Spicy Web Designer Interview with Alexander Gewessler
6 Feb
Alexander Gewessler is a web designer from hagenberg in Austria. He studied at the University of Applied Sciences where he studied media technologies and design. Alex has been designing websites since 2001 when he first discovered FrontPage. He currently works for Diamond Dog web consulting in Vienna Austria where he is involved in ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications), Usability/Accessibility-Optimization and Ruby/Rails Development.
1. How did you get started in web design?
I have always been curious to find out how to design things so that other people would be attracted by it. During my studies in media technologies and -design I got to know many different ways of designing and finally I got caught by the great possibilities of web design.
2. When did you start designing websites?
I think that was in 2001 – by just trying out this program bundled in my Microsoft Office 2000 Installation called “Frontpage”.
3. What are the biggest challenges that you face in web design currently?
There are two things that challenge me most at the moment: On the one hand, my “daily challenges” at work where I have to do a high quality job in as little time as possible. To decide what is most important in a specific phase in order to achieve the aim is often more difficult than the project itself. On the other hand, I am impressed by simple Web Applications like Twitter. So I’m constantly challenging myself to find a single good idea that would make a difference in the world wide web nowadays.
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?
I code all my websites. Even if I use solutions like Web Content Management Systems I code at least the templates because I want to have my websites clean, unobtrusive and progressively enhanced. So I actually consider myself a “Front-End coder” – as much as I consider myself a “Back-End coder”. Requirements in Web Development quickly became too specific, so without the ability to implement business logic many web projects could not be realized.
5. Has school helped you become a better web designer? So if, how has it helped you?
I attended a university of applied sciences for media technologies and -design (in Hagenberg, Austria) which definitely helped me to become a web designer and developer. My studies included all relevant aspects of media design without neglecting border areas or social skills. I graduated in summer 2008 after writing my master thesis about accessible rich internet applications that based on the W3C Working Draft WAI-ARIA.
6. I see that you’ve developed using a wide range of frameworks including Prototype, Joomla, cakePHP, Ruby on Rails, XAJAX among others. Which are your favorites to use in web design projects?
Generally I use a combination of multiple frameworks, libraries or systems. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the powerful JavaScript Framework Prototype, because it enhances JavaScript in a very good way. But even Prototype would be nothing without fundamental Web Application Frameworks like Ruby on Rails or cakePHP.
7. Do you currently freelance on a full-time basis or a part-time basis? If you are a part-time freelancer how does your full-time job help you stay passionate about web design and development? Why do you love what you do?
I work full time at the media agency diamond dogs web consulting in Vienna. As it is one of the biggest agencies in the country, I have the chance to deal with a lot of interesting and varying projects and I work together with many people. The question why I love what I do is answered quickly: the world wide web moves fast, its design and technologies change constantly. To stay up to date you always have to place high demands on yourself.
