I recall the day that the idea of interviewing him came up. Selene M. Bowlby and I were talking and I went to my twitter list to see who I could interview next. Jon’s profile showed up and to me, approaching him felt like aiming for the stars. I mentioned the idea to Selene and she was for it 100%, She suggested to mention herself in my introduction email since her and Jon had conversed a lot in the past. Thankfully, Jon agreed to participate and here we are, about to get to know Jon Phillips.

On top of being a designer, you are also a musician in your spare time. Have you been privileged to work with other musicians and help them with their branding and marketing?

Jon Phillips: Actually I haven’t. I try to keep design and music separate as much as possible. I’m usually too involved with the music to be able to design something with an outside perspective. I did design my band’s blog, but it was a one shot thing and it felt like designing my own site — and we know designers often have trouble designing their own sites

The smartphone market is hotter than really really really hot things. Which smartphone are you? Has anyone approached you about designing for any apps?

Jon: I doubt the smartphone market can be hotter than my apartment right now but once I get a new air conditioner I’m sure it will be considered hot again. I’ve never designed any apps and to be honest it’s not something I’m particularly interested in. For some reason the whole ‘apps’ market gives me a weird feeling of deja-vu — remember when CDs were all the rage?

If you put a gun to my head and gave me a choice, I’d go for the iPhone (well I’d go with the iPhone even without the gun part).

Would you be interested in joining a harmonica/kazoo/cowbell/wawa pedal experimental music group? We’re looking for new members.

Jon: Totally! That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for for years! Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there! (if you provide the cowbell I’ll explore the studio space like there’s no tomorrow!)

WordPress 3.0 was released in late June, with a plethora of new features. What elements are still not part of a WordPress default install that you’d love to see made default?

Jon: I’m very happy with all the new features in WP 3.0, but there are definitely some things I would’ve liked to see. Things like a built-in spam flagging system and a stats package that offers more than the WordPress one would have been nice. You can do so many thing with WordPress with custom templates, functions and plug-ins, but those two things should really be in the WP core in my opinion.

Pretend for a moment that you were asked to gather, from your twitter list, a team for a record label’s web and marketing department. Who would you tap on the shoulder for the task?

Jon: I think the first person I would ask is Marc Davison (@1000wattMarc), not only cause he’s a cool and professional guy but also because he knows a ton about the music business and he’s got years of experience in the music and web fields. I would also ask Tean Schultz (@Schrecker) for similar reasons, of course we’re in the same band, but he’s also a sick producer and songwriter.

I know I would also post something on my Twitter feed asking for recommendations. That’s the beauty of a service like Twitter.

What are some of the best and worst uses of typography you have seen by musicians?

Jon: There’s a lot of extremely unreadable logotypes in the metal scene, especially in the more obscure branches of metal. I can’t just pick one cause that wouldn’t be fair, but just to give you a taste of how unreadable it can get sometimes, have a look around the Brutal Death Metal Logos blog.

As for great uses of typography, I really like John Mayer’s website, I think the typography there is pretty sweet. There’s also Jamie Cullum’s site, nice typography and a great minimalist layout with good color contrast. In case you didn’t know, I like simplicity and minimalism

Rumor on the street is that you failed art class in the 4th grade. Did the teacher give you low grades due to you claiming all of your doodles were you playing with wingdings/webdings?

Jon: Haha, well I failed my art class mostly because I didn’t care too much about drawing and painting and all that artsy stuff when I was that age. I didn’t get into design until I was much older. I got into music at around 12, and then years later started getting interested in design.

Have you devised any digital “Subscribe to me” pullout cards to replace the ones from print magazines?

Jon: I have not, but it’s a great idea! Can I use it and give you credit?

What are some challenges in running a digital magazine that people may not expect compared to a print magazine? Advantages?

Jon: I can’t really compare the two because I’ve never run a print magazine but I’m guessing that some advantages would be the very low start-up, operating and maintenance costs of an online magazine compared to a print one. Of course running an online magazine will incur some costs (in both time and money) such as hosting, paying writers, maintenance, marketing and promotion, but at the end of the day it’s cheaper, easier to get up and running and reaching a large audience may happen sooner.

Have you experienced an 80s heavy metal hair phase yet? If so, did you use bad client stories to poof up your hair instead of Aqua Net ? If not, you now have an idea to achieve the effect.

Jon: I have! I kept the long hair for about 7 or 8 years and about 3 years ago I decided that phase was over (a bit tired of head banging to heavy bands). As for Aqua Net, to be honest I had to Google it to find out it was hair spray cause I had no idea what it was. Then I found out there’s also a band called Aquanet — that really really made my day!

What is your position on the whole music piracy topic, being a musician yourself? Is it personally a benefit for your band The Gods of Now or more a harm? Have you given any considerations to less restrictive licenses like Creative Commons?

