Spicy Web Designer Interview with Todd Stowell

Todd Stowell is a web designer from Washington, DC who telecommutes to Brooklyn, New York in the United States. He has been designing websites since 2000. Todd studied at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont for his Associates in Science – Computer Networking & PC Support, Bachelors of Science – Computer and Digital Forensics, and Bachelors of Science – Computer Information Systems. He also received his Web Standards Certification from W3C Schools which speaks to his passion for being a self-taught web designer.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I was in a video production class in high school in 1996.  A friend was building a web site on Geocities and it caught my eye.  I liked the idea that he was able to develop something and put it online for the world to see.  I’ve never looked back since.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I picked up “designing sites” around 2000.  I had always just been playing around for my own purposes, tables and animated gif’s to build simple web sites.  It wasn’t until my first “web job” was with a firm in Vermont (who at the time had no designers) that I was able to design a site from start to finish.

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

The biggest challenge is educating the client.  While various 2.0 trends are driving design forces these days, accessibility and simplicity need to play a key role as well.  Your product(s) will never be effective if your users can’t easily find and use the information you are presenting.

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

I code in PHP, specifically within WordPress, and write JavaScript, XHTML and CSS.

5. 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 am self-taught.  While living and working in Vermont, I picked up many key pointers from the firm’s Creative Director (who was also responsible for developing the Vermont Teddy Bear company’s identity).

I personally went to school and have degrees in Computer Information Systems.  From a technical standpoint, it has prepared me for what is and isn’t possible on the web, smart practices with data delivery and importantly, how to make design and code “run fast”.

Now, I work with some amazing designers through my current employer, Tierra Innovation (www.tierra-innovation.com), who have shown me many new ideas and provided inspiration to take web development to the next level.  The one piece of advice I can give to anyone out in the web world today is that design is an ever evolving process, and that flexing your unique style should come first before you follow the crowd.

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?

Since I started working in the web, the whole “2.0 revolution” happened.  Big flash sites have been replaced with jQuery/AJAX driven products, online collaboration has greatly increased and web standards are now in place and followed.  The industry has and is changing for the good.

More firms are following standards and accessibility rules.  I started using these practices in 2003 and it’s helped in so many ways.  Building a design using strictly XHTML/CSS allows for easier updates, better Search Engine Optimization and follows Section 508 guidelines (the Government’s users with disabilities act).

Additionally, web sites are now more universally browser centric.  I can remember a time where a site might load in IE, but not at all in Netscape.  Now with Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari now in the mix, it has forced competitors to step it up a notch and make sure their sites load across the board – and forced the browser developers to use the same tools so those sites can load correctly.

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

For design, I strictly use Photoshop.  For coding, use Editpad Pro, SQLyog, Firebug and the Web Developer Toolbar.  They are my favorites because they are what I am most familiar with.  The code editing tools are extremely light weight and simple to use.