior position of influence. We have the ability to create any message we want and get it out there.

However, when you’re stuck at your desk day in and day out – completely enveloped in your niche – you might not realize some of the issues going on outside or even down the street. Sometimes I get tunnel vision and only see my peers and competitors in the design community and sometimes forget about politics or other issues that people struggle with every day.

I think as designers mature and grow these social issues will become more prevalent. Young designers out of college, their focus should be on improving skills and establishing themselves in the field. I think once you’re established and your skills become second nature, you’ll grow more interested in using those skills for the greater good.

Brad Colbow
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I’m a fan of individual charity over community charity. Maybe I’m jaded, but doing things like turning your avatar green for a cause or putting a badge on a blog just seems like a hollow show of support. I don’t think it makes much of a difference.

This year for Christmas my family is buying toys for a local kid who otherwise wouldn’t have anything. It’s something our church organizes every year. Those are the kinds of efforts I feel good about getting behind because I know it makes a difference in someone’s life.

Awesome! It’s great to see all these different perspectives on these issues, and to read about some of the different causes that our designers support. What about you? What are your views on the relationship between design and charity/social justice? What causes do you support? Be sure to check back tomorrow for the last post in this series!

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I can’t believe we are already on the fifth day of our “7 Questions, 7 Designers” series, in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design.

Today, we’re going to be tackling questions about blogging (specifically design blogging), both in its present state and its envisioned future. Our designers have some really interesting ideas.

You guys all run or are directly involved with at least one blog. Can you speak to your experiences in this area? How important is blogging to your work in general? Where do you find inspiration for your posts and/or articles?

Also, what do you foresee as being the evolution of blogging? It’s already changed so much over the past few years, and I would be really interested to hear your thoughts on where you think things might be going!

Brad Colbow
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My blog posts a weekly comic strip and inspiration for it is everywhere. For me the comic and the site it’s on are my playground where I can try things that I can’t do for clients. It’s a great creative outlet and I think every designer should have a way to explore things there interested but can’t do during their day jobs.

The Future…

Design blogging has really changed over the last 2 years or so. Before services like Buysellads.com were around it was very hard to make money on a blog. Since there is money in it now we see a lot more blogs pushing out similar content. That’s part of the reason I gave up trying to run a conventional blog and turned to creating content that would be different than everyone else’s (the comic strip). A few months ago I started playing with the idea of taking normal blog content and putting it in comic strip form and that’s been really successful for me.

Right now I’m really really in to the idea of art direction in blogs, like what Jason Santa Maria is up to. Designing a blog post to visually reflect the content of the post instead of just sticking it into a WordPress template like I have on my current site. The next iteration of my site will incorporate a lot of those ideas.

Grace Smith
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My blog is a way for me to talk about the things that I am truly interested in, namely; design, productivity, UX and freelancing. It also acts as a means of keeping in touch with other creatives and bloggers and as a way to improve my writing and teaching skills.

Writing and blogging is important and has become an integral part of my personal branding and also acts as a way for me to continually learn and explore new ideas, techniques and technologies.

Inspiration for posts usually comes when I’m not in front of my mac! It could happen at the cinema, reading a book, listening to music, having a conversation with a client or friend or even when I’m working on a project. It means the ideas flow naturally as staring at a blank screen forcing yourself to write and brainstorm does not work for me!

The Future…

Blogs are essentially just a tool for communication, to share thoughts and ideas and connect with others. It think it will continue to evolve with the very concept of ‘blog’ becoming fuzzy as more and more tools and ideas are embodied within it. I think this will lead to the line dividing micro-bloggers and bloggers writing in-depth niche specific content, becoming blurred.

Blogging will become a greater mash-up of a persons existence online, to become a web of interconnected social elements that becomes highly reputation based.

Even though we are now undoubtedly in the era of micro-blogging, thought leaders such as Seth Godin will continue to be a powerful influence. I feel the shift to real time is just the beginning of the next evolution of communication online.

Nick La
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Blogging at Web Designer Wall and N.Design Studio helps me keep up with the design trends advance my technical skills. For example, as I’m writing tutorials I also learn new techniques at the same time. I get self satisfaction by reading the feedbacks from the blogs. I get inspiration for my articles from reading other designers’ blogs, surfing the net, reading tweets on Twitter, and the things that I see in everyday life. Going through the submissions from Best Web Gallery helps me keep up with the trends and technology.

The Future…

I think blogging is getting more popular than ever. Thanks to the ease of WordPress and cheap hosting, almost every designer has a blog now. I think WordPress will grow even stronger in the future. Most sites I see now are powered by WordPress – whether it is a blog, general website, or large complex editorial site.

Chris Spooner
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Blogging has given me a huge boost in my career, by developing quite a large profile online, bringing in awesome client work and generating a passive revenue that enabled me to go forth into self-employment. Therefore blogging is the most important thing in my work life. I can trace back all the great opportunities I’ve seen over the past 2.5 years back to my blogging activities.

Having written blog topics for a while it’s like second nature to develop new post ideas, this is also combined with everyday inspirations. With my blog being a place where I experiment, any urges I have to play around in new areas I’ll simply create a new tutorial or article.

The Future…

There’s definitely been an increase in design blogs, and there seems to have been a few blogs gaining huge success with the magazine style model, where a large number of authors are paid to write. I’ve seen some revolts from certain people in the industry about the style of content from design blogs, with a lot of people condemning list style posts. Whether this will have an affect I don’t know. While there’s this collection of people with a hatred for certain types of blog content, there’s also an audience ten times larger that enjoy such topics!

Sneh Roy
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I have two blogs. LBOI is a design and development blog which initially started as an outlet for all my creative energy. It was and still is a place where I seek solace in the form of my creative ramblings, connect with other like-minded individuals who get excited about sometimes rather nerdy things like Optimus Prime or that awesome casette tape retro USB hub. It is a place where I share what moves and affects me as a designer, what I learn on a daily basis and a medium to showcase my work. Gel’s Kitchen is my food blog which is a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 6 as compared to LBOI, which is not even a year old. Gel’s Kitchen is fueled by my passion of good food and photography. Blogging on LBOI has recently fetched me a lot of projects which I am thankful for. I think potential clients look at your blog and your very public persona and realize that you will stick around and won’t run away with their money. They also get an outsider’s perspective to your work as a designer and how you deal with other designers and non-designers on social networks.

Blogging is not easy, if someone tells you otherwise, they are not doing it right. Every time I write on my blog [other than list.inspiration posts], I feel like I put a bit of my heart and soul into what I write and put it up there for people to love or hate. When you blog, you have to open yourself up to the lovers and haters and be responsible with what you write and project. It gets a tad frustrating sometimes, but on the whole it is a very rewarding, self-development process. I feel blogging has taught me things in 9 months that 4 years of my degree education didn’t teach me.

