Spicy Web Designer Interview with John W. Ostler

John W. Ostler runs operations for Eight Bit Studios, a small web development studio based in America. The company has about 11 people working for them from various backgrounds. Since 2003, Eight Bit Studios has been developing websites. When they first started they where a PHP shop that was concentrating in small boutique websites. Recently I found out about a site that they developed called “Joe Bidden’s Teeth – Teeth you can believe in” using a blending of RoR (Ruby on Rails), Google Maps API, Scriptaculous and Prototype JavaScript frameworks. The company’s focus is tied to the Viral and Social web space including developing for the iPhone and they balance this development with a focus on an agile development.

1. How long has Eight Bit Studios been in the business of web design and development?

Eight Bit was first established back in the winter of 2003 at Michigan State University.  We were a PHP shop in those days, and concentrated in small boutique websites.  After doing that for a couple of years, the partners and I went our separate ways.  It wasn’t until the fall of 2008, that I began putting the foundations under the new company with a new set of partners.

2. Where did the idea for JoeBiddensTeeth site come from?  How is the site related to the Trident engagement?  What kind of web technologies did you use in the project?  What other technologies where used as well?

Joebidensteeth.com was created by my good friend and business partner, Daniel Peck. We were sitting around watching the Vice Presidential debates, and one thing we couldn’t get over, was that Joe Biden had a killer smile. After about a week of asserting “Joe Biden has the smile of America”, we decided to do something about it.

We gathered some friends and launched the site before the election. It went viral almost immediately.  After its success and the election ending, Trident (among other teeth-friendly brands) came knocking.  Once the partnership was in place, the site was brought into the products team at Eight Bit Studios for strategic and technical development.

The site in its current iteration was built on Ruby on Rails, with support from the Google Maps API and Mapeed.com’s pin-scaling map technology.  The game along with some of the other error handling was produced using the Scriptaculous/Prototype JavaScript frameworks.

3. What other websites are you guys producing these days?

We’re concentrating most of our efforts in the viral and social web space. This includes niche social networks and iPhone Application development. We practice and preach agile development, usually concentrating efforts on a very specific piece of functionality first, then iterating on that. Although I can’t talk about the specific projects we’re working on, I can tell you that this team is the best of the best.  There hasn’t been a more exciting time to be in our labs and a part of the web medium.

4. Is Eight Bit Studios a “one-man show” or is it bigger?  I cannot tell by checking out the site so its a bit of a mystery

Eight Bit Studios is currently a 11-(wo)man show. We work with some contractors depending on project needs. I’ve kept the team small on purpose.  We need to be able to communicate and collaborate at a very intimate level.  When you can provide that channel and compliment it with mutual respect, our ideas and shared expertise gel.  This formula is very rare and I am blessed to be apart of it.

5. John, what is your role/job at Eight Bit Studios?

Besides operations, my efforts have shifted slightly into marketing and concepting our viral products.  I try to stay actively involved in all aspects of the company including the technical work.  We all have shared roles within the company and I think that’s what keeps it fun.  We have a motto, “If it feels like work, you’re doing it wrong.”  Any time you start doing something you’re not passionate about, it’s easy to get tunnel vision on a concept.  We’ve learned that doesn’t work in a creative environment and as a result, we do everything we can to change the way we think about “work”.

6. What is Eight Bit’s focus when it comes to designing websites?

We spend 50% of our time identifying our user-types and their main goals when coming to a site.  Many of us come from a video-editing/animation background, so this usually involves lots and lots of story boarding.  We’ve subscribed to the “less is more” philosophy and do our best not to clutter the web space.  Not until we have identified the functional needs and behaviors of a site’s assets, do we start making design decisions.  The process is extremely creative and collaborative and has proved to be incredibly successful.