Jon: Of course being a musician, making money from CD sales is great, but I believe music should be free. The whole music industry is not even about the music anymore anyway! That’s probably why a lot of the major labels are going belly up and you see more and more independent labels pop up everywhere. A lot of bands and artists these days make more selling t-shirts and stickers at shows and live events than selling CDs.

I still believe it’s wrong to steal music though. If an artist chooses to sell his or her music, don’t steal it, buy the album instead. I simply believe more artists should follow Radiohead’s and Trent Reznor’s steps and give the music away for free and find other means of making money.

Where can we find online, both your designer half as well as your musician half? Also, any last thoughts?

Jon: You can find my designer’s half on SpyreStudios and my musician’s half on the TGON website

Borrowing this wording from a very popular topic. Team Pirates or Team Ninjas?

Jon: Definitely Pirates. Ninjas don’t drink Whiskey, Pirates do.

What is the most inventive way you have mashed up your two trades, design and music?

Jon: Well I haven’t tried to mash the two together (like I said I like to keep them separate). It could be interesting though.

What trends in design would you love to see fade away, never to return?

Jon: The glossy and mirrored Web 2.0 logos. Oh, and designers calling themselves rockstars, ninjas or gurus (pirates are ok). What about Pornstar Designer? That would be cool. (Editor’s note: said like a true rockstar)

Like with all of my interviews, I’d like to thank Jon for agreeing to participate and hope that he had fun answering the hairbrained questions I managed to come up with.

Related posts:

1. Do you think you know Selene M. Bowlby?
2. Do You Think You Know Alex Cook?
3. Do You Think You Know Rachael E.C. Acklin?

There are likely still many of you asking and wondering why someone may want to go through all the effort. As I have already stated above, if you have something to say that requires more than 140 characters, you can get it all in one tweet. Obviously, creating one by hand would require more time and effort than typing it through the site or your favorite twitter client, but imagine the joy someone will experience when they get a handwritten message directed at them. I know my first @mention, directed at emtaylor, made her day.

Writing it out on a piece of paper and then posting a picture of it, also provides a broad canvas that allows for creativity to flourish. You can draw little doodles, provide decorations, or anything else you can think of. I KNOW twitter is full of creative types and I don’t see why we can’t show that off more.

Just because you write out the actual message on paper or some other medium, doesn’t mean you can’t use your allotted 140 characters. Some of them would be used for the image URL, but the rest can be used for more @mentions and #tags.

I know well enough that any idea or trend that grows online is very hard to control, if not impossible to. That said, I am not setting any “method of use” for handwritten tweets, just explaining the origin and some uses that have already come to mind. I don’t know where the idea will go, if anywhere, but I would love to see it go somewhere.

Be inventive, be creative, make someone’s day, pay it forward…do SOMETHING.

Handwrittentweets examples

• @gracesmith sent this one to all of her followers here
• @domencolja did this one as an alternative to dribbble as he lacks an account here
• @designcoyote sent this one quoting Judy Garland here
• @rudedoodle asked this good question here

What about yours?

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CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic http://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnian/

At this point in time, I have conducted six interviews, and they all have had varying levels of popularity and high levels of enjoyment for both myself and the person we’re getting to know. Within this post, I hope to explain and describe the general process used going into each interview, even as it is bound to change and evolve with time and experience. I also hope to clarify motives for why I choose to make the effort.

Sadly, I am do not hold an employment position that uses any of my design and development knowledge. Any design or development work has been done during my free time away from a 40hr/week day job. While I won’t comment further on my day job, I will admit that I do still appreciate the amount of time available to think and brainstorm, even if it does suffer distractions. It was during that free time that the first draft of this post was written then on yellow legal paper. This is also when all questions, for the person in the hotseat, are conceived. I am able to sit, figure out what I am going to ask, and how I’m going to word them.

I have done what I can to keep the questions pretty open ended but also keep some topics regular with each interview. Questions involving favorite colors and fonts, preference between pirates and ninjas and the occasional zombie or pirate, and a nonsensical question involving birds on powerlines, have all been used regularly. One that I take a lot of pride in and put a lot of focus on is about twitter users that the interviewee recommends. This focus is because almost all of the people that we’ve gotten to know together, I first met on Twitter. One of the best parts about this question is the allowance granted to the interviewee to highlight some people important to them. Little bits of promotion and recommendation facilitates everyone winning and meeting new people.

At the end of the brainstorming stage, I have fifteen questions that I’ve done my best to tailor fit the person, their personality, and their areas of specialty. The questions are a mix of serious and (hopefully)humorous questions. Before sending the questions, I organize them in a manner that goes back and forth between serious and humorous. I do what I can to accomodate for busy schedules by sending the questions about two weeks before the day I plan to publish the post. I also send friendly reminders, if necessary, a couple times during the two weeks.

