One of the things that really helped me when I started to get into web design was reading interviews but designers that were respected in the industry. I haven’t seen so many interviews lately but as I used to find them so helpful I thought I’d try to interview a few designers I know and/or respect.
The first is Sam Hardacre, a front-end web developer from Halifax, West Yorkshire. Here is the interview in full:
Hi Sam,
Firstly thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.
I first came to hear about you back in 2007 I think it was, when you were featured in the readers sites sections of .net magazine. How did it feel to get that recognition?
“Was it that long ago?! Well it was great to be featured in the magazine although it didn’t feel like recognition as such because I submitted the site myself. It’s nice to be able to look back and see my mug in a magazine but the best thing to come out of it for me was being contacted by people in the same field, such as yourself.”
After seeing your site and checking it out I remember emailing you to ask for some adivice as I was just starting out with web design and I must say you were very helpful. Did you find this was the case for you when you were finding your way in the web design world?
“Absolutely. When I first started out I was really just trying to learn all I could about XHTML and CSS and didn’t get my hands dirty with design until a year or two in. By that time I’d discovered folks like Simon Collison, Cameron Moll and Andy Clarke and sent the odd email out asking for spots of advice. I still do now even after 7 years, you never learn enough to not need to ask a few questions every now and again :)”
So tell us a little bit about how you got started.
“Back in 2002/03 I was studying Art and Design in Huddersfield. I was also working in my local pub as a barman and one of the regulars was the MD of a local web development company. On the run up to Summer I was given a job just doing regular office jobs, filing paperwork answering phones etc and eventually I got on to learning HTML and CSS so I could help out more and it basically went from there. The more I learned, the more responisbilites I got. I went from assisting colleagues with bits of work to writing the majority of the XHMTL and CSS.”
Who inspires you to create these days (this doesn’t have to be someone from the web industry)?
“This is a really tough one because I find inspiration everywhere. I find it in design, illustration, photography, TV… I get a lot of inspiration through Twitter and Delicious. New stuff gets posted on both of them all day long which is great for picking up cool ideas and seeing what’s going on out there in the world. From that point of view, I’d say I get most of my inspiration from the likes of Harry Roberts (aka csswizardry), Colly and Jason Santa Maria. I suppose outside of the web I get inspired by the work of Jamie Smart, an English comic book artist and my brother Ben who’s a great artist and writer.”
“Still nothings better for insiration and learning than getting together with some web geeks though so I try to meet up with Oli Ker regularly since he’s only 15 minutes away.”
I know you’re into music. Do you find listening to music whilst designing helps you to create your best work?
“I do love music although I must admit, lately it’s been sitting on the sidelines a bit. I quite often just forget I have music with me and work with the sounds of my surroundings. When I’m in the mood for music, it’ll often reflect my working process. If I’m really inspired and focussed on something I tend to play loud and fast music. Other times I’ll want something a bit calmer just as background music so I’ll head for the instrumental section of my iTunes library.”
You did a great job on the Speak the web site recently. What was it like working on a project like that and how did this come about?
“It was a real honour to be asked to be a part of the project. Back in November 2009 Dan emailed me asking if I fancied helping him and Rich out with some design work. I can’t quite remember if I said yes before or after he gave me a brief but I had no hesitation. They explained the idea and told me to run with it. We started firing a few ideas back and forth and I got to work. After the first draft of the site design and a few discussions, they provided me with some images which were along the lines of their thinking which were prodominently old propaganda posters.”
“There were a series of old Russian ones which really grabbed me. They were really simple designs with black, red and a sort of baige colour scheme which set me off on the route to the final design.”
“Even though I’m happy with the designs there’s always been an element of apprehension especially with it promoting talks by many of my peers. I was preparing myself for an onslaught of bad feedback but thankfully I never heard anything negative so it worked out great.”
Is there anything you’d like to say to people starting out in the web industry?
“The best advice I could give is get involved. Read and comment on blogs, read books, attend conferences and meet people. It’s the best way to learn and progress.”
Thanks again Sam for taking the time to answer these questions. Anything you’d like to add?
“Thanks for having me and thanks for being so patient in getting the answers back to you ;)”