The Future…

Blogging and micro-blogging comparisons aside, I think blogging is becoming more and more personal with time. Not only are people weaving a very unique, personal web of words on their respective blogs but the infusion of unique themes and layouts for each post makes it a very tangible prospect towards stamping your own personality on those posts. The time is not far when we see little video blurbs/modules instead of comment boxes where each commenter will be live and actually involved in a lively discussion with others, a la Brady Brunch style window boxes.

Mike Smith
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I’ve run a few blogs in my day and am in the process of revamping/relaunching a couple new ones actually. I think it’s good to build dicipline in your work day and also a great way to share your knowledge with other people in your niche. If your blog is directly related to your business, it’s a great way to let clients know you’re smart enough to work on their projects.

I find inspiration for my articles by subscribing to 100+ feeds from all different niches. I generally get ideas from sites that aren’t even closely related to the one I am writing for.

The Future…

I think that the flood of copycat blogs will continue to grow, while the blogs that are unique will start to thrive. I’ve also noticed that a lot of the big blogs over the past couple years are slowly dying out (in certain niches) and posting a lot less which is going to allow for a new breed of “top dogs” to arise. Maybe I’ll be one of them? Who knows. I just love being a part of the process.

Jeff Finley
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We run the www.GoMediaZine.com and I also run my personal site www.jefffinley.org – Adam Wagner runs www.soundsjustlike.com which requires more time and energy to maintain.

Blogging is actually kind of a necessity these days. I don’t know anyone in the design community who doesn’t have some sort of blog online. It can be personal, corporate, or educational. But the concept of writing about your expertise is only a good thing.

My personal experience says blogs are easy to start but hard to maintain. You have to really believe in your blog and once you start to get readers, you need to interact and be friends with them. Readers are more than just casual “fans” – they want to interact, get involved, talk to you on Facebook, etc. If you’re going to blog, do it for the community and the social relationships otherwise it feels like work. Which I admit, it often does. But that’s only because I get loaded up with projects or other tasks and “socializing” or writing worthwhile articles gets put on the backburner. It takes time to craft good articles.

I find inspiration from reading other blogs. When I see an article that inspires me, I figure out why. Why do I enjoy that article? How did they write it? And then the next step is to take that inspiration and turn it into a productive session of writing and hopefully it becomes something of value. I should take my own advice more!

The Future…

I touched on this on question 2. But I foresee blogging taking a positive step BACK. Back to the days when blogs were personal and transparent. However, everything we’ve learned through the whole “list post” era will enhance what we do. I envision blogging becoming more interactive with readers and definitely more social.

I envision more opinion related posts that are for conversation rather than a tutorial or freebie. I envision the reader base maturing and craving more substance and meat from their post. More controversial topics, more people challenging what others are doing. I picture readers getting overwhelmed in their RSS Readers and removing everything and starting over.

There are some really interesting thoughts and ideas on blogging. Again, we’re seeing more discussion about the whole issue of list posts, which is something that I will be writing about soon. Also, I really agree with Brad about being captivated by the idea of having unique design elements on a post by post basis! Be sure to check back over the next couple of days for more awesome insights from these seven great minds!

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This is now the fourth day “7 Questions, 7 Designers” series, in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design. We’re over halfway through now.

In yesterday’s session, we talked about how our designers typically spend their days and what their workflows actually look like. Today, we’re actually going to take a look at some of the tools that they use on a daily basis!

Let’s talk about the tools of the trade. We all do our thing a little differently. Can you just let us what tools you use in each of the following areas?

Jeff Finley
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1. Computer: PC
2. Browser: Firefox
3. Email: Outlook (Exchange rocks)
4. RSS Reader: Google Reader
5. Imaging Software: Photoshop
6. Code Editor: Notepad2, Dreamweaver
7. Twitter: Destroy Twitter
8. Blogging: WordPress
9. Task Management: Pen and paper + Action Method by Behance, Prooflab (Go Media’s private (soon to be public) project management app)
10. Extras: FolderMenu, YouSendit, Dropbox, Wacom Intuos 3, Moleskine, Col Erase pencils, iPod, and Coffee.

Brad Colbow
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1. Computer: Mac
2. Browser: Firefox, but I’m trying out Chrome right now.
3. Email: I use Yahoo’s web client
4. RSS Reader: Google reader
5. Imaging Software: Photoshop and Illustrator
6. Code Editor: Dreamweaver and TextEdit
7. Twitter: Twitterific
8. Blogging: WordPress, but exploring other options at the moment like Expression Engine.
9. Task Management: Basecamp
10. Extras: I have a Wacom Cintiq tablet. I don’t use it everyday but it’s been indispensable for illustration.

Grace Smith
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1. Computer: Mac
2. Browser: Safari
3. Email: Google Apps
4. RSS Reader: Google Reader
5. Imaging Software: Adobe Photoshop
6. Code Editor: Coda
7. Twitter: Tweetie
8. Blogging: WordPress
9. Task Management: TaskPaper
10. Extras: I use my Macbook (13″) as a second screen just for emails as i’ve found it helps me to be more productive. I also have two external hard drives, the first is a 500GB MiniMax which stores my iTunes library and photos (as I am a keen amateur photographer). The other is a 1TB MiniMax which acts as backup for my iMac using TimeMachine, this works in combo with Mozy as my online backup.

    I have to mention my mouse, the LogiTech MX Revolution. I used the Apple Mighty Mouse for about 2 years until the RSI got so bad I had to make the switch to something much more ergonomic. The MX is simply amazing to use and I wouldn’t be without it now!

Nick La
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1. Computer: Mac
2. Browser: Recently switched to Google Chrome (Mac) because Firefox is running too slow on Mac.
3. Email: Mac Mail and Thunderbird
4. RSS Reader: Google Reader
5. Imaging Software: Photoshop
6. Code Editor: Dreamweaver
7. Twitter: TweetDeck and Tweetie
8. Blogging: WordPress
9. Task Management: iCal, papers and notes
10. Extras: Mouse and Tablet

Chris Spooner
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1. Computer: Mac!
2. Browser: Firefox
3. Email: Google Mail (via Google Apps)
4. RSS Reader: Google Reader
5. Imaging Software: Adobe Photoshop
6. Code Editor: Coda
7. Twitter: TweetDeck
8. Blogging: WordPress
9. Task Management: Things for Mac, and a good old fashioned notepad
10. Extras: My iPhone tends to come in handy when capturing inspiration while out and about, either by taking photos or jotting down notes. Otherwise, items that also populate my desk are calculator and external HD.

