Spicy Web Designer Interview with David Moulton
2 Jul
David Moulton is a web designer from Lansing, Michigan in the United States. He started to design websites in college in 1998. David studied Design and Communication at Valparaiso University and later graduated in 2002. Ever since then he has held numerous positions from Web Design Consultant, an Instructor, an Associate Director and always a solid web designer learning to design and build better website. Here is a little bit about what David had to say about his experiences in web design…
1. How did you get started in web design and when did you design your first website?
It all started in college; I blew out my knee playing football and was stuck in my dorm room… I got bored and started playing with my roommate’s computer, this was in 1998 and I had no idea what I was doing. I stumbled on GeoCities and off I went. I created an awful, awful site. I think it had a spinning globe and Austin Powers dancing (all animated GIFs). It was a mess. However, I didn’t know any better and when my college advisor Doug Kocher encouraged me to keep going I did. I got better with each site and eventually switched from PR to New Media.
2. Looking at your linkedin profile i see that you’ve worked in a number of roles from Associate Director to Senior Designer. Do you feel that because of your broad range of experiences working within the web design and development field you have a solid grasp on what your clients need and how to deal with problems as they arise?
Great two part question… understanding a client’s needs boils down to listening. I try to give them the time and space to tell me what they are thinking. Most often this includes the client telling me how to solve the problem. Letting a client explain what they want and what they think the solution is helps me understand what outcome they want. Many times I do not agree with their solution but instead of telling them “You’re wrong” I ask a question or two to guide them to a solution I think is more appropriate. When clients participate in the problem solving it’s easier to get them on board with initial concepts and any subsequent ideas.
Knowing how to deal with the problem is the other challenge and experience helps. While no one can “predict” the outcome of a design decision, having solved a problem once allows me to draw on that experience and make better recommendations. The trouble with experience is that it has a shelf life. A lot of the experience I have from 7-8 years ago isn’t as applicable now.
3. What are the biggest challenges that you face in web design currently and how do you manage to overcome them?
There are a two main challenges. First my need for pixel perfect design and valid code vs. delivering on time. The other is staying current and fresh.
The perfection vs. on-time thing boils down to understanding that the clients business will be hurt if I fail to meet my deadlines. Say I deliver a page that is 20K instead of 15K, the impact of the extra code weight is not worth the delay. However I know that the “glitch” is still there. When I know I can do better with a little more time I will add things to my “back-burner list” and work on them post launch. Send a client an email that says I shaved off an extra 5K because it was bugging me often results in them being happy that you were willing to obsess over the details and me knowing that I got it right.
Staying current is tricky. Techniques and software are updated so often that I could spend a ton of time focused on whatever is bleeding-edge in the industry. For now, I read. A ton. I mostly read blogs and design sites that help me gauge when to make changes or additions to my skill set.
Staying fresh is a similar problem. I try to print off my work and hang it on the wall. Staring at a bunch of work allows me to see where I am repeating myself. If the repeat is me being lazy or uninspired I swear it off. A couple months ago I banned angled and reflected screenshots from my designs! Apple.com was starting to overly influence my work.
When I need inspiration I look to design sites, magazines, tv shows (esp. the opening credits), and book covers for ideas. When that doesn’t help I force myself to stop thinking about the problem and do something like mowing the lawn. Letting my brain have a rest helps.
4. Did you study design at school or are you self-taught? If you went to school, 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 went to Valparaiso University and did study design and communication. However most of the skills I use as a designer (code, IA, Photoshop or Illustrator) were things I gained by spending countless hours experimenting or analyzing other people’s sites. The things that my education at Valpo helped with the most were problem solving and confidence in myself. Being able to think through a problem has certainly helped me as a web designer.
5. Since you first started how has the web design industry changed? Has it changed for the better? If so, how? If not, please explain?
The web design industry has changed to meet the needs of the web’s roll in life/business in general. Initially, I feel that the web was an afterthought for most businesses or institutions. So web designers were relatively unimportant to the organization. As the web became more central to the business so did the people managing the site. Web designers went from people that might have had great freedom to do what they thought was best to people tasked with the responsibility to ensure that the choices they were making were actually the best. The prevalence of tracking tools and analytics reflects this. So does the focus on usability and standards.
6. On your site i can see that you use a number of social media tools. Do you feel that this helps you in generating more business?
Maybe yes… I have been approached about consulting and full-time work via the social media sites and I know that I’ve been able to connect/reconnect with people faster because I am participating; however I am not sure of the signal vs. noise ratio regarding social media. I am fascinated to see how this all plays out.
