Hi Matt. Thanks for talking. I hope to chat with you today about some of the subjects that don’t always appear on general web design blogs. Firstly, for those who don’t know you, can you briefly introduce yourself…

Hi Andy. It’s a pleasure to speak to you.

My name is Matt Davies, a 21 year old designer, originally from London but now living in Nottingham. I’m married (sorry ladies) and have 5 years industry experience in graphic design, working both for myself and design agencies. I am disciplined in both print and web and my online portfolio and journal can be seen at www.attitudedesign.co.uk. I suppose I am one of those designers which are trying to bridge the gap between print and web. I have a passion for creativity and love to work on branding and strategic design solutions. My current employer is Defacto (www.de-facto.com) famous for their work with Fred Perry.

Thank you. Mike recently asked the readers ‘Is Flash Accessible?’ You have a big Flash background and show massive talent with the tool. What do you think is its greatest asset and its biggest flaw?

I think Flash has a brilliant way of staying consistent across browsers. It also gives you the ability to use brand associated features – like fonts. However, its greatest asset in my view is the ability to attract attention with animation. Sometimes animation can really benefit a page where a flat jpg wouldn’t be effective.

In terms of its biggest flaw, I suppose it’s the complexity in making it accessible and standards compliant. Mike’s article was brilliant. I think flash accessibility is an area which will definitely grow and his article helped me a lot in thinking about the way I put flash files together. However at the moment I am not fully convinced that flash is “accessible” - certainly not to the degree that html is. Also (please correct me someone if I’m wrong) the ability to increase text sizes for partially sighted people hasn’t seemed to be answered in Flash.

Another big downfall of Flash is that currently I am unaware of search engines being able to read them very well – this of course is a major flaw and puts html way above flash in regards to pulling in visitors to a site through search engines.

Bearing these points in mind I therefore normally only use flash to draw attention to key areas of the site, basing the main structure in html. I am not against flash sites if it helps the clients brief. For example a recent project I undertook for my full time employer was a website for a photographer (www.redeye.uk.com). He wanted to attract more design agencies to his work and so opted for a Flash site. He needed to have slide shows and wanted to portray an experience with the animation. Therefore flash suited his brief, and his target audience.

One thing I am an advocate of is flash mini sites whose simple aim is to advertise a new product or service – this normally links into the main site but really its use is to gather information and spread the word (viral marketing)…

Excellent. You were educated in design and were taught Flash as the staple tool. Do you think this is right? How do you see colleges changing their teaching practices in the near future to embrace web standards, if at all?

To be honest Andy, I learnt my flash skills “on the job” as it were - I am really self-taught (which I consider to be the most grounded way of learning). However, yes, in the first few agencies I worked for flash was considered the “staple” tool. Also at college, flash sites were held in great reverence. I think if you simply judge from a visual perspective, without any knowledge of coding, standards, css or the like, you would admit that the average flash site offers a lot more than a html site. This is the issue. In my limited experience many of the tutors at my college were not practicing and so were not aware of the current debates and issues affecting the industry. Many were part of the older print generation and were therefore a little taken aback by the web. Focus was on print and look and feel. I think the secret would be ensuring that tutors were made aware of these issues – especially those who have not been practicing in the industry for over 5 years. I always enjoyed lectures that were held by the college who asked industry leaders to come in and talk about current trends, issues or experiences – maybe colleges and graphic design course leaders could consider getting somebody like you Andy, to come and have a chat about the web and about accessibility. So in simple terms, no I don’t think the current situation is good for the industry, for the individual students, for the tutors or for the prospective client.

Many young designers look up to you because of your efforts at Attitude. What would you say is the most important thing that they should learn in their early years as a junior designer?

To excuse the pun, I think any junior needs to develop the right “attitude”. Passion and dedication. I’ve had to learn to listen, to do things I wouldn’t normally have done, to make mistakes – but at the end of the day I have tried to learn from everything.

