Designer Take: Interview with David Link

I recently sat down (ok, so it was really an email interview) with David Link of Gatorworks for a few questions about web design, how he works, and a few other random facts. Find David else where on the web on his personal blog: Upsidestudio and follow him on Twitter @davidlink.

1. How did you get started with web design?

I got started with web design when I was about 12 years old (1996-ish). My dad bought me a book about HTML I had found in some thrift store. Web design seemed like a natural fit for me because I was able to combine my passion for art and my love for computers & the Internet.

In college, I majored in Graphic Design. I think we had one class about building websites (not web design), but the curriculum was entirely focused on traditional print media. As a result, I spent some of my early professional years working in more traditional Graphic Design jobs. So, I guess my real web design career began in 2007.

2. What was the first site you designed?

Wow. That’s really hard to think back 13 years, but I think I built a site about golf (one of my other passions as a kid). This was ‘96 or ‘97, so it was obviously filled with animated GIFs. I think I may have even had a .midi track playing in the background. I built most of my sites back then on Geocities, so they’ve all been lost to the ages. Rest in peace.

3. How do you break designer’s block?

Usually I just try to take a break. After focusing on a design for a long time, it’s pretty easy to develop that creative fatigue. I’ll either go read some blogs, or blow up some stuff (if my Xbox is nearby). Anything to get other parts of my brain working. Once, I even resorted to doing math problems.

4. How does the ‘real world’ inspire your web creations?

I guess that could happen any number of ways. I suppose most of the ‘real world’ inspiration is people. Either being inspired by the things they create, or by problems they may have. As designers, our goal should be to make the world a better place. This is why you see so much focus on accessibility in web design these days, designers are tackling ‘real world’ issues to make someone else’s life better. But something as simple as one’s annoyance to filling out forms, or replying to emails, or editing web content… those can be inspiration for my creations.

5. You are very active in the design community, which social media site has been the best tool for you?

Twitter, without question. I’ve met so many wonderful people through Twitter. The “design community” on Twitter is much larger than it was when I joined over a year ago. Honestly, it’s getting tough to keep track of. It’s flourishing, and that’s so cool to see. The group of people involved have always been kind and willing to share time and expertise. And apart from being just a giant link-swap/Q&A, it’s really a great place to cultivate relationships. I’m now friends with tons of great people who I would’ve never even known existed if it weren’t for Twitter.

6. Who do you admire most in the design community?

I’ll probably always answer that question the same way: Jeffery Zeldman. He’s done so much for the entire industry of web design, and he continues to give after all these years. And of course, I’ve always looked up to the other greats: Jason Santa Maria, Cameron Moll, Jeff Veen, Dan Cederholm, Andy Clarke… the list goes on and on. They’re like the pro baseball players I wished I could grow up to be (mine was Ryne Sandberg from the Chicago Cubs ‘82 – ‘97).
There are so many people to admire just that I’ve met through Twitter. People like Aaron Irizarry, who I’ve watched absolutely transform his blog into a fountain of great content, with heart and real effort. Or Chad Engle, who I’ve seen work so hard to construct DCTH, one of the biggest weekly online gatherings of web designers worldwide.

There are a lot of people out there who can be admired.

7. What apps do you use when designing a site?

I use Illustrator and Photoshop to create my graphics still, but I’ve made a switch to doing all my designing in the browser. I use TextMate for my HTML/CSS/JS/PHP.

8. What is your favorite platform/language to develop in?

My followers on Twitter could probably tell you that I have a passionate love affair with jQuery on a startling frequency. Once, I almost even proposed to jQuery. I really like writing code. I love the power and flexibility of CSS. And though I’m still learning, I’m starting to really enjoy PHP as well. Learning Ruby on Rails is a far-off task for me, but my limited dealings with it has it shining in a very favorable light. But seriously, jQuery FTW.

9. A question I see floating around all the time – Music while you work, is it good or bad?

I couldn’t live without music. It is a definite necessity while I work.

10. If you had to give up design, what you choose for a career?

Probably culinary arts or agriculture, specifically farming. Learning how to farm, and becoming a farmer has kinda been my retirement plan for awhile. Food, all the way from farm to the table, has been a long-time passion of mine. Something that I know I’d be able to find pleasure in nearly as much as web design.

Categories Featured, Interview

Comments No Comments

Author Bob Pease