Home About Me My Links Interviews My Pics
Interview with
creative web designer
Nick Jones
1. When was the
first time that you remember realizing that you are a
creative person?
When I was a toddler I made my mom get out the finger
paints every chance I got. I liked to create images of things I thought
looked nice from the start.
2. When did you know that this was what you wanted to do
with your life? How
did you get started?
In grade school, I'd copy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle art
and sell the drawings to my friends. I guess that was the beginning. I never
wanted to do anything but make nice pictures. In high school, I filled my
schedule with art classes and filled drawing books during Math, Science, English
and History.
3. What traits, if any, do you think that creative people
have as compared
to people who are not creative?
A distaste for
mediocrity and establishment. A need to be different and the ability to see
things from an angle that the majority doesn't see and combine things that don't
seem to go together to create something new. People who are not creative see and
accept things as they are and aren't driven to make changes to what they
know. Creative types aren't as afraid to be wrong or to be written off as
weird and eccentric. Those labels are often fuel to a creative fire.
4. Do you believe that your training has influenced what
you create?
Very little. My training is in 3d animation and ceramics
and I haven't done either in the 5 years I've been creating websites. I suppose
I understand space and depth better than I would if my training were in another
area.
5. Have you ever felt that your personal expectations have
limited your
creativity? If so, how have you dealt with this?
My expectations seem to always be higher than my client's
so they're usually more of an asset than a detriment. Time is the only
thing I can think of that routinely limits my creativity and I haven't found
an effective way to deal with that.
6. Have other people supported or inspired you? Please
explain.
My wife has
always supported and inspired me in muse-like fashion. She's also my toughest
critic and isn't afraid to tell me when she hates something so my work benefits
when her discerning eye calls out something I missed or suggests something I
hadn't thought of. People who've inspired me are too many to list but here are a
few: Bob Dylan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jesus, Wes Anderson, Gandhi... My kids
inspire me both to hurry up and get done so I can play and to do work I'm proud
to show them.
7. How have you dealt with any criticism you have gotten
because of your
creative endeavors?
I must
forget about it because I can't think of any. Apparently I'm not taking enough
risks. I've had clients hate things I thought were going to be homeruns with
them but I don't consider that criticism of my creativity, just rejection
of a concept. When that happens, I work harder to please that client than I
would somebody who is pleased by everything. I shouldn't do that.
8. Do you ever feel that you have to censor your
creativity because you
don't want to offend anyone?
Yes, for the
client but never the customer. I never think, "People won't buy this
product or see this movie if I try that." because if the audience is
offended, it's usually a good thing. It's the client I have to get the
concept by and if it offends them, they'll never pay me to produce it. I can't
stand Public Relations and the excuses organizations give for their
mistakes so any time they screw up and can't admit it, I can't help but inject
some of my distaste for their lack of accountability into my design concepts and
I often have to censor myself before I show them to the client.
9. Do you do anything special to get your "creative
juices" flowing? Please
explain.
I close my
eyes. Then I think about the project until I get an idea and can't keep
myself from trying it out onscreen. The longer I think about it the better
the idea usually is but it's rare that I can keep my hand off the mouse for more
than 5 minutes. My work definitely suffers from that lack of discipline. I
always work with music playing too, mostly indie rock with some older punk and
folky stuff mixed in.
10. Does your work convey a specific emotion or message?
If I do it
right. Every project calls for a different message and a variety of emotions,
some specific, some broad. I consider myself more of a craftsman than an artist
so the visuals are usually.
11. If you could be any object, what would you be? Why?
A strike
anywhere match. It's the most useful object I could think of and I wouldn't want
to be anything more than useful.
12. What are your words of wisdom for someone starting out
in your field?
Draw ideas from your experiences and your environment, don't look to other design to find it. Design is a good place to find a style but not good for finding a solution to a visual problem.
Don't work for anybody or anything you aren't proud to work for. If an agency's culture isn't great, don't waste your time there. If you have an opportunity to work for a client that has lots of money and lots of notoriety but you're morally opposed to them or their message, the feeling you'll get from turning them down is better than the gut-rot you'll get from doing the work.
Work your ass off for small, un-cool clients who have no money and will give you creative freedom and eventually, bigger, cooler clients will throw money at you to do similar work for them.
The second you think you're ready to work for yourself, shake loose from Agencyland and do it. Even if you go into debt the first couple years, you'll never regret it and the variety of projects you'll get to work on and hats you'll be forced to wear will make you very valuable to any agency if you should decide it's not for you. Don't waste away at a thankless job you don't love.
Click here to see Nick's work! Creative Genius
* Background sound "Comet"