Sneh Roy
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1. Computer: Both. I use Mac for all my designing, browsing and photography. I use PC to code and maintain my sanity on social networks.
2. Browser: Firefox
3. Email: Erm .. Microsoft Outlook. It works and till I get on Mozilla’s Thunderbird, that will have to do.
4. RSS Reader: Google Reader
5. Imaging Software: Photoshop
6. Code Editor: Coldfusion Studio 5
7. Twitter: Tweetdeck on PC, Tweetic on Mac
8. Blogging: I used MT for a few years before happily moving onto WordPress.
9. Task Management: A plethora of paper-lists written the old-fashioned way. I am using Things for Mac and quite loving it, but I keep coming back to my trusty note paper and pen. Somehow writing down my chores makes them more approachable for me.
10. Extras: A Canon Printer, A Wacom Tablet, A 4GB USB stick to shuffle stuff between the PC and Mac [because sometimes my Mac acts up and won't connect to the network and it is so annoying!], a 1TB external hard drive for backups.

Mike Smith
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1. Computer: PC (for the time being). I want a Mac in a bad, bad way lol
2. Browser: Usually is Chrome but I’ve been having virus issues so I’m back on Firefox for now (Chrome isn’t working).
3. Email: Gmail – I also use it for my business emails.
4. RSS Reader: Google Reader
5. Imaging Software: Photoshop
6. Code Editor: Notepad++
7. Twitter: Usually tweetdeck, but I’ve been leaving twitter alone lately. Need to jump back in head first.
8. Blogging: WORDPRESS!
9. Task Management: A moleskine notebook. Yes, I keep it old school
10. Extras: I use the bare essentials right now. After the first of the year, I’ll be bulking up with backup harddrives, ect.

There are some interesting trends here. There are quite a range of tools, but it seems like all of our designers choose Photoshop for their imaging and WordPress for their blogging. What about you? Are there any other tools that you use? Be sure to check back over the next three days for more awesome insights from these seven great minds!

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Here we are on day three of the “7 Questions, 7 Designers” series, in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design.

Every designer approaches their work somewhat differently. So, today, we’re going to take a look at how our different designers spend/organize their days and workflows.

I’m always interested in peeking into other designers’ workflows. Can you give us a general synopsis of a normal day at the “office” (and I use the term lightly, since I know some of you work from home!)? What does your work space look like? Are you neat and organized, or more like me – frequently working amid various piles of paper?

Mike Smith
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I generally have been getting up around 8am lately (I’d sleep in more but my girlfriend is my alarm clock) and get moving around. Around 9am I check emails and go over twitter and other various websites I read (music related, design related, political related, ect). Around noon I take a break for lunch (sometimes) and then start back up around 1pm. From that point on, it’s either writing articles, designing layouts or coding until the sun goes down. I take a break around 8-10pm in order to watch a couple tv shows with my girlfriend (depending on what day of the week it is) and then get back to work around midnight and stay there until 3-4 am. I have insomnia so I couldn’t sleep earlier than that even if I tried to.

My office is clean most of the time. It’s actually where my dining room would be – I removed the table since it’s just my girlfriend and I living here, there’s no need for it. It’s basically just a shelf and a small desk for the time being. Once spring hits though, I will be putting it into our spare bedroom upstairs and painting/decorating. By that time, I also hope to have a MAC!

Jeff Finley
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Go Media’s got a large open warehouse-style office space. However, just over a year ago, we were working out of our President’s 2 bedroom townhouse. We had desks crammed into the kitchen and shoulders where nearly rubbing together it got so tight. We had to make a move and get our own office space.

As far as a typical day, we work 10-6 and it usually starts with email and writing down a list of my important to-dos for the day. I have a lot going on, both design, email, arsenal, and gomediazine. So I’ve got to be on top of my priorities and make sure things get done.

My typical project usually requires illustration or drawing in some way, but here’s a short list of typical things I do during a week. Emails with potential clients, current clients, press, bloggers, fellow designers and “fans” who ask questions about how to do this or that… Design for bands or clothing labels… Arsenal product design like Vector Packs, textures, etc. GoMediaZine admin and management, the occasional blog post, or site maintenance. Arsenal management and marketing the occasional tech fix or site tweak. Planning and brainstorming marketing, new site builds, new products, new clients, and general “what else can we do that’s cool..”

Brad Colbow
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Have you ever seen those posts where designers show off how cool their offices are? Well lets just say my office will never be in one of those. I keep things pretty organized but I do have cords running everywhere and it’s a little cramped so things get cluttered fast.

My workflow changes from time to time. How I approach a site depends on a lot of things like the timeline, budget and what I think is going to get me and the client the best end product. If the project has a lot of interaction and the client doesn’t have a clear vision of how it will all fit together I’ll spend a lot of time working on wireframes first. If it’s a large site and an untested idea I might team up with someone and do some user research first. Recently on a site I skipped wireframing and tried putting together mood boards since the site was just a standard ecommerce layout. The content and flow of the site was straight forward but the look and feel was up in the air. The workflow and the tools you use come down to what your goals are and the best way to achieve them.

Grace Smith
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I usually plan my tasks each evening (using TaskPaper) for the next day, this enables me to evaluate exactly what i need to accomplish and means i have a clear picture of how my day will look. I find it helps keep me focused and efficient.

A typical day means having breakfast and a read through my RSS Feeds (in Google Reader) and morning news at 8am. I also use this time to go through my emails so I’m ready to start work around 9. I work through my prioritised tasks until around 10.30 when i have a morning break (at least one cup of tea is involved in this!) I also use this time to return phone calls or contact clients. I work through to 1pm when i stop for lunch and then finish at 4.30pm. I usually leave the office for lunch and meet with friends/family as i feel it helps re-fuel my creative energy for the afternoon.

I finish earlier than most because i like to take 20/30 minutes to plan my next day, prepare invoices and generally tie up any loose ends from the day’s work. My work throughout the day is usually a combination of design and development work (in Photoshop/Coda/Mamp etc) mixed with communications, for example in Skype and Basecamp. This is a typical day but of course every day is different, as i do consulting work i may be out of the office for most of the day or there may be client meetings scheduled throughout the day but it serves as general overview of my day to day routine.

In the evening i would spend time on my own blog, writing posts and brainstorming for future posts/series. Of course, I would also be on Twitter as it’s an amazing resource for creatives and I have some great tweeps who I chat with. I try to keep both the evenings and weekends free of any work related activities and use my time on personal projects instead as I find it’s important to set work boundaries and keep a good work/life balance.

I like to have an organised, neat workspace although at times near the end of the week it may not always look like that!

Nick La
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To be honest, I don’t have an office nor even a desk at home. I don’t like to work at home or the office. I particularly like to work outside such as tea/coffee shops (eg. Starbucks). I get inspiration and ideas by working in different environment and seeing fresh people. Read this article to find out why I like to work outside of my home. At home, I’m using my dinning table as my desk. I do everything with my 17″ MacBook, so I can live without a desk.

Am I a neat person? It depends. When I’m focusing on a project, my desk is usually very messy and piled with papers and notes. I clean them up when I’m done or necessary.

