Anyway, back to my jQuery-induced headache: this very helpful thing to the rescue! If I can stop being distracted by the gorgeous site design, I might be able to figure this stuff out, after all, without having to spend all day teaching my brain new methods of programming. I do so love programming tutorials written for designers. Thank you, pretty colourful website!

Hi Sarah,

So sorry to hear that you lost a considerable amount of work when water spilled on your computer. While chocolate zucchini muffins (no nuts–in case you’re allergic) won’t bring the material back (wouldn’t that be great), perhaps they can fuel the recreation process. Just want to let you know that we can be patient for an ultimately high-quality product.

Cheers!

ACT

How utterly sweet & lovely is that? I am an incredibly lucky girl to get to work with such fabulous clients.

and a “new” website (that was completed months ago). I really don’t like updating my own website!

But I’m determined that it’s about time to do it, especially given that I’m about to move again, and that means that my address as listed on the website will be even more wrong than it is currently. (Sure, in theory it only takes two minutes to change it, but that’s not how I work…if I’m going to spend two minutes, I’m going to be there three hours trying to fix all the little things.) At any rate, all the little things have really added up, and it’s time for some major-ish rearranging.

Actually, the most dramatic upgrade has already happened, and that was my finally giving in to the whole “blog” phenomenon. It took years, but I finally buckled, and I’m sort of enjoying it. What sold me on Wordpress is how monstrously simple it is—I actually started using it the place of a word processor, and I find it much smarter: it auto-saves constantly (good for those of us prone to data loss), it’s totally un-bloaty, it’s faster than typing out my own html, and it auto-formats my smart quotes. God, I love smart quotes. I actually spent an hour or so today formatting a client’s novel to get rid of all the dumb quotes, hyphens, and “period” ellipses. I don’t know why these tiny details are so important to me–but I suspect that there’s a place where the grammar-fascist in me meets the typophile, and proper typography is born. Or maybe it’s just that I, embarassingly enough, didn’t know about smart quotes and such for so long that I now consider them to be something of a litmus test for “quality” design?

Smart quotes aside, the news/blog section has all been redone, and I like it a lot, and may even get into the habit of using it more frequently. Wordpress is really great and easy to develop themes for (once you figure out what you’re doing), which I’ve been doing of late for Lilith Saintcrow, who writes novels about girls who kick ass and take names (all told, the best kind of lady). I’ve got a couple more weblog-based websites in the works, so I’m learning a lot these days.

On a side note, why is there always an elephant (in the room) on my to-do list? I’m a notorious list-maker, and I’ll sometimes prioritize my lists in order of importance, not that I follow my own order religiously. For example, today I’m at #12, but #3 is still sitting there patiently, un-crossed, with three exclamation marks following it. It’s the most vital thing on my list, but I’m betting it’ll be the one thing that’ll end up being neglected. Is this some kind of subconscious self-mutilation wherein I’ll always sabotage myself for the work that is most important? How do I trick myself into thinking “eat three tubs of chocolate fudge icing” is the Elephant Task, instead? I’ve read a few productivity-type tips that recommend things like offering to wash a friend’s car, or pay them $50, if you don’t complete the Elephant by the end of the day (the theory being that we’re all inherently lazy, and the only way to make us do something is by threatening us with something more unpleasant), but I feel like that’s somehow compounding the pressure of the situation, thereby inflating the psychic block.

Anyone know how to take down an Elephant (or a run-on sentence)?

So a few weeks ago, I was crashing at the tail end of a work party, and ended up falling asleep next to my laptop, gigantic glass of water in hand. Yes, you know where this is headed. A few hours later, I woke up spilling said gigantic glass of water all over myself and my poor laptop. (Lovely way to wake up, might I add.) Naturally, I panicked. There was much cursing and wailing (me) and sparking and crackling (the machine) as I tried to figure out what on earth to do. It wouldn’t turn off, and it took my sleep-addled brain a good five minutes to figure out that removing the battery would do the trick. The poor thing was soaked, and ruined. I was in a similar state. That machine was, in effect, the entirety of my business assets, and the tool by which I can earn my living, and it had just crackled out and died on me.

