1. Hello, could you please tell us, how did you start being a designer and how did you start your own business?
I guess I started designing when my dad would give me his old "Dickon" pencils (they were about 1.5 inches long) and his almost empty sheets of Letraset (Letraset is/was rub down lettering for those reading this who are too young to know what Letraset is). My dad was a graphic designer and artist who always worked at home. I always saw him cutting, gluing, pasting, lettering (with a brush!), and all by hand of course. So I did the same thing, but in my own way...


2. By looking at your web sites, you are mainly doing entertainment projects and movie sites. Whats the story behind it and where it goes?
Los Angeles is the culprit I guess. Since I was living in LA when I started designing websites I got into entertainment. Also, if I was somewhere else designing back-end applications for insurance agencies I'd probably be in another line of work now. Movies are fun, you get to play with cool art and build pages that are way too heavy, but you can get away with it because its for a movie... but seriously, fun and games aside, this stuff is actually pretty intense. Everything in Hollywood seems to happen at the last minute, and then it changes. And when you have a film that someone has spent upwards of 50 or 100 million dollars on to create there's no room for error in the online marketing, so within all the fun, there's a lot of work, some long nights and rigorous schedules.

3. What are your plans for the future?
I'd love to branch out of entertainment.. I mean I think I'll always enjoy movie sites, especially when I love the movie. For instance I loved the London production of Sweeney Todd (both my brothers were in it) and I saw it many times on Drury Lane when I was about 10 or 11 so I begged Paramount to give me the project for the upcoming movie with Johnny Depp, so they did which was awesome. It works great for the client when you're really invested in something they are trying to sell.. and I could probably sing you the whole thing now if you wanted (it's a musical) cos I know all the words.. but you probably wouldn't like that if I did because I can't sing (but my brothers can). But back to your question, I'd love to do some projects for some cool companies like Virgin, Edun, Earth Shoes, or some alternative energy car site. I also want to spend more time with my wife and son.

4. Could you tell us, how do you start on project? Some information
about your work process please.
If it's a movie I usually get to read the script (though sometimes not) and then I put together a proposal of concepts and ideas that would make a good campaign. These ideas get whittled down and modified with client input and that serves as the launching point. Funny thing is a lot of projects end up great but without being anything like what was in the original proposal because sometimes a lot of what you propose is based upon what assets will be made available to you from the film's production. This varies on every project.
Aeon Flux was great because I got to go to the set in Berlin and meet with the production designer for the film. We picked his brain about his process and I was able to really understand why they made all the design decisions they did in making the film. This movie is set 400 years in the future and the resources on earth have dwindled significantly so a lot of things are made from algae that is grown and can be carved like a wood or plastic material. There was a lot of information along those lines and it really set the foundation for the whole aesthetic of the site. Beyond that I think it's a pretty common process, brainstorm, design comps, build and animate in flash, and try and keep a tight lid on
project management the whole way so we always know where we are.

5. Where do you think webdesign is going? What do you think will
happen in 10 years?
Web design will be interactive motion graphics I guess. As soon as bandwidth allows for realtime full screen video, that's what we'll have. This could easily be less than 10 years. The way technology is changing these days is just scary. We will have whatever you have seen in the movies, like Tom Cruise's touch screen panel in Minority Report, that movie came out in 2002 I think and you could build that thing for real now. It seems that for better or for worse, a lot of what is shown in movies about the future will come true at one time or another. Let's hope they start painting a prettier picture :)

6. Your opinion about Flash?
Flash rocks. I wish it could render a little faster but it's great, and every release gets better. We used AS3 and flash 9 for Stardust which turned out to be a bigger pain in the ass than I expected because it's so different to AS2 (I'm not a programmer), but the speed increases were great. And when you can run h.264 video through flash we'll be in really good shape (I heard this was already in beta in Flash 9).

7. A little about your offline life. How do you rest? Whats your
usual daily plan and schedule?
These days I don't rest much. Work is full time and having a 4 1/2 year old is full time. But when I do rest I try to get away from my computer. Hiking, playing with my son, we just spent a month in France and 4 days in London but I worked for about half that time. As a family we want to spend more time in France, so don't be surprised when you see a french phone number go up on the dsire.com website.

8. If not webdesign, then what would you do? Why?
Something creative, not sure what.. I'd like to write but I think my writing may be too unemotional, but I love the idea of doing something that can be done anywhere (like web design).

9. Do you think education is essential thing to be a designer?
Well.. it wasn't for me. I stopped going to school when I was 12 because of my circumstances. My mother and I lived on a commune and the school there was no good so I didn't want to go, but my education was different. From then on I worked seven days a week in the electronics and audio/video department so I learned a lot about
technology, sound, live recording and videography. I've always taught myself whatever it is that I do. I think this is a fortunate talent to have, so for me school was not necessary, but I always wonder how different things might be if I had gone to school and college. I believe that if you're a designer you've either 'got it' or you don't. If you've 'got it' then school can help refine the inherent talent that you've been born with and I guess that's a good thing, but you can also refine it by working with some good designers and save on tuition fees :)
I always like to do things with people who are better than I, because I learn more. I have a very close friend who is an awesome skier, and I love to ski with her because I always improve my skiing. I think this is true with everything.

10. Mac or PC? Why?
Mac, because it's a lot more elegant. If I have to look at something for a long periods of time then it'd better be darned pretty!

11. You live in the US, do you think there is a place somewhere,
where you would love to move? Why?
I'm english and have made the US my home for the last 28 years, but I cannot get the 'europe' out of me. I love France and would like to spend more time there. My wife is French so we have family there, and it's close to England of course where most of my family is. I think we will buy a boat one day and live on the canals of France 3 or 4
months out of the year, of course it will need satellite internet connectivity.

12. What are the bad things in your job?
My eyes are starting to go bad, and I have something buggy with my right shoulder (this is my tablet arm) from too much repetitive use.
I guess we can always find bad things to complain about but with the state of the world these days I can't really complain. I do something I enjoy, I make my own schedule, I have a beautiful wife and son and I eat well... no complaints there. If I could improve one thing it would be to duplicate myself so I could take more time off.

13. Which is your favorite work and why?
The beginning of any project.. the start of any job is always the most exciting because it's all fresh and the potential is just floating out in the ether somewhere. There are magical moments throughout it all, but the beginning is especially ripe, and also sometimes difficult. I've worked on comps for 4 days without coming up with anything I like, and then in the last 2 hours of day 5 it all comes together.Funny how it works, no matter how much planning you can put into some designs, the best elements appear by accident... happy accidents :)

14. Well, thanks for your time. Any final comments?
Thanks for asking me, and sorry it took so long to get you the answers! Final comment... I'm very fortunate to be doing what I do. I work really hard and often long hours, but in the end it's worth it. I've built some great relationships and am fortunate enough to work with some really good clients. It's been a fun ride and I'm looking forward to the next few laps to see what's in store.