Chris Spooner
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As someone who works from home I have a small office setup in a designated room of the house. My work space comprises of a glass corner desk, on which sits my MacBook and Cinema Display. I also use a Wacom Bamboo tablet, which was great to test the waters, but I’m now considering moving up to the Intuos3 model.

Check out my workspace

A typical day involves a short commute upstairs after breakfast. Then I’ll work on a mix of client and personal blog related projects. Right now I’m clearing my schedule for some upcoming changes to my personal sites. I’ll check emails just once or twice a day, which really helps boost productivity. I’ll also spend quick moments throughout the day to check TweetDeck for new and interesting design links and topics.

Sneh Roy
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I’m always interested in peeking into other designers’ workflows. Can you give us a general synopsis of a normal day at the ‚office‚ (and I use the term lightly, since I know some of you work from home!)? What does your work space look like? Are you neat and organized, or more like me ‚ frequently working amid various piles of paper?

1. Finally wake up at 6:45am after having woken up 2-3 times in the course of the night by the boys. Freshen up and head straight to the computer for email, twitter and website up-time.
2. Fuel up on coffee and switch to mom mode. Pack lunch, check twitter, reply to emails, send kids to school.
3. Cram 6 hours of work in 2 hours while the still-at-home-little-one naps.
4. Spend the day working in the yard, checking twitter, cooking, replying to emails, prepping and photographing dishes for the food blog, feeding hungry boys, chatting online with client about project, taking the bus to school and back, retweeting interesting stuff on twitter, building lego trucks, thinking about the new logo concept, sketching that noodle and carrot cartoons I have been developing for a children’s book series, building a train track, sending more emails, tweeting, mentally formulating my next blog post.
5. Once it is 6:00pm my official work day begins when Nick takes the boys off my hands. Till 11:00pm I work on client projects, my blogs and websites.

I have a big desk that houses my two computers, my sketch books, a lamp that I never switch on, an army of notes and post-its, my tiny 2002 6x4inch Wacom tablet, some strange lego contraption my son gifts me on most mornings, food and design magazines, my color index book, my iPhone and ipod, lots of pencils and erasers. It is not a disaster zone as I seem to have plenty of space to throw open a few books and start sketching or writing and I organize everything neatly every few days. But it stays neat and organized for all of 15 minutes. I do like the the comfort zone of a tiny bit of clutter and asymmetry.

There are definitely some interesting ideas here. I’m really interested in Nick’s idea of working outside of the house! What about the rest of you? Do you have similar days to any of our designers? Or similar work flows? Drop a comment to let us know. Also, be sure to check back over the next four days for more awesome insights from these seven great minds!

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Welcome the second of a seven day series that I am doing called “7 Questions, 7 Designers,” in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design.

Today’s question is about the design community, and is something that I always like to ask whenever I conduct and interview. I think you will find that the answers are all very interesting!

Personally, I’ve had nothing but great experiences with the design community so far. What about you guys? What’s your overall view or feeling about the current design community and the state of the industry at large? It can be positive, negative, observational or all of the above! I’m really interested in hearing different perspectives on this.

Sneh Roy
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Although I have been freelancing and working in the design industry for almost 12 years, my brush with the design community has been very recent. Twitter was how I started socially interacting with other creatives. Let me begin by saying that there are a lot of designers and creatives out there who have achieved a lot and who have obviously worked very hard to achieve it, yet they are totally approachable and such awesome people. When I started out in the community a year ago, I was so intimidated by it all, but as I have connected with people [designers and otherwise] over the course of the year, I feel very much a part of the community. There is plenty of room in here for anyone who wants to be here and the design community is very accommodating.

About the state of the industry at large, like with everything else in this world, there are positives and negatives. Now since I am “the glass is half full” kind of a person, I overlook the chance crusader who is single-handedly trying to abolish crowd-sourcing or the amazing rate at which design blogs [including my own] come up every single day and a lot of them become graveyards of hastily hatched lists and the soundless echoes of their once enthusiastic creators. I overlook the occasional rant and the twitter-bashing and the sucking up to the big guys that goes on. Instead I think “to each their own!” and work on my role as a miniscule gear in this great big giant machinistic robot that is the design industry. If I keep my act well oiled and updated, the gear will turn smoothly and that would be my contribution to the industry. In doing so, I might reach out and touch one single soul or help several, but I would’ve done my bit.

In retrospect, the reason why I overlook the negatives is because the design industry needs them. The negatives like the positives are part of the food chain, the eco-system. No one likes poverty and disease in the real world, but take them away and see what happens. In the same manner, the negatives are necessary. So people can rave on and on about the dire state of the industry, how bad economy is going to crush it and how too many people crowding this business is bad for everyone, the bottom line is if you are good, you will succeed [with a lot of perseverance of course], there is plenty for everyone and you just have to play nice and most importantly nature culls the weak links.

Mike Smith
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I think the design community is great. I’d be lying if I said that there weren’t cliques and groups like there were in high school – but an overall feel of the design community is warm and inviting. It’s a great space to be in and there are a TON of great people in the design community. As long as you’re doing something positive and building a name for yourself without copying others, you’ll be accepted with open arms (I think anyways lol).

Jeff Finley
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Go Media has carved a niche in the design community by sharing resources and tutorials and advice on our blog GoMediaZine and our design Arsenal. We back it all up with our design services side on our main site. So as a result we’ve found a lot of other designers and bloggers that share the same audience. Sites like Smashing Magazine and the Envato network are two of the major players in the community.

As far as my opinion of the current state, it’s kind of on the edge honestly. I’ve noticed a few bloggers already making it public that they’re tired of the “Smashing Magazine” trending of copycat design blogs, list posts, and arguabley shitty content that sparks no conversation. For example, Learn About Design, Not Making Things Pretty and Smashing Magazine Killed The Community (Or Maybe It Was Me).

I think these two posts (I’m sure there are more) are a sign of times to come. While I respect my fellow bloggers and especially Smashing (they set the trends and spawned many copycats), I do think there are reasons for why content “is sucking” right now.

My first thought is that most designers are working, not blogging. Marketers and bloggers who dabble in design are the ones who are putting the most content and articles out there. When the design community is led by social media marketers who care more about RSS readers, twitter followers, ad revenue, and Facebook fans, you’re going to get sensationally titled articles that post 50 examples of other people’s content. As evidence has shown, those posts are extremely popular and profitable. But they’re making designers annoyed because suddenly their feed reader is overflowing with list posts and articles that crosslink each other and don’t provide any substance or insight into what we’re interested in. Or it’s a tutorial on how to get some trite effect in Photoshop. (obviously, this is not the case for the entire community, but the ground is trembling).

The design community is looking for more genuine honest insight and conversation. They want to hear what a particular designer has to say about a subject. And there’s no need to post every day. It might take designers a week or two to get new content up, but generally it’s worth it.