Now, a few weeks later, I’m almost 100% back on my feet. I’m lucky, really. I’d been relatively good about maintaining my backups, so I didn’t lose anything too vital, data-wise. I keep my contact list synced remotely with Plaxo, which saved me a lot of legwork. (I’ve since upgraded and it syncs my calendar. I did have to rebuild my monster font collection (though I think it’s been quite nicely updated and it’s rather nice to start fresh), computer settings, and the like, which took some time. I use IMAP for my email, so all of my mail, both incoming and outgoing, was right there waiting for me, and since my estimates and invoices are sent out via mail, I could access all of those, too. My greatest losses were a few selected recent projects that hadn’t been backed up, my time logs, my calendar of hosting renewals, the $1800 I paid for a new machine, and about a week of my time.

All in all? Not the end of the world, and I’ve bounced back. (And I have a brand-new laptop that doesn’t sound like a jet engine taking off, which is helping my sanity levels.) I always thought that if my computer were to die, I’d be destroyed. It’s nice to realize that the obstacles you fear most are never as insurmountable as they seem–or maybe just that you’re better prepared and more resilient than you originally assumed.

And not to be too trite, but it’s been a great learning experience. For example, I’ve learned that machines and water do not mix, and that I ought to be drinking from a sippy cup when I’m tired. I’ve learned that there are things outside of my design folder that are important and should be backed up, and I’ve learned that I need a more reliable (and preferably automated) way of doing backups.

Any suggestions?

Process

1.Do you start with a rough comp or go straight into a “finished” design?

Usually when working for clients I’ll start with four different initial rough mockups. We then revise back and forth, and with each stage of revision I start pulling the pieces together into a more polished final, along with applying the client’s suggestions.

1a. Do you mock up on paper or in photoshop?

A little bit of both, usually … though I usually don’t show the paper mockups to anyone!

2. How much time do you usually spend creating a home page design?

This tends to vary depending on the client and their budget. Most of my clients are small-budget so I keep things as quick as possible without sacrificing aesthetics too much. Usually, to take a design from mockups through to completed template (before any coding happens!) takes around 10 hours, including all the stages of revision.

3. How much time do you typically spend “polishing” a design?

I have been known to spend tens of hours, but generally, as I do try to keep an eye on the clock and not indulge my perfectionist side too much, it tends to average out at about 5-10 hours, depending of course on the complexity of the design!

4. Would you say you are more “get it done, get it out” focused or “get it perfect” focused?

I think I’m naturally more the latter … if I’m designing something for myself or for a client who doesn’t have time restrictions, I can spend a good deal of time poring over the minute details. But most of my clients want it done now, and don’t have a lot of money to spend indulging me, so I do quite effectively steer myself towards the “get it done” line of focus.

5. How do you manage design quality vs. time available?

I try to make it so that my process facilitates better quality, and obviously, as I get better, I find that I’m able to do better work in less time, and spend less time on work that goes nowhere. I try to really restrict the amount of time I put into rough comps, as a lot of this can be “wasted” time. I’ve got to the point where I can do comps far more quickly, and am then left with more time near to the end of a project to refine and polish. I also try to make myself focus on the things that people will actually notice, rather than the things that only matter to me, and this keeps my perspective in line a bit.

Style

1. How would you describe your artistic style?

I do tend to vary—one of the things I love about design is that you don’t really need to pigeonhole yourself into one aesthetic, as different projects require different styles. However, I find my style usually tends toward being rather clean & simple, with bold lines and colour. I like to offset this with the use of textures and typographic flourishes, so that things aren’t quite so stark.

2. Who would you say has influenced your design style?

That’s another thing that I love about design! Influences come from everywhere … I can be as inspired by a bottle of juice as I can be by a stunning website. I find my style is most influenced by beautiful things that I find around me—good recent examples of this are this gorgeous PaperBlanks day planner I bought, a book called “The Modern Gentleman”, and the shape of the tree outside my window.

3. What do you think should drive the visual style of a website?

The most important thing is that it reflects the message of its content, and is in line with its company’s marketing objectives. That comes first—some sites require a textured, elaborate look, while others demand something simpler or more professional-looking. I always try to ensure I have a good idea of what the design should be “saying” prior to even thinking about a design. Design can communicate so much before anyone reads even so much as a word on the page; it’s vital that your first impression be the right one!

