Spicy Web Designer Interview with Ronnie San

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.