Please tell us about when and how you embarked on the designer career. What was your first project? Were you happy with it?

My first real job as a designer was in 2000. Fresh out of school, I joined a small web design company where I was an intern and basically did everything they needed me to do - Flash, HTML and Photoshop. The first website I created was for a jewelry and precious stones shipping company called Malca-Amit. The senior designer and I each pitched homepage designs to them and for some reason they chose mine. I was assigned the design of the site from top to bottom also including all client communications. It was a hybrid site, combining HTML and Flash and was hooked up to a rather primitive CMS that was build by the company.

I was very happy with the results and so was the client. Your question made me go back to this site, which I haven't seen in 10 years (amazingly it is still live). Seeing it now still makes me smile and really appreciate the great distance I have come since.

What was it like designing for monsters like AOL or National Geographic?

Well, in the beginning it's a rush to know that you are designing for millions of people, and that your decisions will impact their day to day interactions. I always start imagining what a group of 10 million people look like and that kind of gets me on my toes. After a while you find yourself deep in the project and things start to normalize to the point where it becomes just like any other project. You just want to make the best product you can and be proud of your work.

The down side of large companies is that they have a tendency to allocate massive amounts of man-power to their projects, which can be a little crippling at points. I believe that less is more, both in production power and in levels of management. At any rate, with sites that have large audiences you always want to leave your mark and hopefully show the world that the internet can be a fun place to hang and an easy thing to use.

Do you have a personal favorite among your projects?

To be honest, I don't really have one personal favorite, though I cherish most of them. When it comes to client projects, Kontain is one that I worked on for a very long time, and I am very proud of the design and the aesthetic result. I was also very proud to be part of the EA team, since I grew up on their games and of course designing for National Geographic which was pretty much a dream come true, plus they were so much fun to work with. Lately I started getting highly involved with non-profits and charity sites. I am very proud to be part of the Charity: Water team.

As for pure enjoyment I am having a great deal of fun working on personal projects such as Design-Swap.com (and more to come very soon...), since being my own client gives me total freedom to explore ideas and design styles.

Please tell us a bit more about the Design-Swap.com.

Design-Swap is an experiment that Trent Walton and I came up with when we were at SXSW. The talented Kyle Steed joined in to create the amazing profile illustrations that you see on the site. The idea of it is pretty simple and comes out of our desire to collaborate on something fun that has nothing to do with clients and will allow us to learn from each other. We thought of how musicians sometimes leave their comfort zone and hook-up with other musicians to do duets or side projects that have nothing to do with their bands or solo careers and we wanted to do the same with designers.

So we came up with Design-Swap, which has a sole purpose of promoting creative collaborations between designers, offering an opportunity to learn something new along the way. To make a long story short we take two designers, pair them up and let them go wild.

How did you come to the idea of design-swap and are you satisfied with the result?

When we were at SXSW Trent and I discussed the topic of collaboration in the web design world, which unfortunately is pretty much non-existent. We knew we wanted to promote collaborations between designers throughout our community and that this could be done through fostering new friendships and partnerships. We also knew that as designers we have the most fun when we have the freedom to experiment on our personal projects / blogs / sites. So why not create a platform that promotes all of these things at once?

You can read more about the actual way we got to the idea here: http://yaronschoen.com/blog/my_friend_yaron_schoen/

We are very happy with the results, we never expected such a nice response to our experiment and we never imagined so many amazing designers would want to jump on board and do a swap. We got so many fantastic responses from designers who want in that we are now working on phase 2 of DesignSwap, which will include ways for designers to promote their swaps and interact with each other. Keep tuned for that one, it will be coming soon.

What motivates designers to participate in this project?

Well hopefully the thrill of collaborating on a design with a fellow designer. Designing on a designer's website is the ultimate experiment and thrill. When designing for a client, you have set goals and restrictions that limit you, but when you release the project there is this excitement that cannot be replaced. When designing on your personal site, you can go wild, have a blast experimenting, but you don't get to enjoy the thrill of releasing something on a different platform.