Brad Colbow
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I don’t know what it is specifically about the visual design community online that makes people so nice but I sure am glad they are. I get a totally different vibe from every other community I have ever dipped my toe into. I also owe most of my success to the design community, they are the folks who promote me and give me great feedback good and bad.

Grace Smith
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[Editor's Note: Grace has very kindly declined to comment on this one, but that's not a reflection on the community itself. She's been so inundated with projects, we're just lucky that she was able to participate at all! Don't worry, though. We'll be seeing the rest of her answers throughout the rest of this series!]

Nick La
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I think the current design community is great. People in the community are very helpful and love to share. However, it seems like all bloggers are writing the "list style" articles like Smashing Magazine (ie. 50 best of this, 100 best of that). Did Smashing Magazine kill the community?

Chris Spooner
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I love the design community, it seems like it’s the only industry where people are open to helping each other out. It has been great to network with like minded people online via Twitter, blogging and social media.

I still think however, that there’s a big gap between the online community and the rest of the design industry. It will be interesting to see if more and more companies catch on to the online wave.

There are some really interesting answers here, and lots of different things to think about regarding the community. Thanks to Jeff and Nick for including the links! What do you the rest of you think? What are your experiences with the design community? Be sure to check back over the next five days for more awesome insights from these seven great minds!

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Hey guys! This is the beginning of a seven day series that I am doing called “7 Questions, 7 Designers,” in which I throw out a different question each day and compile the answers from seven different designers. There are participants from all over the world, each offering a different and unique perspective on the realm of design.

I am so excited to have had the chance to connect with and learn a bit more about some of the leaders in the design community, and some people that I really admire and respect! I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

Alright guys, without any further ado, let’s kicking things off with the basics. Why don’t you all tell us something about yourselves – where are you located, what areas of design do you focus on or specialize in.

Chris Spooner
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I’m Chris Spooner, I’m based in Sheffield, UK. I have a strong interest in quite a few areas of design, from print to web to various areas of illustration. Whenever I see something I’m inspired by I’ll often experiment and create some artwork in a similar vein, for instance I’ve recently been watching a couple of episodes of Miami Ink on TV, which has given me the incentive to brush up on my illustration skills and aim at creating a tattoo inspired design.

Sneh Roy
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I am Sneh Roy. I am a web-designer, content manager and brand creator from Sydney, Australia. I am 32 years old, have been married to my college sweetheart, business partner and best friend of 14 years. I am also a mum to two little boys aged 6 and 2 who are absolute rascals and keep things interesting. I am a visually creative person. Designing logos, designing and developing websites and databases, creating and illustrating characters, weaving beautiful stories and developing original content is what I do best. Although I dabble in a lot of things like illustrations and photography, my forte lies in logo and web design and blogging.

Mike Smith
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My name is Mike Smith and I am a full time freelance designer from Knoxville Tennessee. I am a country boy at heart and love watching (and soon, competing) Mixed Martial Arts fights. I also have a huge obsession with my blackberry and it never leaves my side.

For the past 3 years I have been focused on building wordpress blogs for clients. I have been told that I have a “scrapbook” style to my designs, which can be true in most cases. I also love the clean and sleek look of apple products and the accompaning websites. I have recently dove into learning jQuery and some php in order to give my custom themes a bit more ‘pop’.

Jeff Finley
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My name is Jeff Finley, I’m 27, and I’m part owner of Go Media, a creative agency headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. I’m an entrepreneur that specialize in illustration, graphic design, and 3D. I also enjoy networking, marketing, and social media, and running a business in general.

Brad Colbow
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I live in the beautiful city of Cleveland Ohio (no really, it’s a great place to live). I call myself a freelance web designer but I’m probably better know for my illustrations and weekly comic strip The Brads (bradcolbow.com).

Grace Smith
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Sure, I am a 26 year old web designer and owner of a small but perfectly formed studio called Postscript5 based in Northern Ireland. I work with individuals and companies based mainly in the UK and USA on a diverse range of projects from branding and blog design to application UI’s.

I tend to specialise in two fields, Application UI design and WordPress Blog Design, these make up the majority of my projects.

Nick La
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My name is Nick La, a freelance illustrator and web designer from Toronto, Canada. I’m the creator of N.Design Studio, Web Designer Wall, Design Jobs on the Wall, Best Web Gallery, and IconDock. I focus on designing artistic CSS websites, vector illustrations, and stock icons.

Digging a little deeper, what does design mean to you? Professionally? Personally? How did you get into the game?

Chris Spooner
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I’ve always been an artsy type person right from a young age. So I naturally pursued the creative topics in School, College and University. I ended up landing my first full time job as a designer at a local studio, then headed out on my own as a self-employed designer. Design is pretty much my life! I’m forever checking out and analysing billboards, TV ads, leaflets – Everything!

Sneh Roy
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For me, design is a way of life. It impacts every aspect of my being. The sketching of a logo or the wireframing of a website extends into the real world where besides the work I do in the digital medium, I am landscaping yards, sketching out diagrams for the carpenter to build into furniture, designing a themed cupcake display for a wedding and individually decorating 40 odd cupcakes, each one unique. Design is very personal for me. I cannot imagine a day without being design, a moment that is not creatively inclined in my day. I just take all that personal passion and make a profession out of it. Which means I absolutely love what I do, because for me it is not work, it is play!

Oddly enough, I have absolutely no training in design. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and Robotics was the only subject in my final year that was remotely associated with design. Even then it was all theory and we barely got to build a robotic arm for our grades. I got introduced to HTML back in 1996 I think. I was dazzled by the scrolling text effect, Comic Sans and the blinking of photographs and graphics that was loosely labeled as animated gifs back in the day. Ah the power that was at my fingertips! Nick [hubby] and I had just met at college and we were both huge soccer fans and with the world cup fever on, we built a soccer website [no, I am not showing that hideous creation even if you beg me to]. We actually landed our first project for Bayer [the pharmaceutical giant] based on that soccer website and we totally winged it. I had so much fun building their website. We then went ahead and built Starswelove.com [which is relaunching early next year on its 10th anniversary]. That site has been a constant learning curve for us. 2 years later I graduated, but I was already freelancing full time, developing websites for small businesses. And that is how it all began for me.

Mike Smith
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Professionally, it means supporting myself and my girlfriend (10+ years together). Without freelance design, I don’t know where I’d be right now. I have my struggles and problems, but designing for a living gives me a way to live without additional stresses. Personally, I have been drawing since I was really, really young so I guess it’s always been a part of my life. To this very day I still sketch a lot because it helps relax me and drown out the stress around me.

