Spicy Web Designer Interview with Todd Adams

Todd Adams is a web designer from Orlando, Florida in the United States. He started designing websites back in 2000 and since then has been designing, consulting and developing for the web. He focuses on attending to details, a commitment to usability and best practices in all of his projects. After studying at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania for Graphics and Animation, Todd decided to go to FullSail in Orlando, Florida for Digitial Media.

1. How did you get started in web design?

I think the first time I was introduced to web design was while attending college back in 1998. We had a basic HTML class, and I can remember how “cool” I thought my site was with rotating objects galore, frames, tables and more tables and the very popular spacer.gifs. I definitely enjoyed the class, but after it ended, web design got put on the back-burner for a few years.

2. When did you start designing websites?

I think the first official site I designed was in 2000 for Quiklinx Technologies, and then my next was in 2001 for Funcaster.com. I was working as their Chief Creative Officer, and one of my duties was to establish their web presence. I was responsible for designing, branding, creating content, and coding the entire site. Luckily, my boss was an experienced programmer and was there to lend a hand with all of the heavy lifting. I learned a lot about PERL, CGI-SCRIPTS, login systems, and all of the work that went into creating a user-centric community on the web. The experience taught me a lot and definitely sparked my interest in the web field.

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

One of my biggest challenges is not being versed in the multitude of web programming languages out there. It seems almost every project I do requires some sort of back-end programming that I have to farm out to associates. I’d really like to find the time to sit down and at least learn the basics of other languages so I could accomplish things completely on my own.

I also have an extremely low skill-set in Flash, although I don’t necessarily mind that. I’ve tried to stay as far away from Flash as possible since I’ve always found the interface and methods to accomplish tasks completely backwards and unintuitive (compared to other mainstream software). That being said, there are many times where Flash is the perfect solution for a given task. In those cases I end up fumbling around for hours trying to accomplish it myself, which always ends the same way -  pure frustration and passing it off to someone else.

4. Do you code on any of your web design projects? And if so, do you consider yourself a “Front-End Coder”? Why or Why Not?

For my freelance work, I code all of my projects that require it. During my full-time job, I code the large majority of them as well. While I do have a programming background, I currently do not do any back-end programming or application development.  My strengths lie in XHTML/CSS coding with usability, best practices, and web standards in mind. If a project requires PHP, ASP, or another language, I have other developers I call upon to complete those tasks.

5. Where did you go to school and has it helped you become a better web designer?

I started at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania and majored in Graphic Design & Animation. It was here during my first year that I realized traditional “graphic design” was not what I wanted to do (logo design, print/ad work etc). During my second year, I signed up for some new classes regarding multimedia and 3D animation. My professor at the time saw my enthusiasm and dedication and recommended me to a school named FullSail in Orlando Florida to further my education.

I moved to Orlando and attended FullSail in January of 1998 majoring in Digital Media. The program lasted roughly 16 months and was jam packed full of everything and anything digital.

While I would not change my choices in higher education, I must openly admit that I did not learn much at these schools. The community college opened my eyes to 3D, animation, and multimedia programming; but most, if not all of my skill came through job experience, and late nights playing in front of my home computer. FullSail was so fast-paced, that I found myself merely re-experiencing what I already knew, and left only with a new knowledge of some 3D applications that I have never used since, and of course, the basics to HTML.

In the end, I had a degree in my hand that really didn’t mean much. I tend to think I learned more in my first year at a real job in the industry, than I did through 4 years of school. College taught me the basics, but real world experience is what taught me my skills.

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?

One of the items I run into almost daily is helping clients understand that the web has changed over the years and that web design is a professional skill, not something their relative’s neighbor’s kid should do for $50 or a bag of cookies. I think many people are still in the mindset that anyone with a computer can build a website. What they don’t realize is that the web has evolved. When the web first started, there was no business model.  It was more “anything goes”.  There are now proven best-practices around usability, accessibility as well as design, that your average hobbyist typically doesn’t understand.

With the advent of social networking and Web 2.0, I think we are finally getting closer to what many of us dreamed the internet could be some day.  Currently I feel a little stalling out with web technologies as seeing something revolutionary and new do not happen nearly as much as it once did. I think that is temporary and natural, and I’m thoroughly excited to see where the web takes us in another few years.

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

When it comes to design, I really only use one tool primarily and that is Adobe Photoshop. I’d say a good estimate is 90-100% of all my design work is done there. With the addition of the vector tools a few years ago, Photoshop has become an even more versatile tool. Occasionally I will use After Effects to produce some enhancements or minor effects to images for some added spice. There are also a few times you might find me cracking open Illustrator as well, but don’t be expecting good results.

When it comes to coding, I’m a geek in the sense that I start by knocking out the HTML using a basic text editor like Notepad++ or Textpad.

For my CSS, ironically, I code all of it in real time using Firefox’s “Web Developer Toolbar” and the “Edit CSS” option. When I’m done, I will transfer that back to my text editor for formatting. I’ve tried other real-time CSS editor applications in the past, but have never found one that I really liked. I always found it easier and faster to do directly in Firefox.