Brandon Stewart is a web designer from Wellington in New Zealand. Until recently, he has been working in the UK for Warner Music, Procter & Gamble and Ministry of Sound on various web projects and now he is back in New Zealand and has been freelancing since January 2009. He studied at the Massey University Design School in Visual Communications Design Studies and later he graduated in 2004 from the program. Brandon has been working professionally since 2005 in graphic design and switched over to later in 2006 that he moved into a solid web design career.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I studied web design at University, so I was pretty much on the right track from there. The only thing left was to decide on a specialized subject in which I chose interactivity and interface design. After university in 2004 I had a short stint as a freelance graphic designer but quickly came back to web design where I was more comfortable.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I started doing website design on the side of graphic design jobs in 2005. It was a pretty mixed bag doing all sorts from graphic design to photo retouching and web design during the early stages of my career. It wasn’t until late 2006 that I decided to settle into a solid web design career.

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

Well I’m starting my own business in design. I haven’t completely jumped in the deep end yet, but I look to work with fellow designers and developers in a collaborative way. So… to answer the question, the biggest challenge right now is finding clients. I believe that once I’m off the ground I’ll be just fine but it’s that initial push that I’m concerned about right now.

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

I do a bit of front end in most of my websites. I do all of the XHTML/CSS and some jQuery implementation but when it comes to writing code and getting stuck in, I get guys that know their stuff.

5. How has your education from Massey University Design School in Visual Communications Design Studies 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?

If I think hard about it, University was about setting the foundation. It taught me all the technical knowledge and gave me the tools I use on a daily basis. Learning the history of design is something that I also found important and still do to this day.

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

I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite but I use a well set up PSD that has all the basic grid systems and a browser window image (in layers so I can manipulate the stage) in it so I can quickly get started on my designs. It’s also great because I no longer start on a blank canvas which used to stop me in my tracks for about an hour before I’d get up the nerve to start adding my first line to the page.

When I’m coding I use the 960.gs framework and a template html/css file so I’m not writing out code over and over again.

7. I was reading your resume and i saw that your an expert when it comes to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.  What are some of the most useful techniques that any web designer should know how to do in Photoshop and Illustrator?

My top tip in Photoshop is to know your ‘layer styles’. You can create nice buttons and effects on a single layer without going to the lengths of using multiple layers to pull of the same thing.

8. How has your 3 years work experience in England helped you to solidify your skills in web design?

I have been fortunate enough to work in some of the country’s top agencies and have learnt my most valuable skills which aren’t directly related to visual design. The most important of these is the ability to manage and lead projects while communicating the ideas to the client. Clients can send you a curve ball sometimes and you have to be ready for it, this is what makes it both challenging and exciting. I love it!

What’s included in the SilverThemes Summer Offer?

• The SilverThemes Magento TubeTheme – Regular Price $149.00
• The MagicZoom plugin from Magic Toolbox – Regular Price $37.00
• The SilverThemes Magento Vertical Menu Addon – Regular Price $99.00
• A SilverThemes Widget of your choice – Regular Price $49.00

So how much do you think all this costs? Would you believe you can get all these Magento functionality for $249.00? Well that’s exactly correct. You will save $85.00 or about 25% off the regular price of $334.00 which will definitely hope those of you looking to either switch platforms to try out Magento Commerce or for those of you designing Magento sites for clients and looking for excellent core functionality this package from SilverThemes is worth a look at. Check it out here today in action! But it won’t last long. The offer ends August 15, 2009.

If you do decide that you want to run your ecommerce site using shopify then here are some things that you can expect from the software.

You can control the design of the site with fully customizable CSS and HTML, it is standards-compliant, it is certified PCI compliant to ensure date safety, the ability to create XML sitemaps for use with major search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo! and others. Shopify also many other features and a number of plug-ins and a solid developer community to support your business needs.

They offer a number of different payment levels depending on what you are looking for in an ecommerce site from a free trial to a Premier plan for $699 per month for a catalog of 50,000 SKUs. Every ecommerce site you develop with Shopify is hosted by Shopify which takes away some of the problems that people face when setting up ecommerce sites.