Once I receive the answered questions back, I put everything into a new wordpress post, apply the necessary styling, add the associated settings and metadata, and schedule it for the right date and time. The post going live is what I look forward to the most, as it is when myself and the interviewed get to have fun promoting the interview and spreading the love. Reading the twitter replies, retweets, post comments, and anything else make all the time and effort worth it.

At the end of the day, I get to take pride in that I got to promote someone I care about, support, and believe in. Meanwhile, that person gets to be in the spotlight for a day and be the focus of peoples’ attention. I hope that it is considered a huge honor, with them being in a field where so frequently they do the highlighting, primarily for clients. That is why I put forth the effort.

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This is also a very personal interview for me. Out of everyone, Alex may be the one who I know the most, and knows me the most in return. I have known her since sometime in mid 2009. When I had the idea to include her in this post series, I knew that it would be my chance to offer a lending hand and help her out as much as I could. With that said, lets help her get her feet off the ground and get to know Alex Cook.

Please introduce yourself to everyone. What did you major in and where at? Did you specialize in any areas?

Alex Cook: Hello! :3 I’m Alex Cook, your typical unemployed, yet hopeful graduate with an interest in design, writing and film. Seriously, talk to me about movies and I’ll likely love you forever. Anyways! I recently graduated with a BS in New Media Publishing from Rochester Institute of Technology. My major includes a mix of graphic design, web development, printing, business and IT. At RIT, I concentrated/specialized in both French Language and Culture and Contemporary Publishing. Think eBook creation and designing, studying the pros and cons of the New York Times Reader, and so on!

You just graduated this past spring. What do you hope for in your near future, and what fears do you have given the current job market?

Alex: Good. Question. Since I’ve graduated, I’ve come up with such a multitude of plans, it’s borderline ridiculous. Do I want another bachelor’s degree? In graphic design? Journalism? How about a masters in human computer interaction? Who knows. I think I’d really just like to get some more design practice and experience.. we’ll worry about the job front later. (aka I’d prefer to not think about the current job market. ;p )

If you could choose for the pigment in your skin to be any color possible, what would that color’s RGB/CYMK value be?

Alex: Oh man, ideally? #333366. I’m crazy about this purple. (C: 93% M: 90% Y: 31% K: 20%) (R: 51 G: 51 B: 102) Realistically though, I need a tan. –__– #CC9966. (C: 20% M: 41% Y: 67% K: 1%) (R: 204 G: 153 B: 102)

If you had control of who follows your twitter account, what four people would you add to your followers list? Why?

Alex: Eeeee! @dessadarling. Dessa is hands down my favorite artist/rapper/author. Her lyrics and essays are a constant source of inspiration for me in writing, illustrating, so on and so forth.

@disneypixar. Yet another source of inspiration for me. To say that I never dreamed of working for Disney would be an absolute, terrible lie. If you could see my wish list of books right now, it’d be over 75% full of Pixar art books.

@andrewhussie. I follow the newest MS Paint Adventure like it’s my job (“Homestuck,” go read it! :p). He’s got one heck of an imagination, seems to write like a pro, and oh man are his drawings cute or what?!

Andddd @ConanOBrien, because everyone loves a little attention now and then, amiright?

Below, is a question and answer

Recently, you returned to Minnesota where you had an internship last year. Is there anywhere in the area that you would absolutely love to work at? Any specific companies?

Alex: Minnesota is so full of major corporations, I’m certain holding a design position at any would be more than fine in my book! (Hey there Target, Best Buy, 3M, General Mills! (; ) If dreams could come true, I’d die to work for Rhymesayers Entertainment, an independent hip hop record label based in Minneapolis. I missed out on a design internship for them due to poor timing, but shall we keep our fingers crossed for the future? And as for an area? Anywhere. Seriously, I’m so in love with the state.

What are some of your favorite bands to listen to while designing?

Alex: First and foremost, Dessa. I mentioned the inspiration deal already, but she’s just an awesome artist regardless. Otherwise, Portishead, Bjork, Cat Power, Death Cab for Cutie, P.O.S, Bright Eyes, or mostly my collection of film soundtracks and scores. Anything that I can listen but not have to put all of my attention into really. Oh, and of course, the Glee Cast station on Pandora when I need something peppy and exciting. ;3

A zombie, pirate, politician, and ninja have all made it to the Rock/Paper/Scissor final four. Who are you rooting for and who do you hope they beat to win the championship?

Alex: The zombie, of course. And it’d have to beat out the ninja, seeing as the politician clearly wouldn’t make it to the final round.. and, well, I just don’t like pirates sometimes.

Do you have any preferred styles of design or art?

Alex: Absolutely. Anything with some vector-y goodness in it and I’m more than sold. Also, anything that’s got a vintage feel, or even something that’s “totally adorable” and appeals more so to children will always catch my eye. So think vintage Disney (especially Disneyland attraction ads and signs) and maybe even my favorite collectables, Golden Books. I go crazy for these.