Jeff Finley
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To me, design means making a difference. Making something that is remembered and stands for something. I’ve been an artist my whole life, and it wasn’t until after college I actually started getting into “design.” The artist in me strives to create art whatever medium I can muster, whether it’s illustration, film, or music. It’s a form of self expression and an emotional release. My goal is to create something that someone else might relate to and enjoy. The designer in me loves to craft a user experience with a predetermined end goal and then tinkering it to get desired results.

I went to college to become an animator and make video games and movies. By the time I graduated in 2004 I wasn’t thrilled with my career options and started freelancing. I made t-shirts and websites for bands, record labels, and clothing companies. I’ve kind of always had this desire to do something different, more profound. I ran into Bill and Chris, the two gentleman who founded Go Media and we had a lot in common in that regard. We decided to join forces and start a movement together.

Brad Colbow
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I kinda fell backwards into design. In school I majored in advertising but took a couple design classes. I studied advertising in school and I landed a marketing internship at a roofing company. I started by writing copy and sticking it into Quark Express templates. Since I knew a little Photoshop I was making the documents look better in the process. By the end of the summer I was designing more and writing less. I never looked back and have been a designer ever since.

I wish I had some deep philosophical definition of what design means to me, but I don’t. It’s just a heck of a lot more fun and interesting than anything else I could do for a living. I really enjoy the problem solving part of design and web design in particular.

Grace Smith
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A passion for design and art is a huge part of who I am. I was an avid artist throughout my childhood and right through school. Being a designer is just very natural and suits my sensibilities and passions. I can’t really think of being anything else!

Personally I feel design can best be described as ‘art within constraints’, it is focused on purpose, solving problems and functionality. Great design grows out of a real understanding of the problem and informed thinking of this accomplishes the goal(s) set out at the beginning of the project. Over the years I’ve formed the opinion that the foundation of design is communication, not the desire to make pretty things!

Nick La
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Professionally: design is about putting things together to make something beautiful and functional. Personally, it is my life (I can’t live without it). I got into design because of my high school art teacher. He introduced Photoshop to me and fell in love with it ever since.

Thanks guys! That’s it for Day 1, everyone. What are your reactions to our designers’ comments? Learn anything that you may not have known before? Be sure to check back over the next six days for more awesome insights from these seven great minds!

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If you read a lot of design blogs, or if you’re an active participant in the design community, chances are you’ve had some connection with Steven Snell and/or one of his websites. He is the founder and owner of both Vandelay Design, DesignM.ag, and a variety of different gallery sites, such as CartFrenzy, FolioFocus and TYPEinspire, all featured below.

Recently, I’ve had a bit of communication with Steven, and he was able to help me out on a large-scale project that I have been working on over the past several weeks. I also had the chance to ask Steven some questions about his experience as a freelance designer, questions which he was kind enough to answer. I think you’ll find that some of his responses are really interesting! Also, I’ve included several works from Jon’s portfolio for you to check out.

Featured Designer: Steven Snell of Vandelay Design and DesignM.ag

1.Hi Steven! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Why don’t we start with the basics. Tell us a little bit about yourself and Vandelay Design. I’m interested in how you came up with the name!

I’m a designer and blogger from New Jersey. Well actually I’m from Pennsylvania but I have been living in New Jersey for a few years.

I always struggle with naming things, so when I started Vandelay Design I didn’t really have any ideas. I’m a big fan of Seinfeld and several Seinfeld episodes mentioned Vandelay Industries, which was a made up company. Since I had no better ideas I decided to run with the inspiration from Seinfeld. Looking back I wish I would have put more thought into it, but many people have told me that it makes it easier to remember and stands out, so I guess it’s ok.

Echo Note: I’d actually wondered if there was a connection between Steven’s Vandelay and the infamous Vandelay Industries from Seinfeld.

2.There are many roads that lead people into design. How did you get into the game?

My senior year of college I took an elective course on web design. I was a business major so I was pretty interested in learning web design because of all the opportunities it could bring, but I never really imagined that I would be a full-time web worker. It was a really basic course and by the end I could design a basic table-based site, but that was about it. Following that I did some reading and studying on my own to learn more, especially CSS, and that’s what got me really interested in pursuing it even more. I started to do some small sites for family and friends and then I started Vandelay Design as a way to market my services on a bigger scale. At that time I had a full-time job and designing was more of a hobby than a job.

Vandelay Deisgn

3.Let’s play with time a little bit. Can you tell us a bit about where you were 5 years ago, and how those years got you to where you are now?

Five years ago I was working as an internal auditor for a leasing company, and doing a little bit of design on the side. During my time as an auditor I thought that was the career path that I wanted, but I got really sick of being an employee so I dedicated myself to growing Vandelay Design to the point that I could quit the job and work for myself full-time.

4. Looking the other way, where do you see yourself five years from now? It doesn’t have to be specific, just a general

That’s the one thing about my work that kind of scares me a little bit is that I have no idea what I want to be doing in five years. I change my mind at least every few months. I think I’ll probably be doing a lot of the same stuff that I’m doing now, managing my own sites and some client work as well. I’m more of an entrepreneur than a designer, so I don’t want to be dependent on client work, but I do like to mix it in with my own projects.

DesignM.ag

5.Tell us a little bit about your typical day at the “office”. Any gear (hardware or software) that is absolutely essential for you?

My days vary depending on what I have going on at that particular time. My work involves writing blog posts for my own sites, some freelance writing for other blogs (not much of that anymore), updating my gallery sites, and designing for clients. The one constant is the need to produce new content for my blogs. I take client work on a limited basis and do freelance blogging when I have time, but keeping my blogs up-to-date with new content requires that I spend at least a few days each week on blog posts. Some of my everyday tools include: WordPress, Photoshop, Blog Desk, Twitter and TweetDeck, Fanurio, and probably some other stuff that I am forgetting.

6. As a full time freelancer, what is most rewarding for you? What is the most challenging?

The most rewarding is seeing growth. Whether it is my own sites growing in terms of traffic and income or the growth and development of a client’s site. The biggest challenge for me is managing my time and focusing on getting things done before running off and taking on something new that I don’t have time for.

In terms of working with clients, one of my biggest challenges is starting projects properly. Most of the sites I work on are small businesses or organizations, so in many cases they underestimate the importance of planning and preparing the project. Getting to fully understand their situation and the customers/visitors is a challenge if they just want to get a site designed and developed without much involvement on their part.

CartFrenzy

7.How do you typically go about finding new clients to work with?

Typically I don’t go about finding new clients. I get a lot of inquiries through my site and I’m only able to work with a small portion of those people, so I don’t pursue work actively since I really can’t take on any more.

8.Could you comment on the state of the design industry at large, at least from you perspective? It can be positive, negative, observational or all of the above!

One thing that I have always noticed about the design industry is how helpful people are. I think most designers see their fellow designers as friends or colleagues rather than competition. I like the fact that the industry has so many learning resources available. I’ve benefited a lot from books and online tutorials, and really anyone that wants to learn more about web design can do so very inexpensively because of all of the resources that are available.