4. What are some examples of sites (not yours) that you like?

butterlondon.com, alistapart.com, chicagomanualofstyle.org, giohalifax.com, walnutgrovespring.com, marketcircle.com, 37signals.com, klf.org, webdesignerwall.com

5. What are some examples of sites that you dislike?

MySpace! about.com … there are so many, it’s really hard to just name a few!
Misc

1. To what extent were you taught/receive formal training on design vs. learning by yourself?

I actually learned web design, and, by extension, the basics of PS, when I was about fourteen, so I’d been doing it relying on a “good eye” for some time before I went to school.  School gave me a decent understanding of the basics and of how to apply them, but I found that I’ve learned much more since being out of school! I read a lot: websites, magazines, books, and I’m always trying to learn new things. I feel constantly like a student.

2. What design websites do you read regularly?

A List Apart, Vitamin, Veer, design.Principles, Be a Design Group (since defunct), Graphic Define, FreelanceSwitch, The Book Design Review.

3. What is your a recent blog post or article on design you enjoyed?

There was a fantastic article in the last issue of Design Edge magazine about book cover design that I really enjoyed, and another one about this redesign of a honey manufacturer’s marketing materials. (I tend to enjoy reading magazines more than I do websites! I spend too much time staring into the screen.) I recently really enjoyed this History of the Ampersand.

4.What are your top three “must read” books on design?

Stop Stealing Sheep, The Elements of Typographic Style, Universal Principles of Design.

5. What are the latest trends in web design?

Gradients, things reflected in invisible mirrors (this usually is done without any logical consideration), that curly/flourishy vector look, extra whitespace to create a long long scrolling page, use of large icons and directing graphics, increased simplicity, grunge elements seem to be back again, but in more of a texture/background sort of a way…

A Google search for “sarah semark” yields this hilariously erroneous newspaper article from last year, in which my cat is actually referenced as a business partner, and this similarly hilarious and out-of-date portfolio site, which I should really take down, but I’m far too absorbed in my own personal history to do so.

The Keshen Goodman library is one of my favourites, but wow, have libraries ever changed since I was a kid. Of course the card catalogues are long gone, but now the library is full of loud, obnoxious high school students play-fighting and giggling away in the study carrels. Whatever happened to libraries being akin to a place of worship, where you’d be shushed for speaking above a whisper?

At any rate, I was amazed to discover that not only is it totally kosher to eat in the library, but they also have a little cafe in the corner, which is actually rather lovely if you’re making a twelve-hour-day of it. Every day it’s the same girl working there, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her crack a smile, not once. I usually try to be excessively polite and friendly to people working service jobs (God knows I’ve had my share!), but she never once cracked. Today, though, as I went for my usual can of Diet Coke, there was a new girl working. It took her about five minutes and some outside help to figure out what I wanted, and then another minute or so to ring it in, but she smiled and seemed human!

As I trotted off with my caffeinated beverage, I thought to myself, “Well, the other one was more competent, but I like this one so much more.” (I suspect that when I was working service jobs myself, I was the efficient-but-snarly server.)

Clearly, this is a lesson I ought to take to heart, and start applying to my own life and business.

TRIGGERS & SPARKS GRAPHIC DESIGNS
6987 Vaughan Avenue, Halifax NS
B3L 2M2

I’ve also started using a blog, despite my own protests. It’s still a bit of a mess, but you can read it to get a better idea of what I’m up to on a more regular basis. Fun! Eventually I’ll integrate it into this site, probably replacing this news section.

I spent the last few days up at the AIM Conference in Moncton, where I got to meet a lot of new people and learn all sorts of new tricks. I have a whole laundry list of overhauls and additions that I need to make to this site, which it’s quite sorely in need of! (Clients do come first, of course.) I learned a lot about search engine optimization and marketing in particular, which I’m going to be able to put to good use on some upcoming projects.

If you’re concerned about your ranking in search engines, I’m now much better equipped to help you out with it—though if you’re looking for something more in-depth, I’d still recommend looking into a professional SEO company like AlphaSearch, who put the conference together.

I think I could have probably fleshed out some of my answers a little more fully, but didn’t want to fall into the trap of becoming overly verbose, which I have a tendency to do.

What enthused you to enter this line of work?