It’s all about pushing yourself in a positive direction. What do you want form your career? Really? Well do something about it. Focus on the short and the long term – if they don’t add up, drop the short term and pick up something that will affect your long term aim.

You could say that your early efforts were print designs. You’ve now transcended to do more web work. Is this an easy transition? What key factors must a print designer learn to master the web?

To be honest, I think the transition starts off really hard – but gets easier as time goes on and as your understanding grows. I am still learning now and I’m sure I still have a long way to go. I think the key to making this transaction is to do it over time. I first started learning about the web when I started out, however I didn’t really grasp how to design for it until about a year ago.

The secret I feel is working with other, more experienced web people. I have been blessed in that I have had the pleasure of working with some really nice people who have helped me along the way. Learn from others and then apply what you learn. I’m not naturally technical and therefore the visual side of things takes my focus away if I’m not careful.

To be honest the transition is not for everybody – some may chose to stay in an area and specialise in that. I love branding which covers both web and print so I have had to learn both of these disciplines.

Also Andy, learning on the job is far better in my opinion than learning at uni or from a book. Get down to it in real life scenarios - then you will be forced to problem solve. Real problems, real solutions and real challenges. As time goes on you will be able to use that experience to make more fluid, easier to build web designs.

Tools. You use Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash amongst others. These are all high-end products. Do you think that these products are necessary to produce good designs?

Good question! Hmm, I think that they are necessary, but even more necessary is the brain behind them. Knowing about recent trends and styles, knowing about composition and typography and by being able to come up with concepts is key to a good design. Creativity cannot be taught – it has to come from within. I have had the honour of working with some top designers in my time, and the very best ones are people who can come up with a brilliant idea, be that a marketing concept or a styling concept, and then execute it. If you are only familiar with the software and are no good at ideas, you may want to consider art working or web development over being a designer. If you are great at ideas but don’t know the software – either learn or go into art direction. Know your strengths and work with them.

A nice slant, Matt. Where’s the first place you go for inspiration?

Inspiration is something that comes from everything and everybody - if you allow it to. I try and let everything I interact with influence and inspire me, either in a positive or negative way. However, as with any repetitious creative job I do occasionally get, what I term a “creative block”. If I’m struggling in this regard, the best thing is to drop what I’m doing, go and make a drink, tell myself I’m superman and go back and start again. I think confidence is a big factor in times when you get creative block. You need to get it back. If I need to pick up specific styling or layout ideas I normally head over to community sites like CCS Mania or Design Shack. I also have loads of websites bookmarked (I should set up a delicious account when I get time…bear with me…) which I go through, or look at design magazines (such as Creative Review) or books. If it’s a concept idea I’m having trouble with then advertising and marketing books help. It really depends on the project and what I am trying to achieve.

And finally, where do you see design going in the next few years?

Well, Andy - that’s an interesting question. If you look at the increase in technology and where that’s heading I feel that animation and the web do look like areas which will grow. Designing for screen must be the future. With this in mind it looks like print design will decrease. I think areas like animation and 3D, which are screen based, look set to explode soon. Also designing for mobile phones and palm tops – this area is growing so designers will need to adapt to this situation.

In terms of the style of things, I think that we may be looking at people rebelling from the “normal” marketing and branding styles we see today. Why does a logo have to be consistent? Why do I need a logo? What other ways can I use to “brand” my company? Why does my marketing have to appeal to the wider audience? Why should I go main stream? Why not go underground and build prestige? These are all things I think will be asked in the next few years.

Actually Andy you may recall I wrote a small article about this very subject a while ago.

Well Matt, thank you for having a chat. I’m sure we’ll catch up again sometime and I look forward to future articles.

Andy – it’s great to speak to you. I would like to say what a great job you’re doing with Fadtastic – I visit here frequently and I think you’ve got one of the best and most interesting community sites around. Keep up the good work!

Matt is more than happy to discuss the content of this interview or to answer any questions you may have. Grill a designer now!

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