SpicyWebDesigners.com by Luc Arnold

When he’s not sipping a cup of coffee, thinking of new and better ways to design and develop websites and web applications, Rogier Strobbe, a web designer from the Netherlands runs a one-man design studio.

He originally started designing websites more than ten years ago and has been designing websites professionally for agencies and on a freelance basis for the past 8 years.  He originally graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Editorial Design at the School of Journalism in Utrecht and says “Designing newspapers and magazines gives you a great eye for grids, typography and more. But you also have to deal with very tight deadlines.”

In this interview, Rogier talks about his experiences to date in web design, how he originally started designing websites while finishing his Editorial Design degree and what skills he’d like to improve as he continues in his career.

Luc asks: Rogier, how long have you been designing websites professionally?

Rogier says: I’ve been designing websites for more than 10 years (probably 11 – 12 years) and professionally I would say 8 years (both freelance and for agencies).

Luc asks: I see that you run what you call a “One-man web design and web development studio”.  What are some of the advantages in running your business this way?

Rogier says: Frish Design Studio is my freelance outlet, and it means I can choose the projects I want to, I can be selective and choose fun, small projects. And I love the directness of it… it’s just me and the client. It is a welcome change from corporate environments, where you often have to deal with marketing & communications departments, managers, CEO’s, etc. and they all have a (non-expert opinion) and what you end up with is a design compromise, which is never good.

Luc asks: How long have you been operating under “Frish Design Studio” brand?

Rogier says: I’ve had the frish.nl domain since 2003, and always used it as a personal blog focused on web design and web development, but last year I decided to put all my different sites (blog, portfolio, etc.) under the Frish-umbrella and call it “Frish Design Studio”.

Luc asks: Where did you study and earn your Bachelor’s Degree in Editorial Design?

Rogier says: I studied Editorial Design at the School of Journalism in Utrecht, the Netherlands. It’s a small department within the school of Journalism which focuses on designing newspapers, magazines, etc.

Luc asks: Have you been able to use your education in editorial design in your career in web design and development?

Rogier says: Early on during my studies I already realized, the internet was gonna be much bigger than print had ever been. I finished my education anyway (even though I worked as a freelance web designer during that period), because a degree is still important these days. But, do I think this study helped me in my career in web design? Yes. Absolutely. Designing newspapers and magazines gives you a great eye for grids, typography and more. But you also have to deal with very tight deadlines.

Luc asks: If you could list one area where you want to further develop and hone your skills what would it be and why?

Rogier says: Become a better programmer and learn video editing. To do this I am building a web app using PHP/mySQL, to further enhance my programming skills and I am about to start a course in video editing (Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects), because the web and video are merging rapidly as we speak.

Rose Calis is a web designer from the Amsterdam area in the Netherlands. She has been designing for the web since 2006 and originally got started learning using online courses and tutorials that she found. Three years later, Rose runs her own web-design company called “Toko Rose”. When I asked why she used the image of the high heels in her current portfolio she said “The reason why I used the sexy legs and shoes in my design is because it tells everything about me: I love high heels, I’m a real woman in every sense of the word, and as you can tell by seeing the legs, I love to design.”. Outside of her web design skills she also does high quality image retouching, manipulation and correction work.

1. How did you get started in web design?

As from 2006 I have been caught up in the art of web design. During this period I followed a lot of online courses and tutorials.

2. When did you start designing websites?

After nearly three years, since June this year, I have been running my own web-design company, named Toko Rose.

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

‘Learning, discovering, and particularly, being brash enough to try new things. Web design covers a very wide field.

In my leisure time I’m engaged in web design for most of the time, and, consequently, it keeps me on my toes and up-to-date too.

I mainly aim for web standards and, of course, the graphic part. Appearances also count!

Into every assignment I put my heart and soul.

If you don’t have a passion for the job, you’d better stop doing it right away.

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

I code all of my websites according to the web standards with Clean coding (XHTML and CSS). Admittedly, there are quite some more coding languages that I don’t fully master, such as PHP and flash. But I’m a real perfectionist, an ambitious achiever who is very eager to learn. Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before I will be able to work with them.

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?

Unlike my colleagues, I didn’t take any courses in IT, nor did I study at an art academy.

I’ve had to go through and find out a lot of things myself. But this holds true for many web designers. After all, when have you finished with the learning process?

I’m constantly increasing my in-depth knowledge of CSS, and in my spare time I experiment with Photoshop a lot. My aim is to stand out in the crowd. That isn’t always as easy as it may seem because there are many talented graphic designers nowadays.

I always try to be my own person, whatever the trend may be. I’m not saying that I don’t keep close track of my competitors, because I know I can learn a lot from them as well.

6. What are your favourite tools to use when designing a web project? Why are they your favourite tools?

In my opinion, Photoshop is an amazing program that offers infinite possibilities.

Further, I’m very keen on designing HTML in CSS.

Once I’ve started in Dreamweaver, CSS is highly addictive to me.

7. Rose, what is the typical process you use when you begin a design for a website for one of your clients?

First thing I do is find out more about the client’s business and what kind of person the client is.

I frequently listen to intense dance music. For me this is very relaxing and calming, although I can understand this may sound rather strange.

I’m usually inspired very early on in the process.

I got some things down and draw up sketches on a scratch-pad, before I start out with the actual design in Photoshop or Illustrator, which I then convert into an active XHTML and CSS valid website.