In school, I was always a bit of an academic, and I had a lot of troubles deciding between the arts and sciences. I love that design allows me to use my whole brain–some aspects are very creative and visual, and some aspects require more analytical thinking and problem-solving. It’s constantly challenging me, and I’ve always found that it keeps me striving to do better. I’ve always enjoyed visual arts but have never felt particularly gifted at them. A more typically “academic” line of work might not have been as much of a challenge for me, and I think that I would have lost interest at some point.

Is there anything you dislike about this career? What would you change?

Because its tools have become more widely available, more and more people are calling themselves designers because they can run a Photoshop filter or cobble together a website. And while it’s great that it’s become more accessible, it also means that there’s more semi-professionals undercutting those of us who are trying to pay our bills this way, and there’s a whole proliferation of really terrible design running around (especially online!)

I wish that the public perception of the industry were a little higher. The GDC is doing a lot of work towards this, and there are loads of people who do understand the value of professional design work, but there’s still a lot of people who think that their neighbour’s kid who knows how to use Photoshop can provide them with a valuable branding package for $50. I don’t mean to be elitist about it; having training or being a “professional” doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to create more valuable work than a self-taught amateur. But I do think that design is important enough to a business that people ought to be willing to pay reasonable prices for it! And don’t get me started on the Indian companies who’ll create an e-commerce site for 40 rupees, or the online companies that create you a “custom” logo created from clipart for $300.

What is the most challenging part of your work?

The easiest answer is “the client”, but that gives the wrong impression. Clients are an integral part of design, and it is their presence that differentiates “design” from “art”. Clients can be incredibly frustrating to work with–they ask you to do horrible, ugly things to a formerly clean and well-crafted design, they change their minds all the time, they change the scope of the project and complain about inflated costs–but they also foster good design by creating challenges and forcing a designer to think around, and for, their particular requirements.

When creating a design what do you feel is the most important aspect?

That it fits its content and message.
Being gorgeous comes second.

Did you draw as a hobby before your career choice? If yes, how has it affected your hobby?

I used to do a lot of drawing, painting, etc. I don’t do it as much as I’d like as often, but I need to do more and I know that doing so will help me with my digital design. I’ve often heard it said that designers don’t NEED to know how to draw, but it really does help. It adds extra dimension and understanding to your work, and it develops your “eye”, which is integral to good design.

Who are some of you artistic influences? What is it about their work that inspires you?

I’m a little all over the map with this. I love Georgia O’Keefe, I’m a big fan of David McKean, I love Aubrey Beardsley. I’m fond of Expressionism and Surrealism, as well as Russian Constructivism. I’ve always really enjoyed well-crafted, finely detailed work in general (bottle labels, book covers, websites). And I really like dark, stylized illustrations (a lot of graphic novels have some stunning examples of this).

I find that when something really strikes me as beautiful, it inspires me to make something equally lovely. Usually it’ll help me think in new directions, and consider things from a new perspective.

How did you get started in design and how long have you been doing it for?

I’ve been designing websites since I was about 14–I lived in the middle of nowhere and basically had nothing to do, so I taught myself how to design. I actually never considered it a viable career choice until I’d finished a year of university (philosophy & journalism) and realized that a degree might not actually translate into a viable career.

So I turned around and took a year of design at my local community college, NSCC. (It’s usually a two-year program, but I managed to get by a portfolio review in order to do it in one instead.) What had formerly been more of a hobby became a passion, and school is a great place to get really excited about something. I’ve always been more of an academic with an interest in artistic things, but I never thought that it’d be practical to pursue as a career, so it was really exciting to find an artistic endeavour that also had practical applications!

What is the best school to go to, and how long did it take you to complete schooling?

I don’t know what the “best” is. I did it in a year, but in hindsight, I wish I’d done more. From what I’ve seen, college courses tend to be more practically-oriented (tech-oriented), but university courses are more comprehensive (theory-oriented). I think it’d be best to have a mix of this!

What are the most important skills do you feel a designer needs to be successful?

Perseverance, determination, and the ability to stay up all night.

What is the salary like for this career?

Well, if you’re working for yourself, it’s variable. But I’ve been really lucky, and my first job paid $38 000 with tons of benefits. If you can find a copy of the GDC’s salary review, that’s a great source for salaries across the board–it really ranges depending on who you’re working for, how long you’ve been working, and what particular aspect of the industry you’re in.

Thank you so much

You’re welcome! I hope this has helped, and if you have any follow-up questions, do feel free to send them my way. (And this goes double for the rest of you, too!)