Considering this software is a pay as you go type of ecommerce platform I find it interesting that they offer an API to help website developers extend shopify further to suit individual business needs. If you are interested in running an ecommerce shopping site then check out Shopify!

They offer a number of different payment levels depending on what you are looking for in an ecommerce site from a free trial to a Premier plan for $699 per month for a catalog of 50,000 SKUs. Every ecommerce site you develop with Shopify is hosted by Shopify which takes away some of the problems that people face when setting up ecommerce sites.

Considering this software is a pay as you go type of ecommerce platform I find it interesting that they offer an API to help website developers extend shopify further to suit individual business needs. If you are interested in running an ecommerce shopping site then check out Shopify!

Some tips that Ilona states in her article that I think are worth looking at are…

1. Make sure you know who you want to appeal to
2. List only related positions and work experience
3. Learn industry keywords and use them
4. Make it easy for your future employer to understand which skills you actually have
5. And finally: The absolute essential ingredient: link to your portfolio!

I also enjoyed reading what Ilona had to say about the web design industry in general…

“The web design industry is an industry of practical skills. No qualifications needed, no years of climbing up the ladder acquiring job titles needed, no suits and ties needed…just the core skill set. And whatever your core skill set is, whatever level it is at, you need to be creative enough to present it in such a way that your future employer can see it, understand what the actual level is and what your potential to grow is.”

Source: Ilona Filipenkova

To read her full article about her experience writing her resume for web design related positions click here. The web design profession is different from other professions because showcasing your work is essential to your ability to get the job, so start showcasing your work today.

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.

Ronnie San is a web designer from San Diego, California in the United States. He has worked with both smaller organizations up to fortune 500 companies. Ronnie has been practicing web design ever since about 1996 and by 2000 he was designing websites professionally. He was lucky enough to be selected into the inaugural year of the AIGA Link program and spent the next few years studying with the top names in graphic design industry.

1. How did you get started in web design?

My first exposure to the Web came in the mid 90s during the AOL era.  I had a 14.4kb modem and it usually took several minutes to download a “graphic intensive” website.  In 1996, my older brother bought a new computer with an HTML text editor pre-installed.  I wasn’t sure what HTML was so I ran through the included tutorial.  After a few minutes I had created my first “Hello, World” website.  I took advantage of the 2MB of free hosting space that came with AOL and posted my first website which consisted of a guestbook and about us page.  There wasn’t much design involved aside from a couple graphic headers and a tiled background image.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I started designing websites professionally in 2000 when I was hired on as web designer for Desgined Internet (www.designedinternet.com) in Chula Vista, CA.  Back then it was named DDS Technologies (Digital Design Solutions).  We were located in an office building filled with dentists and every now and then a random person would walk in asking to make a dental appointment.  I was able to acquire the job after showing off a small portfolio of some personal sites I created.  Most of our clients were SMBs or local governments.

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

I would say the biggest challenge by far is educating the client.  Many clients don’t understand the importance of a good website or the cost involved in creating one.  Aside from that, it’s always a challenge coming up with new ideas and concepts, but a challenge that drives innovation and progress both personally and throughout the design community.

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

I currently work at BusinessOnLine (www.businessol.com) in San Diego, CA.  I actually started there as a coder, but when the designer parted ways, I stepped in to fill the position.  Initially, I would code about 1 of every 4 sites I designed, but as the company grew, my focus narrowed to only design.  Whenever the work load lightens up, I help out the coding department and take on some of the more complex jobs involving database integration or custom scripting.  Away from work I code everything I design.  I think my knowledge of coding has helped me a great deal when designing websites because I understand the limitations and the possibilities.

While I was at Designed Internet, I was exposed to ASP 2.0 and what could be achieved using an Access Database.  I did some research and within a couple weeks had coded my first database-driven custom content management system for my church’s website.  When ASP.Net was introduced, it proved to be a challenge.  This is when I made the switch to PHP.  I prefer doing all my server-side code in a PHP with a MySQL database.  On the front end I use JavaScript with JQuery (www.jquery.com) and—on occasion—Mootools (www.mootools.net).  I also use Flash with ActionScript 2 or 3 every now and then, but never for a full website build.  My jquery file upload plugin, Uploadify (www.uploadify.com) is actually built using Actionscript 3.