Although you are still very young in your career, can you recall any client/customer moments that made you go D: ?

Alex: When I was interning at a printing company, I was a customer service rep for mostly donation jobs. (why is it that anyone getting anything for free will always be disgustingly demanding, finicky, and on the occasion, insane?) I’ve had a two hour+ phone call proofreading a brochure (there were only three paragraphs!). I’ve hand delivered pieces because a client told me he’d pick up the final product, then changed his mind. My favorite D: moment though, at my first job developing pictures, is when a customer accused me of ruining her negatives and making them.. blurry?

If photoshop features or method tricks could report people for overuse and abuse, which one(s) would be able to report you?

Alex: How about.. undo? :p I don’t use Photoshop nearly as much as I should, but if we were talking about Illustrator.. Well, probably anything related to the pen tool. And live trace/live paint. And undo.

Is there anything about being a student that you’ll immediately miss? *cough* adobe product discounts *cough cough*

Alex: Adobe product discounts! I absolutely love being a student. I like learning, assignments, essays (love these actually) and lectures, I already know I’ll miss all of that. But most of all, having a set schedule and things to do daily.. even if I’m stuck on campus till 5:30 am writing XSLT for the first time, working on research papers, or illustrating an eBook.

Are there any areas where you wish your degree program(s) focused more on? less on?

Alex: I could write a novel for this answer unfortunately. My degree was brand new, ever changing and confusing. Professors were never able to give us a definition of New Media Publishing, saying it was “too new, there’s always something changing!” (You know, aka “we have no idea.”) I wish my program offered more than two beginner design classes and one basic business class, employed professors who told us more than “I don’t know what you can do with your degree to be honest,” and was simply more organized in general. Oh, and I really wish we didn’t have to literally beg professors to get into any interesting or worthwhile classes outside of our program.

If you were a design super hero, who would you be and what would be your super power?

(Thank you @designcoyote for this suggestion!)

Alex: I’d have to be Vector Girl! Using mathematical formulas and specifications of geometric elements to fight crime (ha ha!) with my paths and lines..gun. And looking all around spiffy and clean and wonderful. Gonna need a sidekick though, anyone down to be Illustrator Boy? ;D

Any final thoughts?

Alex: Thanks soso much for having me do this interview! Beats all of those job interviews that seem to be missing in action any day of the week.

And seriously, Illustrator Boy, whatchu think?!

The absolute greatest thing that all of you readers, who have been in the industry for awhile already, could do for Alex is to give her any advice you have for someone in her position. Think back to when you were in Alex’s position, what advice would you have loved to get from your peers? What do you wish you knew then that you know now? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I will make sure Alex reads it all. Follow her on twitter at her twitter profile @cooxie.

Related posts:

1. Do You Think You Know Rachael E.C. Acklin?
2. Do You Think You Know Emma Taylor?
3. Do you think you know Grace Smith?

Your identity and branding are based off of coffee and caffeine. How much do you drink on a productive day?

Rachael E.C. Acklin: I drink about two cups, if I’m paying attention enough to finish them before I forget they’re even there. I make a small pot of coffee in the morning, and it only holds about 2.5 mugs’ worth of coffee in it, so I end up washing about a half a cup down the drain when I rinse out the pot. I used to make a big 12-cup pot, but I never even drank half of it so it was a huge waste. I don’t believe my own hype enough to drink way more coffee than I actually can handle.

Why should someone take a drink of your “coffee” and hire you for all their design needs? What sets you apart from other brews?

Rachael: A very specific thing that sets my design style and work style apart from many other designers is that I really care about my clients’ success as it relates to the project I’m working on for them. I spend a lot of time talking with them, asking them questions to help their own creativity and idea generation processes. I also incorporate every piece of feedback that I get from them, whether I can actually deliver what they want, or can explain why something won’t work and give them a different suggestion. I’m not one of those designers that is so convinced they know their craft that the client is always wrong, and I don’t get so personally attached to each design that I get upset when the client needs me to change it. I am really proud of the way I’m able to build a trust-filled working relationship with my clients because of the way I do things.

You’re planning a party at your favorite local coffee shop. Who would be some of your twitter cohosts for this gathering?

Rachael: OH MAN. There are so many fantastic people that I’d love to cohost a coffee party with: Crystal (@bigbrightbulb), Adam (@adamkingstudio), Sarah (@leianajade), Kyle (@kpdurand), and Andy (@andrewghayes) are the first people who come to mind. And everyone else I talk to every week. THIS IS A TRICK QUESTION, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE?!

What are some of the most overcaffeinated and energetic fonts in your collection and can you describe any projects that you got to use one of them in?