DesignSwap takes the best out of both scenarios and blends it together; you have that thrill of releasing a project on another platform, but with the spirit of fun experimentation that you get when designing on your own site.

Also let's not forget that you learn a lot from the experience. The bottom line is that inspiration comes not only through passive viewing, but also through active creation. We believe that this approach of actively learning from each other is a much richer experience than just looking at inspiration galleries and sites.

Are you aware of any other similar projects? 

In the web design community? Not really. The only one I can think of is Layer Tennis, but it usually stays on a presentable level and doesn't usually involve actual live websites.

How is working in a team different from working alone on projects? Why after working for companies like Fi did you decide to freelance?

Fi was and still is second family to me, but I got to the point where I needed a change, both in style and atmosphere. Honestly, I happened to hear who is on their upcoming client list and I am a little jealous.

I disagree with the notion that to work as a freelance is to work alone. Currently I am involved with several projects, each complete with its own team which I am a part of and with whom I interact almost daily. True, the teams I work with change from one project to the next and it is not like a second family you would have in an agency or company, but it is actually nice to change things every few months, when a new project starts. I believe that meeting new people and learning new ways to work is always fun and refreshing.

Add the group of amazingly talented peeps that I collaborate with when the project scope is too big for me alone and you find that being a freelancer doesn't mean you are doomed to live as a lone wolf, there are always people that are working on the project with you.

What advantages are you finding in your current job status? Are there any disadvantages?

For me, the biggest difference between working as a freelance designer and working for a company is the flexibility. When you are in a 9-5 job you are restricted to work in specific hours that match the requirements of your management. Even if you are not in the mood to design or if something isn't working, you are forced to sit at you desk and "work" until the end of the day. Personally, I believe that since design is a creative process, it should be done in your creative hours, even if these hours are 6-10am. Also, an office environment offers so many distractions, like meetings and phone calls and that can throw you off your creative mode.

As a freelancer I can work when I choose to, or more important, when I am most productive. I leave the less productive hours for catching up on emails, reading or gathering inspiration outside of the office. I can also let go when I need to, take a break, go hang at spots that recharge my creativity and then come back to work refreshed and much less frustrated.

Disadvantages = none (yet).

You have already achieved a lot. What goals do you still have for your future career?

Even though I have been doing this for over 10 years now, I feel that I am just starting my career. I have achieved a lot but there is still so much more to do. In the same way, web design has really grown from what it was a few years ago, but it still has so much room to grow. Most of the sites we use on a daily basis are designed to be functional, not to be nice to look at. Just look at the top 5 visited sites of 2009: Google.com, Yahoo.com, Youtube.com, Live.com, Facebook.com - none of them pleasing to the eye. Don't get me wrong, function is important but what about presentation? Like intelligence and good looks, having both is better. I look at these sites and think that there is still a lot to do and that as web designers, we have our work cut out for us.

What do you think starting designers need to know to be successful in the field of web design?

Know HTML. You don't have to be a code wizard but knowing your platform limitations is a must.

Stress on the details. Details are what can turn a good design into a great one. Average looking designs lack detail, it's as simple as that.
Work hard, never get discouraged by negative feedback, always try to make the most of it.

Work with and follow designers who know their craft, learn from them and try to understand why they do what they do. Don't imitate, but don't always innovate for the sake of innovating, there is no need to invent a square wheel. At the end of the day, though what we do is creative, we are designers - not artists. It is our job to come up with the best solution to a given problem and if that bores you, choose a different profession.

We are only in the beginning of a very exciting thing, it's like we are in the wild wild west of information. We may very well be the generation that sets the rules for generations to come, if that doesn't thrill you, I don't know what will.

You can learn more about Yaron through his website www.yaronschoen.com or follow him on twitter @yarcom.

Lillian Wells

Lillian Wells has worked on the web for a while but has only recently discovered the joys of blogging. She combines her teaching career with what gives her the most satisfaction - following web trends and taking interviews from outstanding professionals. Her inbox is always open for comments and suggestions. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Get in touch with Lillian: designinterviews@gmail.com