9.What about social media? Like the rest of the design world, you’re on Twitter, but what else do you use? Do you think that the massively saturated social media world will be able to sustain itself?

I really don’t use much social media anymore. I visit niche sites like Design Bump, DZone and Design Moo a few times a week and I’ll vote on stuff here and there with StumbleUpon and Digg, but it’s really a very small part of my day. When the Vandelay Design blog was pretty new I was much more active with social media and it played a big role in the blog’s growth.

I think social media and social networking are here to stay, but I’m sure it will evolve pretty rapidly. Two years ago I was using StumbleUpon a lot to share articles that I found here and there, now I use Twitter a lot more. The concept of users interacting and sharing I’m sure will stick around, but I think the sites and resources that are popular will change with time.

FolioFocus

10.I know you’re spending a lot of time on your own network of websites recently, but your portfolio shows that you’ve done a lot of work for churches and other non-profit ministries. Why did you decided to specialize in this area and how (if at all) do you find it different than working with other clients?

I started to focus on church and non-profit sites because I have an interest in their cause and it feels good to work on a project that gives you a sense of satisfaction. And because traditionally their websites haven’t been the best.

The biggest difference and challenge in working with these organizations is that it can be harder to nail down the business. In a lot of situations there is no real decision maker, so the contact person has to get all of the information, then go before a board or committee, and this process can take a while. The same situation comes up in some cases when trying to get information about the organization for the site.

11.When you’re not designing or working on DesignM.ag or your network of design galleries, what do you do to stay inspired, or to blow off a little steam?

I like to watch football, mostly college. I used to play a lot of sports and go to the gym just about every day, but that’s a lot less frequent now because I don’t have much time. I also really like to just hang out with my wife. It could be staying at home and watching a movie or traveling somewhere.

12.Right off the top of your head, fire off the names of three other designers that you really dig/respect.

• Chris Spooner
• Jonathan Snook
• Henry Jones

13.How about three websites that you visit the most?

• MiamiHerald.com (University of Miami football news)
• Smashing Magazine
• Delicious

TYPEinspire

14.Last, but not least, the question that every interview has to have, and which most close with – the advice. Any pearls of wisdom you’d like to share?

My advice for aspiring designers is to focus on your own improvement and development. One thing about the design industry (either good or bad, depending on how you look at it) is that it’s really easy to get started. As a result there is a huge range of abilities and experience from one designer to the next. It’s easy to look at someone who is amazingly talented and feel bad about your own abilities, but there is really no need to compare yourself to that person. Learn what you can from the work of others and always try to improve your own skills. If you’re always improving you’re on the right track.

That’s it folks! Thanks so much to Jon for doing this interview! What do you guys think? Any thoughts or comments on any of Steven’s answers? Please feel free to ask any questions of your own, too!

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If you’ve been following this my posts over the past few months, chances are you’ve heard me mention Jon Phillips, founder of SpyreStudios, at least once. I’ve done some writing for his blog, and just this week Jon released Tweevil – The Dark Twitter Bird, a freebie vector pack that I designed exclusively for SpyreStudios.

I’ve really enjoyed working with Jon, and I definitely hope to collaborate on more projects with him in the future. Jon is also a strong force in the design community, remarkably generous with his time and knowledge, and above all, a very talented designer and developer.

Recently, I had the chance to ask Jon a few questions, which he was kind enough to answer. I think you’ll find that some of his responses are really interesting! Also, I’ve included several works from Jon’s portfolio for you to check out.

Jon Phillips - Founder of Spyre Studios

1. Hi Jon! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Why don’t we start with the basics? Tell us a little bit about yourself and SpyreStudios.

It’s my pleasure, thanks for inviting me. My name’s Jon Phillips, I’m a 27 year old web-designer from Montreal, Canada. I’ve been designing for the web for many years now and have launched my design business, SpyreStudios, in 2007. SpyreStudios acts as my portfolio as well as my design blog where I also have regular contributors and guest authors.

SpyreStudios

2. There are many roads that lead people into design. How did you get into the game?

I’m a musician so I’ve always been interested in creating stuff and ever since I got my first computer I’ve been interested in the web and how it works. At some point I started building simple webpages for friends and family and I read books and tutorials and discovered blogging (almost by mistake – I was bored one evening and installed WordPress just because I’ve heard of it). I didn’t study design or programming. I’m self-taught, so I still read a lot of blogs and books about design and typography.

3. Let’s play with time a little bit. Can you tell us a bit about where you were 5 years ago, and how those years got you to where you are now?

Sure! I used to work in marketing and sales for a big telecom company here in Quebec. I hated almost everything about it, except for the fact that I met my lovely girlfriend while working there! I worked there for 5 years (isn’t it human nature to be afraid of change?) and I was doing some freelance work on the side. So, one day I simply decided to quit the day job, just like that. And I started building my freelance business and networking with other designers. The big step after quitting my day job was to launch SpyreStudios, which took me about 2-3 years before I decided I needed to expand and take this more seriously. And now I’m here, blogging, designing and making a living working from home.

DesignNewz

4. Looking the other way, where do you see yourself five years from now? It doesn’t have to be specific, just a general

5 years is a long time hehe. I’m pretty sure I won’t be doing freelance work anymore, as I’m currently working on building more profitable websites and working on personal projects with other designers. Freelancing is great and I love every single day, but I would like to have more time to play music and focus on personal projects. So to answer your question: I hope to have some streams of passive income set up and more free time 5 years from now :)

5. Tell us a little bit about your typical day at the “office”. Any gear (hardware or software) that is absolutely essential for you?

Everyday is very different. I usually wake up, make coffee and open my Mac. Then I check on my emails, stats and Twitter messages. I try to get all the administrative work done as soon as possible so I can then start working on more creative things like wireframing or website design for clients. Then I’ll spend some time working on my own sites and blogs, brainstorming ideas for blog posts and whatnot.

Software I couldn’t live without:

• Adobe Creative Suite (mostly Fireworks, Photoshop and Illustrator)
• Daylite (http://www.marketcircle.com/daylite/)
• TextMate
• Freshbooks Invoicing (web-based), Billings 3 (desktop app)
• Mail app
• Safari and Firefox
• WordPress

Hardware I couldn’t live without:

• 15-inch Macbook Pro
• iPod Touch

Vividways

6. As a full time freelancer, what is most rewarding for you? What is the most challenging?

Waking up in the morning and being my own boss and running my own business is a hell of a reward hehe. And one thing I find especially rewarding is when I get great feedback from clients on my work. That’s priceless. As for the most challenging, I would have to say keeping track of everything. I consider myself well organized, but when it comes to accounting, invoicing and keeping track of revenues and expenses, I suck at this.