Rachael: You know, I don’t really use very many overcaffeinated fonts. I like fonts that imply intelligence, strength, character, and occasional quirkiness. Recently, one of my favorite thing to do is pair a script font with a sans serif font. However, Scriptina and Georgia have become my brand fonts in the last several months, and I love how they compliment each other.

What is your favorite coffee roast and from what country?

Rachael: Dark roasts taste the best to me, although hilariously, they contain less caffeine. HA HA HA. I’ve loved and enjoyed coffee from Africa and South America, but none are my favorites. They all taste marvelously perfect and distinctly different.

You know 8-bit graphics are a bit trendy right now. Have you ever been tempted to fire up MS Paint or some other basic bitmap pixel editor and do some mockup work there? What type of project do you think this would actually be good for?

Rachael: Nope. For real. Maybe I’m not very good at following trends. However, I think that 8-bit graphics might look really sweet on a geek-style webcomic design, along with some hand-drawn illustrations.

If money was not a question, what would you purchase or upgrade in order to achieve “the perfect setup” with your office space?

Rachael: I would scour the earth in search of the perfect ergonomic chair and desk combination that works for EXCESSIVELY SHORT PEOPLE who have EXCESSIVE SHOULDER PAIN from all that awesome design work. It’s so difficult to find chairs that work for you if you’re just over five feet tall!

A ninja has just swiped your source of awesome and coffee. Do you call him a traitor to your ninja brethren or do you gather up your pirate crew on deck in order to pursue?

Rachael: First I am upset and I have a good cry. Then I gather up my crew and explain what’s going on, and tell them how I need their help. We find the ninja, find out what happened, and find a solution that works for everyone. Even horrible problems have solutions if you’re willing to work at finding them.

What lessons do you want to pass on to new designers? Are there any that you wish you learned earlier?

Rachael: First lesson: don’t take jobs just because you need money; take jobs because they fit what you love to do. Second lesson: if you have a client that you cannot make happy no matter what you do, and you’ve actually tried everything and been honest, don’t be afraid to fire that client. Third lesson: you can’t please everyone, so stop trying; find your right people and stick with them. (All of these, I wish I’d known earlier than I learned them.)

Have you ever found direct design influence in anything that one of your kids has created or drawn? If so, tell us about it.

Rachael: I haven’t been directly influenced yet, because I haven’t needed to put explosions, airplanes, dinosaurs, and aliens in a design yet. YET. However, their creativity never ceases to amaze me. It’s really fascinating what they will create with only a few sheets of plain white paper and a box of crayons.

Did you ever hear back from William Shatner at all? I recall you trying to drum up support for you to redesign his website.

Rachael: No, the Shat never got back with me. KHAN!!!!!! But it was fun, trying to get him to respond. Also, I am actually more fond of him now than I was before, despite the fact that I had no contact with him whatsoever. The internets are so awesome like that.

What are a few things from cubicle life that someone couldn’t pay you to miss?

Rachael: 1) Uncomfortable seating arrangements; 2) guilt over taking a needed break; 3) fluorescent lights; 4) lunch at my desk; 5) never knowing if I was doing a good enough job; 6) driving to work and back every single day.

Whatever happened to the Caffeinated Podcast? Is that a project that never got to take off? or is it just dormant at the moment?

Rachael: It’s just dormant right now. One of my awesome friends, who is also a ninja for me sometimes, is going to team up with me and we’re going to bring it back, BABY.

What are some stereotypes that you wish designers had?

Rachael: I wish that designers were known for good communication skills. I also wish that designers were known for caring about the client, not just the specific project being worked on.

If you could, what coffee company would you purchase some stock in and why?

Rachael: I would find a coffee farmer in the third world who needs money to make his business bigger, and invest in that. I wouldn’t even want him to pay me back, like Kiva.org, even though the work they do is phenomenal. I would rather put money into something that can become a great and sustainable thing, than to buy stock and sell it later, honestly.

Related posts:

1. Do You Think You Know Alex Cook?
2. Do You Think You Know Emma Taylor?
3. Do you think you know Grace Smith?

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I really REALLY am enjoying this purchase. However that’s all for now

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Admin note: You’ll noticed a strange amount of little yellow circles. I can only imagine how much Emma smiles in person. Personally, I blame living in Cyprus. Color me jealous.

Who are you for those who don’t know and what is it you specialize in?

Emma Taylor: I’m Emma! I’m a freelance web designer living the dream in Cyprus (originally from the UK). Specialising in User Interface Web Design (mostly PSD mockups) and love clean simple designs, the interwebs, positive thinking, anything apple & my family and friends

How does it feel to share a name with the Em measurement in web design? Are you as fluid and scalable as it is?

Emma: Well spotted. Would you believe i’ve never really thought about it, now you’ve brought it up it feels pretty darn good!

If you were given the capital to start up a firm or grow your current brand, using only twitter people, who would be in your first round of hiring?