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 attended a high school with a really good art program.  I honestly learned most of my skills from the 4-year program at that school.  The summer after high school, I was lucky enough to be selected to participate in the inaugural year of the AIGA Link program.  This program allowed me to take classes with some of the top names in the graphic design industry.  I had planned on attending an art school, but the funds were not there.  So I ended up taking two years of general education classes and a handful of design classes at a couple of local community colleges.  During those two years, I ended up getting my job at Designed Internet and never got around to finishing my degree.

In my experience, working in the field has been more helpful than what I was taught in school.  Every project is a learning experience and I’ve been improving my skills from day one.  The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that there is always more to learn.  You have to evolve with the industry if you want to get anywhere.  When you’re not working, spend time reading articles or visiting design galleries.  Another big lesson I’ve learned is that as a designer, you need to have confidence in your work.  Clients are hiring you because you’re the professional, so if you need to push back, do it.  Ultimately your client will have final say, but it never hurts to try.

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

I live and die by Photoshop.  I started using Photoshop before there were layers.  It has so many features that there’s always something new to learn about it.  Some of the other tools I like to use that help make simple tasks more efficient include SnagIt (www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp) for screen capturing and AdesClrPicker (www.adesclrpicker.com) for sampling screen colors.

7. Even though you design for both smaller clients and the likes of Fortune 500 organizations what rules do you live by when designing for any client no matter how big or how small?

A philosophy I recently started to follow is this: “Design it how I want it, then let the client dial it back down.”  A lot of clients don’t know the possibilities when it comes to website design.  The majority of the time, clients might think they know what they want, but they really have no idea.  Either the client will love it, or they’ll ask you to take another shot.  Either way, you’ll end up with an approved design.

8. Since I can see that you code and design your own work I wanted to ask do you prefer coding more for the web or designing for the web?  Please explain.

I’m completely middle-brained.  I love the creativity I get to express when designing and I love the logical challenges I can solve through coding.  I don’t think I could do just one or the other.  When I feel my creative juices running low, I can switch over to DreamWeaver and get my coding fix until my brain gets overloaded with code.

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.

SilverThemes just built another great premium Magento theme for your ecommerce store with your customers and future customers in mind. The overall design of the theme is built to allow the user to quickly and accurately find what they are looking for and it does it very well. I had a look through the demo and some of the things that caught my eye were the fact that the customer login, the search menu is visible and easy to use, the layout of the item list allows you to quickly see and sort a number of products by price, name and position, you can even choose the number of items that you want to see on a single page of a category and all this and more does one amazing thing. It gives your customers the ability to search and find any item quickly and accurately which will earn you a lot of respect and sales from your customers. Not to mention that this template is pretty easy to customize to your businesses needs.

Some of the features that this theme has are…

1. The ability to add items to a wish list
2. Support for 4 and 5 column pages
3. Easy to modify to suite your client’s needs
4. Scalable for larger stores
5. Works with all major browsers

Have a look at the product pages you’ll see in the TubeTheme from SilverThemes…

Even though this theme for your Magento site is not as “sexy” as others you may see around it is built very solidly and because it is easy to customize you as a business owner, can definitely hire a skilled web designer to add a little “sex appeal” to its pages. For the web designers in the crowd, you can present this as a solid option to clients looking for a highly functional ecommerce theme and add your own flair into it while utilizing the architecture that makes Magento one of the best trusted and celebrated ecommerce platforms around. The TubeTheme costs $149.00 and its one of the great themes offered by SilverThemes!