7. How do you typically go about finding new clients to work with?

I’ve never advertised my business, bought banner ads or used any other online advertising methods. Instead, I rely heavily on word of mouth and on my blog to attract clients. It’s been working great so far. Being an active Twitter user, I also get a lot of inquiries because of it.

twitterhotties (now offline)

8. Could you comment on the state of the design industry at large, at least from you perspective? It can be positive, negative, observational or all of the above!

The design community is great! I seriously have never been part of a community where there’s such a positive vibe – everybody I talk to is friendly and willing to help. I can’t say that much about other industries like the music industry where it’s almost the opposite. People in the design industry seem to have a greater understanding of the word ‘community’. The feeling I get from the design community is that people understand that in order to succeed you have to help others, if they succeed you succeed too (win-win).

9. What about social media? Like the rest of the design world, you’re on Twitter, but what else do you use? Do you think that the massively saturated social media world will be able to sustain itself?

I think you’re absolutely right, it is saturated. I think the big players will be there for a long time (Twitter, Facebook) but smaller guys will need to innovate to survive. I use Twitter and Facebook and the major social media sites like Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon. I’m also very active on design related sites like DesignFloat, DesignBump and DesignMoo.

Geek Factory

10. Of course, we need to touch on music. As a guitarist for a band like The Gods of Now, how do you manage to balance both design and music? Do you ever find that one starts to crowd out the other?

Well I have time for both. Of course when I’m on tour with my band it’s a little more difficult to work on design projects, but I bring my laptop and work as much as I can (and let my clients know about it before they hire me). Of course when I’m on tour, I don’t take rush projects and can’t schedule meetings or anything, but it’s never been a problem. Besides, we’re working on our second album now so I have all the time in the world to work on my design business and I can go to the studio at night to record some tracks :)

11. Aside from tearing up the strings with TGON, what else do you do to stay inspired, or to blow off a little steam?

I really enjoy spending time with my girlfriend, go out for a drink or to a nice restaurant, or simply take a walk. This helps me regain focus and recharge the batteries a bit. I also try to go on vacation every 3-4 months so I can disconnect and not think about work for a week. This helps tremendously!

The Gods of Now Blog

12. Right off the top of your head, fire off the names of three other designers that you really dig/respect.

• Jason Santa Maria
• Chris Spooner
• Jonathan Snook

13. How about three websites that you visit the most?

• Smashing Magazine
• Six Revisions
• Twitter

The Game Zen

14. Last, but not least, the question that every interview has to have, and which most close with – the advice. Any pearls of wisdom you’d like to share?

Never underestimate the power of friends and the connections you make! Keep networking with other like-minded people in your field, you’ll thank yourself in the long run. Also, always lend a helping hand whenever possible.

That’s it folks! Thanks so much to Jon for doing this interview! What do you guys think? Any thoughts or comments on any of Jon’s answers? Please feel free to drop a line!

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Here’s another first on this blog – my first Featured Artist post! As you may be able to tell from some of my other posts, I’m a big fan of art, and even try my own hand at it from time to time. So, in an effort to support some of the many talented, up and coming artists, I will be featuring a new artist every 4 weeks or so!

So, let me introduce you to our first Featured Artist: Miss Lois van Baarle, aka loish.

Steel Turquoise

Lois has a really unique style that fuses elements of comic art (with a subtle anime influence), with beautiful brushstrokes, detailed rendering and wonderful use of texture. Her work has an earthy feel, while much of her subject matter is either filled with or lightly touched by whimsical fantasy.

I had the chance to conduct an email based interview with Lois. I think her answers will shed some interesting light on who she is as an artist, and about some of the inspiration and techniques behind her work.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started into the world of art.

I have been drawing ever since I was small and always considered it a passion of mine. Drawing remained a hobby until I realized in high school that pursuing art as a career might be a good decision, so I went to study animation, figuring it would help me to develop the aspects of my art which were lacking at the time (story, dynamism, personality). So I studied animation for 5 years (1 year in Gent, 4 years in Utrecht) and now I am ready to start my career.

Angey

You have a very unique style. Can you tell us a bit about that? Do you draw upon any particular source of influence or inspiration?

I have a lot of different inspirations. As a child and also today, Disney has played a huge role. One of my main inspirations is Alfonse Mucha, an art nouveau artist. I’m also hugely inspired by a lot of french comic styles, particularly that of Aurore Black Cat. Via Deviantart, an online art community, I come into contact with a lot of artists that inspire me as well.

Pinup Ariel

Most of your art seems to use textures. Can you tell us a bit about how you approach textures?

I started using textures as a way to make my digital painting look more organic and stylish. I also really enjoyed the ways in which textures can influence the color of the piece, changing the tint slightly and bringing it all together a bit more. Soon enough I became addicted and now I always use them. I definitely prefer more organic styles to slick digital painting, and I feel that textures help achieve this effect. Lately, I apply many different textures at an early phase and paint over them, integrating them into the piece more.

Cinderella Coloring Page

What about colour? Your art all feels very rich and earthy. Somehow, even your blues feel earthy. Why do you think you might be drawn to a particular colour palette?

I have definitely always loved the color blue. I find it refreshing and beautiful. So I’ve always used this color in my work. I started painting with more browns at a certain point, enjoying the organic effect it gave to my work, and with the added effect of textures, my work tends to have a very earthy feel. I like this effect so I stick to it.

I’ve noticed that several of your characters have at least partial dreadlocks. Is there any significance to this?

No, I just find dreadlocks extremely fun to draw. Also, it gives characters a more edgy look.

Smoking Fish

What can you tell us about you are currently working on?

Well, I just graduated (about 2 weeks ago) and will be receiving my bachelor and master’s degree in a few days. After that I figure it’s time to get to work! I’m not sure what I’ll be doing just yet. I want to work with comics as well as animation projects and freelance concept art, but we’ll see, I guess!

Peacock

Any future plans you can talk about?

Not really… Except for the Trichrome Project, which is the project I began with my graduation work. It is a fictional company for which three animated shrots must be made. The first one, Trichrome Blue, is my graduation animation, but the other two have yet to be made. I’m very excited about creating them!

Evening Glow

Finally, do you have any advice for young/aspiring artists?

Always aim to be the best! It’s amazing how far you can get with practice and determination. Never give up :)

Bubblegum

Thanks Lois, for taking the time to answer these questions, and for agreeing to be my first Featured Artist. I hope all you readers enjoyed this post, and that you will check out Lois’ website and her presence on deviantArt.  You can also check out her sketchblog, catch some of her animation on YouTube and follow her on Twitter.

As an added bonus, I’ve also included Lois’ Trichrome Blue short animation here. Be sure to watch this when you get a moment. It’s really beautifully done, and I’m excited to see the next two installments!

So that’s it for this featured artist post. I hope that you’ve enjoyed looking at Lois’ art as much as I do! If so, leave a comment and let us know which one is your favorite!

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