Emma: You’ve gotta love Twitter!! I’d have to go all out and mention a few of my favourite & super lovely web gals, they’re incredibly talented designers and great fun to talk to!

• @gracesmith — Grace Smith (website)
• @sazzy — Sarah Parmenter (website)
• @amerz — Amy Mahon (website)
• @yaili — Inayaili de León (website)
• @designspace — Jackie Ellse (website)

…wow, this is harder than it looks, i could go on and on, there are so many wonderful people on the web!!

When birds stand on power lines and don’t get hurt, it’s most likely because of:

• good tim­ing, they only land between calls
• body mate­ri­als that are insu­lated from current
• not touch­ing any­thing else at the same time
• they do get hurt, they just express it poorly

Emma: good timing, they only land between calls

The fonts folder on your computer spontaniously combusts into a huge ball of fire with serifs flying everywhere, what three do you attempt to salvage first?

Emma: Firstly, i’d need to check to see if my sans serif fonts were ok (mainly Helvetica Neue)! Current fav Serif fonts: Hoefler Text — Italic, Baskerville & Archer

I remember, awhile back, agreeing with you that the best pens tend to be the most basic, is there any pen on your desk that you tend to instinctively reach for no matter how many may be available and perhaps closer to your hand?

Emma: Any that works…mostly the basic blue biro does the job.

What is the story for the origin of “Twiggle” in your personal branding?

Emma: When i originally started out as a full time freelancer nearly 3 years ago now i branded myself under another name. After a year i was unfortunately presented with a not so nice email from a legal team and so it goes i was no longer to able to use that domain name or brand. At the time I was pretty much in a state of panic and quickly needed to come up with a new brand and domain name. After plenty of research, plenty of name ideas and plenty of (most probably annoying) emails to web friends i finally settled with Twiggle Graphics! In a way although it caused a lot of anxiety and panic at the time its been a blessing, i’ve learnt so much since then, took my work and myself more seriously and have been busier than ever.

Are there any old design habits of yours that make you facepalm yourself? If so, why?

Emma: If anything it’d be coding. I’m pretty lucky to be able to specialise my services to design and creating PSD UI designs for other freelancers and agencies and absolutely love it, the only downside to this is that i find that i’m not completely up to scratch with my coding skills at times.

If you could personally choose any website to improve and evolve, what site would you pick and why?

Emma: *holding my head in shame* Mine! It’s way overdue and in desperate need for a redesign and update, but helping my lovely clients comes first!!

What is the nerdiest pickup line ever used on you, if any? If none, make one up!

Emma: lol, hmmm, errrr…

What type of projects or styles would you love to dip your toe into in the future? Surely a woman with your skills has only the sky as the limit.

Emma: I recently helped out with an iPhone app icon, it’s great fun and loved it…i definitely want to get into this more.

Have you ever taken, or been tempted to take, the font Papyrus for a swim in any of your designs?

Emma: Errrrrr, no. Along with comic sans, curlz mt and any others that fit into that category!! lol

Any personal quotes you’d like to share with the people of the internet?

Emma: Whenever i get in a little rut about something or i need a little nudge i ask myself a very simple question … What’s the worst thing that can happen? Go for it!

Have you ever considered bottling up Cyprus sunshine and selling it for a little extra money in the pocket? Surely it is a higher quality sunshine than some other places in the world.

Emma: Now there’s an idea!! lol

Final thoughts?

Emma: Thanks for asking me to take part in a fun and creative interview!! Keep up the great work

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3. Do you think you know Grace Smith?

Could you please list your name and occupation for those who do not know you?

Amy Crook: I’m Amy Crook, an artist, illustrator, and graphic designer.

What would some songs be on a soundtrack to you taking over the world?

Amy:

• “Brand New Day” from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
• “The Internet is for Porn” from Avenue Q
• “Dressed in Black” by Depeche Mode
• “Hysteria” by Def Leppard. Or, really, anything they play during an episode of Supernatural.
• “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby

Preferred medium to work with in traditional arts?

Amy: I like oil paints a lot, but I’m also a big fan of pencil, pen & ink, and Copic markers. I’m learning to use gouche and watercolors to good effect, too, but there’s just something I really love about oils, they’re so buttery and substantial.

I know first hand that you are forming yourself a gathering of minions to do all of your biddings…I happen to be one of them. The guys/gals asked me to ask you what color our uniforms are going to be and when they’re supposed to show up. Any info? We hate working naked right now.

Amy: I forget that the new minions aren’t getting orientation anymore, since we were losing so many to demonstration of the evil lair traps. You can wear these: Monkey Minion Cafepress Teeshirt

Do you ever get the urge to go crazy with finger paint?

Amy: Naah, finger paints are too low quality. But I have been known to smear oils around with my fingers (it’s a bitch to get them out from under my fingernails afterward, though).

