How did you become fascinated with web design? Was it a certain project that motivated you to become a designer?

I became hooked on web design after about a year of working as a Print focused graphic designer. I guess it was the extra dimension in web design & the interactivity that really caught my attention. I began to play around with flash and never turned back.

Matt, you've described your previous work experience at your personal web site. What occupation is the most memorable for you?

I think it would have been my time at K*Grind for sure. It was my first job in web design and at the time it was a real bold idea for a youth orientated entertainment portal. I got to work with some of the best designers around and it gave me a huge boost into the industry. The content we produced for the site was right up my alley, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and music. It was just a really fun place to work, I was only 21 and most of the people there were really young too making it a really cool atmosphere.

What is it like to be a Graphic Designer? What are the most important web designers tools and skills, to your opinion?

Well, in my opinion its great being a graphic designer! Its something that i have always loved to do and in a way its kind of a blessing because i think it is something that you are born with. You either have it or you don't. So i do feel very very lucky that I can do something that I love and make a living from it at the same time. I think the most important tool to a designer is their eye and their ability to solve problems in design and just as importantly, usability. I don't think it is such a big deal if a web designer cannot write code and build things but it is extremely important for one to know how to build a good user experience and know what is possible and what is not. The best sites come from designers and programmers working together.

Your photos are numerously represented at your personal web site. How does your passion for photography influence your career of web designer?

I have always loved photography; I think its something that I have inherited from my Dad. Photography is my hobby, and I have always loved building mini sites to showcase my photos, it is this aspect that has influenced my web design. I have learned a lot through building these little photo showcase websites. Unfortunately I don't get to spend the time I would like to updating them, there always seams to be something that I need to do.

While browsing your portfolio its easy to notice that you prefer simplicity in web design. Was it your motto from the beginning of your career in web design or you know it a posteriori?

Well not really, I think I have come full circle. I started in web design during the flash boom around 2000. I made sites all in flash and would try to think of the most complicated navigation system possible, complex rollovers, page transitions, and the dreaded flash intro. After a while I started to really question if all this was necessary - I would email links of my work to friends and people would be saying that they 'cant see it' and "Its really slow". It was at this point where I really took a look at my approach to design, I discovered CSS and had a really close look into it - I realised immediately that this was the way forward. I did a lot of research, I loved sites like www.csszengarden.com. I bought the book "HTML Utopia Designing without tables" from sitepoint and taught myself how to code xhtml and css. I guess this was the point that i really realised that simplicity was the way forward.

Do you feel more responsibility while working as a member of team or while being a freelancer?

Thats a tough one. I guess its the same for me, there is always responsibility when working on a project, whether you are freelancing or not. I think the responsibility is just a little broader when freelancing because you are also the project manager, you have to deal with the client yourself, where as in an agency, there are usually people there to do that.

You've mentioned that you prefer MAC to PC. What are your reasons for this?

I think MAC's are a lot more user friendly, they are a real designers computer and I think that they just make sense. However this has only been since Apple forged ahead with OSX. There was a time when I was so frustrated with OS9 I was on the verge of switching to Windows, but thought that I would give Apple one last chance and see what OSX had to offer. Im really glad I did, I am now a devoted OSX lover, and I love the fact that more and more people are opening up to Apple and realizing that there is something for everyone in a Mac.

Youve listed a great number of applications you are working with at www.mattwebb.com.au (Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Flash, In-Design, Dreamweaver or QuarkXpress). Which of them is your favorite one and why?

Hmmm. Well there is no one application that I love the most. I guess I have favorites for doing different things. I spend most of my time in Photoshop when designing a website, and my favorite for building would have to be a little application called Skedit. Its just the most simple, elegant html editor Ive used, I think its great.

What are the most important things that web design newbies should know about CSS and XHTML?

Don't overcomplicate things. When you first learn to write css & xhtml I think people tend to use way too many elements such as DIVs. Everything tends to be wrapped in a DIV and they need to be used sparingly. As soon as you add an html element for presentational reasons, you are going against what css is there for. To help overcome this, it is really important to realize the difference between block and inline level elements and know the possibilities of css to style them. It all comes with practice and experimentation.

What recent web design activities or product releases caught your attention?

One of the most recent things that have caught my attention is AJAX, although it is not a new technology, some of the things people are doing with it really do impress and are continuing to impress me.

Another is this cool little application I found: vectormagic.stanford.edu a vectorization tool built with Flex. Its really amazing what can be done these days! As far as program releases go I am extremely happy with Adobe Creative Suite 3 I really think that they have done a great job bringing everything together to seamlessly.

What are the web-related books, articles, blogs or tutorials you would recommend reading to those who is keen on web design?

The book I mentioned before 'Designing without tables' is a very good book if you want to learn CSS. I often read John Hicks blog, Dave Shea's blog is also very good. Another thing is design books, I love picking up a good design book for inspiration, and it doesn't necessarily need to be about web design, there is plenty of inspiration to be found in any design discipline, whether it be print, industrial, photography or architecture.

Is there any designer or web developer whom you could call your teacher?

I guess I don't have one single person that I would call my teacher, but I have worked with some extremely talented designers that I think have helped me in my design such as Jodie Whelan, Brie Wohler, Bennie Booysen, Simon Coxon, Loretta Kiss and Oliver Dudley to name just a few.

Matt, I enjoyed looking your pictures at thesparklab.com. You've mentioned that you've traveled quite a lot and I wonder what country or place impressed you most of all? Did you manage to work at any of your projects during your trips?

I actually lived overseas for 4 years, 2 In Italy where I contracted for a software publishing company and 2 in London where I worked for TLC Marketing and also Sega Europe, so yes! I worked on projects while I was overseas, it was an awesome experience. I would not be where I am today if I didn't make the decision to live in Europe. As far as beautiful places go, there are a lot in Europe and I don't really have one single favorite. I loved Austria & Switzerland for the snow, Italy for its charm, Greece for its summer and London for its pounds :-) However, not long after I arrived home I spent a week on Long Island in the Whitsundays and it blew me away. It is by far, the most beautiful place I have ever been.

I might take this opportunity to mention that I am starting my own web design company; you can find us at www.thesquad.com.au full website coming soon!

Matt, it was a great experience to speak to you. Thanks.

Helen Walker

Helen Walker graduated with a degree in Mass Communications and Sociology. She worked as a newspaper journalist for two years after that. Having always been interested in cyberculture and its impact on society, Helen switched to online journalism and joined Design Interviews blog in July, 2007. Ever since she's been interviewing web designers and administrating the blog. Helen is a keen movie-goer and she is also a panda lover.


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