David Moulton is a web designer from Lansing, Michigan in the United States. He started to design websites in college in 1998. David studied Design and Communication at Valparaiso University and later graduated in 2002. Ever since then he has held numerous positions from Web Design Consultant, an Instructor, an Associate Director and always a solid web designer learning to design and build better website. Here is a little bit about what David had to say about his experiences in web design…

1. How did you get started in web design and when did you design your first website?

It all started in college; I blew out my knee playing football and was stuck in my dorm room… I got bored and started playing with my roommate’s computer, this was in 1998 and I had no idea what I was doing. I stumbled on GeoCities and off I went. I created an awful, awful site. I think it had a spinning globe and Austin Powers dancing (all animated GIFs). It was a mess. However, I didn’t know any better and when my college advisor Doug Kocher encouraged me to keep going I did. I got better with each site and eventually switched from PR to New Media.

2. Looking at your linkedin profile i see that you’ve worked in a number of roles from Associate Director to Senior Designer.  Do you feel that because of your broad range of experiences working within the web design and development field you have a solid grasp on what your clients need and how to deal with problems as they arise?

Great two part question… understanding a client’s needs boils down to listening. I try to give them the time and space to tell me what they are thinking. Most often this includes the client telling me how to solve the problem. Letting a client explain what they want and what they think the solution is helps me understand what outcome they want. Many times I do not agree with their solution but instead of telling them “You’re wrong” I ask a question or two to guide them to a solution I think is more appropriate. When clients participate in the problem solving it’s easier to get them on board with initial concepts and any subsequent ideas.

Knowing how to deal with the problem is the other challenge and experience helps. While no one can “predict” the outcome of a design decision, having solved a problem once allows me to draw on that experience and make better recommendations. The trouble with experience is that it has a shelf life. A lot of the experience I have from 7-8 years ago isn’t as applicable now.

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

There are a two main challenges. First my need for pixel perfect design and valid code vs. delivering on time. The other is staying current and fresh.

The perfection vs. on-time thing boils down to understanding that the clients business will be hurt if I fail to meet my deadlines. Say I deliver a page that is 20K instead of 15K, the impact of the extra code weight is not worth the delay. However I know that the “glitch” is still there. When I know I can do better with a little more time I will add things to my “back-burner list” and work on them post launch. Send a client an email that says I shaved off an extra 5K because it was bugging me often results in them being happy that you were willing to obsess over the details and me knowing that I got it right.

Staying current is tricky. Techniques and software are updated so often that I could spend a ton of time focused on whatever is bleeding-edge in the industry. For now, I read. A ton. I mostly read blogs and design sites that help me gauge when to make changes or additions to my skill set.

Staying fresh is a similar problem. I try to print off my work and hang it on the wall. Staring at a bunch of work allows me to see where I am repeating myself. If the repeat is me being lazy or uninspired I swear it off. A couple months ago I banned angled and reflected screenshots from my designs! Apple.com was starting to overly influence my work.

When I need inspiration I look to design sites, magazines, tv shows (esp. the opening credits), and book covers for ideas. When that doesn’t help I force myself to stop thinking about the problem and do something like mowing the lawn. Letting my brain have a rest helps.

4. Did you study design at school or are you self-taught? If you went to school, 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 went to Valparaiso University and did study design and communication. However most of the skills I use as a designer (code, IA, Photoshop or Illustrator) were things I gained by spending countless hours experimenting or analyzing other people’s sites. The things that my education at Valpo helped with the most were problem solving and confidence in myself. Being able to think through a problem has certainly helped me as a web designer.

5. 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 web design industry has changed to meet the needs of the web’s roll in life/business in general. Initially, I feel that the web was an afterthought for most businesses or institutions. So web designers were relatively unimportant to the organization. As the web became more central to the business so did the people managing the site. Web designers went from people that might have had great freedom to do what they thought was best to people tasked with the responsibility to ensure that the choices they were making were actually the best. The prevalence of tracking tools and analytics reflects this. So does the focus on usability and standards.

6. On your site i can see that you use a number of social media tools. Do you feel that this helps you in generating more business?

Maybe yes… I have been approached about consulting and full-time work via the social media sites and I know that I’ve been able to connect/reconnect with people faster because I am participating; however I am not sure of the signal vs. noise ratio regarding social media. I am fascinated to see how this all plays out.