There are rumors floating around the intertubes that you’re in cahoots to overthrow the twitterholic meeting leader. If this is true, who are some of the people from twitter you’d consider to appoint as assistants?

Amy: I think @caffeinatedelf would rise up and overthrow me immediately just on the basis of unworthiness, not to mention @etherjammer & @copygeniusgirl.

If you could end any internet meme right now, which would it be and why?

Amy: If there’s one thing I’ve learned about internet memes, it’s that they’re fleeting and will die out on their own without me having to lift a finger.

Any wise words from wise people you know?

Amy: I dunno, just go read @havi’s entire blog, and everything from @IttyBiz.

Bluebeard the Pirate and Unknown Ninja are both running for the same political chair in Washington DC. Which candidate would you vote for?

Amy: Well, since I don’t live in DC, I’m spared this difficult decision. Now, if it was Captain Jack Sparrow the Pirate, I might move just to vote for him…

What font really curls your nails and drives you batty every time you see it?

Amy: It’s not a specific font that bothers me, but seeing fonts used in weird and inappropriate places. That’s why everyone hates Comic Sans so much, it’s just been crazy overused in every possible way. Business correspondence should never, ever use Curlz, just step away from the Fonts menu.

When birds stand on power lines and don’t get hurt, it’s most likely because of:

• good tim­ing, they only land between calls
• body mate­ri­als that are insu­lated from current
• not touch­ing any­thing else at the same time
• they do get hurt, they just express it poorly

Amy: It’s because they’re not touching anything else at the same time, and their bodies are less conductive than the wire. Path of least resistance and all that, kind of like me agreeing to do the interview right away rather than listening to you wheedle about it for weeks first.

Have you noticed any stereotypes about people in your field that just make you giggle?

Amy: I think the “any kid in his basement could do it” one is the one that’s the silliest. I mean, have you seen MySpace? That’s what kids in their basement do to the web, and nobody wants more of that.

I know you have your gripes with CSS and how it handles things at times. Does anything in CSS3 sound like it’s going to make you happier or do you think it’s going to cause even more hair pulling?

Amy: Both, I’m sure. But I don’t pull my hair, I just take it out on my minions!

Pretend for a moment that you’re an iphone. What sort of self improvements would you want to make to yourself to make you a better device?

Amy: I’d like an option to use a stylus of some kind for more precise functionality, sometimes it’s hard to hit that exact right spot with a bit fat fingertip. And I’d love a Scrivener App, though as much for iPad as iPhone there. A lot of the other improvements I’d want are coming in OS4, though I’d love a Y!M app that didn’t blow goats. Sadly, all Y!M apps for all Apple products throughout history have blown goats, so I think I’m doomed there.

Any last remarks?

Amy: You really need to get out more.

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If you’ve ever talked to her, you know that she has a burning passion for what she does and really loves the community that has evolved since the olden days. I know that I feel I got to get to know her just that much more after receiving these responses, and I hope you feel the same. Lets get to know her a bit better together. Don’t forget to follow her @idesignstudios.

Who are you and what do you do?

Selene M. Bowlby: My name is Selene M. Bowlby. I’m a web designer and front-end web developer with over ten years of professional experience in the design industry.

As the the owner of iDesign Studios, I specialize in creating custom web sites for other businesses – focusing primarily on custom WordPress theme design and development. I also blog on topics relating to web design, small business, freelancing and work-life balance.

What is one thing that you would love to see available in a default wordpress install, that isn’t presently there?

Selene: There’s a core set of about 10–15 plugins that I install for EVERY WordPress site that I develop – some basics like Feedburner, WP Database Backup, All-In-One SEO, XML Sitemaps, etc. Obviously not realistic, but it would be cool if some of them (in particular security type things like the Database Backup) were included by default.

Where were you on the night of February 30th, 2002? Don’t try to lie your way out of this one, we have leads saying you were fraternizing, with Curlz MT Font!

Selene: Would you believe I first started tracking back to where I was in 2002 before realizing there is no February 30th??? LOL Good thing too, because I’d hate to have to fess up to fraternizing with Curlz MT… though hypothetically speaking, if I did ever work with it – it was WAY back in the 90’s in high school and college. Strictly hypothetically speaking, of course…

You are also a twitterholic, along with Grace Smith, but attended last week’s meeting only after a heavy amount of arm twisting. Who are some people that you think everyone should follow?

Selene: This is a tough question, because there are so many awesome people on Twitter! For all of my recommendations, check out my Twitter Lists! But to name a few that I converse with quite a bit – some great designers/developers to follow are:

• @465media — Anthony Cousins (website)
• @andrea_r — Andrea R (website)
• @brianyerkes — Brian Yerkes (website)
• @edavis10 — Eric Davis (website)
• @jeffmackey — Jeff Mackey (website)
• @kimparsell — Kim Parsell (website)
• @Sakmaniac — Brian Sakowicz (website)
• @sourapplemedia — Ty Dennis (website)

You are stranded on a desert island and find a bottle and blank piece of parchment to be used for a rescue message. What font would you use for the message?

