KEEGAN JONES of FirewheelJune 26, 2007, Categories: Web design, Graphics |
I know you come from a family of web designers. Were you considering any other options or came into web design at once?
Several of my family members are in the creative/art industry, including my dad and two uncles (check out www.brotherjones.com). I sorta stumbled into the whole web design thing and never seriously considered any other options.
What was the very first site you designed?
The first website I made was for my basketball team thought a site called eTeamz. I was fascinated when I figured out how to play 'All Star' by Smashmouth on the page. The second website I made was skateboarding related. My cousins, brother and I had a fake skate team called 'Ollie Jones'.
Are there any design tricks or unique knowledge one should possess in order to become a successful graphic web designer?
Not really. One thing that has helped me is to look at other designers work. Eventually the little things that make them good rubs off into your own work.
How did you come up with the design for your personal website?
There was a new set of Photoshop brushes that I downloaded and thought had a good feel. So I decided to use them in a design, which ended up being for my own site.
What is easier - designing websites for others or for yourself?
Definitely others. I'm too much of a perfectionist.
What is your most favorite designing technology? Why?
Adobe Photoshop. It's my go-to app for web design.
What inspires you the most? Are there any web designers you get your inspiration from?
There are many designers that I respect a lot. Like Josh Williams (who I work with at Firewheel), Ryan Sims, Dan Cederholm, and Travis Beckham to name a few.
What are your favorite website designs that you did and did NOT design yourself?
I always liked the Lee Jeans site. Can't seem to find it online at the moment, but you can see it here: http://squidfingers.com/work/leejeans/
You have a lot of skills listed on your Skillset list. Did you self-teach yourself?
Yes, I'm self taught. I was home-schooled in high school, so I'd finish a few hours earlier than most kids. I'd spend the afternoon reading computer related books from the library or fiddling around with stuff over my head. Somehow it eventually paid off.
You use a lot of orange color in you designs. Is this symbolic? Or is it sunny Texas weather influences your mood?
Huh, I never really noticed that. Maybe the Texas heat is getting to me.
You have no formal education in design. How do you sharpen your skills?
The guys I work with at Firewheel motivate me to become better. Other than that, I read many blogs to keep up with the latest greatest.
Do you think design determines success? For instance, MySpace design is poor - yet the project itself is extremely successful.
Design is important, but I don't think it's a means to an end. Ideas like MySpace are good enough to catch on, even with a crappy design.
To your opinion what is the greatest development in website design so far? What do you think the next one will be?
The computer! Seriously though, I think the adoption of web standards is a great recent development. With the release of the iPhone this week, I'd say that mobile web design will be increasingly more important.
You have received a lot of awards. Is there one you have not got but would love to?
When you are first starting out, getting an award is a great vote of confidence. But to be honest, it doesn't matter much to me now-a-days.
Which of the websites you have designed you are proud most of?
My favorite would have to be Brother Jones Artworks.
What projects are you currently working on?
I'm working some goodies for IconBuffet at Firewheel as well as some new ventures we are starting. On the side, I'm working on a new version of Missionaries.in.
Thank you, Keegan, for your time.
Helen WalkerLook for me on:
- VIRB
Get in touch with Helen: helen.walker4@gmail.com
Keegan Jones is an award-winning web designer specializing in graphics. He visualizes ideas through images and text.Having been born in the family of artistic people, he has been in web design since he was a child. For his twenty something years he has a great portfolio and enough skills to be considered successful.