Selene: Helvetica Neue

What are a couple things you miss about any 9–5 cubicle life that you’ve experienced? It would be hard to argue that there are no benefits to that career path over a freelancing path.

Selene: The main thing that I miss from cubicle life is a steady paycheck. The biggest issue with freelancing is that it truly is “feast vs famine”, and you don’t always know when your next client will come in (and when it does, it’s sure to bring a few additional new clients with it… then they all disappear for a bit… rinse and repeat!) I definitely miss having a guaranteed check every 2 weeks, but still not enough to trade freelancing! Especially with today’s economy, a full time job isn’t necessarily the most secure option, either. At least with freelancing you have multiple sources of income.

I miss the real-life chit-chat that goes on at the office too… but I have Twitter and TweetDeck to make up for that, so it’s not that big of a deal anymore, LOL.

When birds stand on power lines and don’t get hurt, it’s most likely because of:

• good tim­ing, they only land between calls
• body mate­ri­als that are insu­lated from current
• not touch­ing any­thing else at the same time
• they do get hurt, they just express it poorly

Selene: Good timing, they only land between calls.

Do you have any personal quotes that you’d like to share with the internet?

Selene: Actually my husband’s quote: Family First / Work Second

Many freelancers – especially those with families – are constantly trying to achieve the perfect work-life balance. Being a workaholic, this is something I constantly have to remind myself. I’ve got a much better balance going on now than when I was juggling both a full time job and freelancing (can you believe it’ll be 2 years of full time freelancing next month!) Anyway, moral of that story is that this is all for family, because without family, what else do you have?

I also like the quote: Perfection is the enemy of “Good Enough”

This is an anonymous quote that I have on a magnet on my whiteboard in the office. Something I need to pay attention to more, LOL. I recently re-designed my web site, and as any designer knows – we are, indeed, our own worst clients. I finally just had to pick a point and say that it was “good enough” to run with. There are still a few things I’m not 100% happy with, but you can only tinker with a design for so long…

What CSS3/HTML5 elements have you wiggling i your chair the most?

Selene: Multiple background images without a doubt! I sometimes create extra <div>’s just so I can layer a few background images. Can’t wait to be able to combine them all into a single <div>

Can you recall any client moments that really made you go *facepalm*?

Selene: Ohhhh yes, I definitely can, but will refrain from pointing out too many specifics so as not to incriminate the (not-so) innocent, LOL.

My biggest *facepalm* moment, though would be a client I had worked with for years (one of my first). I focus strictly on front-end web design / development, so I used to outsource any programming work. Unfortunately any of the programmers I selected for this particular client over the years never fully came through. There were always issues, and since I sub-contracted out the programming, their errors made me look like the incompetent one.

I ultimately lost the client (who went on to find their own programmer… and believe it or not they’re still having issues). Anyway, that has shaped a bit of how I currently run my business. I now stick with front-end design/development projects only. If there are any sites I take on that would require some back-end development, I let the client (or potential client) know up front that they would need to separately hire a programmer to complete those portions of the site.

Yes, I’m sure it’s cost me some jobs where the client wanted to just work with one person / firm, rather than hire multiple individuals. But the peace of mind that I won’t be tarnishing my name if I hire the wrong programmer for the job (not to mention the hassles that project management sometimes bring) is worth it. That’s part of why I freelance – I get to set the rules and decide what types of jobs I will or won’t take on.

If you were an LOLCat, what would be your caption?

Selene: I can haz iPad?

Favorite Internet Meme?

Selene: I like the “7 Weird Things” meme! I had participated in this one on my anonymous alter-ego blog, WAH(web)Mommy, back when I was still juggling cubicle life and freelancing. I shared a few of my quirks, and learned some very interesting facts about some of the bloggers that I followed.

That old post of mine is in a tightly secured vault somewhere… and only a handful of people knew that it was my weird things they were reading about, mwahahaha.

If you could visit any art age in the past, which would you choose and for how long?

Selene: It would be cool to go back to the Renaissance period – but just for a bit! I like my current life, and wouldn’t want more than a glimpse of the past. I think a nice day trip would be sufficient.

It’s the showdown to end all showdowns, the battle of epic proportions! It’s brought kingdoms down to their knees and made once-brave warriors tremble in fear! It’s Pirates vs Ninjas dueling to the death in Rock/Paper/Scissors. Which side are you on and which hand do you throw?

Selene: Pirate / Rock

Any closing comments or thoughts?

Selene: Just to thank you for this truly unique interview! Each interview I do, I think that it has pretty unique questions… but I don’t know if anyone can top the creativity of these! Thanks so much for including me in your interview series!

Please if you have anything to say, comment with the form below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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