Andy Budd Interview
Feb 15, 08:11 AM by Marko
Interivew with Andy Budd at andybudd.com
Marko: Hello Andy !
Hey Marko, how’s tricks?
Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)
Well my name is Andy Budd and I’m a user expirience designer based in Brighton, England. I’m 33 years old, and have been working on the web for about 7 years. Um, what else would you like to know?
Marko: How are you doing these days?
Good thanks. Rushed off my feet as usual.
Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
When I was about 10 my junior school got hold of a BBC Micro. If you’re not familiar with the BBC Micro, it was a fairly basic home computer invented for the BBC to encorage computer literacy. It had a super fast 2MHz procesor and a whopping 32KB of RAM. You could do some crazy stuff like printing your name out over and over again, but I spent most of my breaks playing Elite.
Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?
You mean apart from your website? Well It’s obviously a tough choice, but I guess I’d have to say “Red on Maroon” from Rothko. It’s the definition of sublime. Whenever I go into the Tate Modern, the Rothko room is the one I head for first. MOMA in New York also has a nice collection of Rothko’s.
Marko: when you launched andybudd.com are you happy with the result of the site?
It came as a bit of a shock really. When the site was nearly finished I posted it to CSS-Discuss for feedback. The next day Jeffrey Zeldman linked to it and my traffic went ballistic. Nothing like a sudden influx of visitors to encourage to finish your site and start writing posts.
Marko: Andy what can you tell us about your new book? http://cssmastery.com/
It’s easy to learn the basics of CSS because the syntax is so straightforward. However CSS contains a number of complicated concepts which, if not understood fully, can create serious headaches. Add to this browser inconsistencies and the number of different ways you can achieve the same effect, and you are left with an extremely steep learning curve. Having gone through this process myself, I wanted to give developers the benefit of my experience and write a book that explained all the tips and tricks I’d learnt over the last few years. The resulting book is called “CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions” and you can download a sample chapter from www.cssmastery.com. It’s aimed at people who know the basics and have been building CSS sites for a while, but want to take their CSS to the next level.
Marko: What do you do in your spare time (We realize that spare time, in this context)
In all honesty I don’t have that much spare time at the moment what with Clearleft, the book, SkillSwap and doing things like this. However when I do have five minutes spare I like going down the pub, watching movies, eating, drinking, taking photos and hanging out with my girlfriend.
Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
I mostly drink beer, but my favorite drink is a frozen margarita. Sadly it’s impossibly to get a good one in this country so I don’t drink it half as much as I’d like to.
Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for Andy Budd ?
I usually get up around 8:30am and immediately jump onto the computer to check my emails. With so many emails coming in over night I’ll lose track of time and won’t end up having breakfast until gone 10:30am. I’ll then work through to lunch, which I’ll plan to have at 1:30pm but invariably wont have till 2:30-3:00pm. I’ll work till 7pm and then take a break for a few of hours to eat, watch TV and hang out with my girlfriend. I’ll normally get back on the computer around 10pm to check emails, RSS feeds and finish up any odd jobs that need doing, getting to sleep around 1am. I’ll go to the gym 2-3 times a week, although I should go more, and usually have at least one client meeting to go to. We usually start the week with a Monday morning meeting at a local WiFi cafe, and knock off early on Friday to go down the pub for a chat and a debrief. It’s a good way to get out of the office and acts as a great bookend for the week.
Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
I wake up in the morning and hope the work fairy has left a contract under my pillow. Seriously though, like most web professionals, most of our work comes from satisfied customers, recommendations and word of mouth.
Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?
I’m most influenced by my peers. People like Jefrey Zeldman, Douglas Bowman and Dave Shea. Also I’m really lucky to be able to work and share my ideas with people like Jeremy Keith and Richard Rutter.
Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like?
My background has always been as a web user, so I’m neither a trained designer or developer.
Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
I’m also a PADI dive instructor, so would probably be doing that. Preferably somewhere hot and tropical.
Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?
Well it’s a distinct improvement over the last version, but what’s up with all those bold tags?
Marko: If you could change something on mcville what would it be?
All those bold tags!
Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
I’m currently enjoying bands like Arctic Monkeys, Athlete, Bloc Party, Editors, Kaiser Cheifs and Hard-Fi.
Marko: What’s your favorite food?
Pizza is my absolute favorite food, closely followed by Thai and Southern Indian. You can’t beat a good Pad Thai, Red Curry or Masala Dosa.
Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?
In all honesty I’m usually in on a Saturday night with a movie and a good bottle of wine. Getting old don’t you know! If I’m out I’ll either be down the pub, at the movies or eating at a nice restaurant.
some relaxing question to follow
Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?
Thai
Marko: Coke or Pepsi?
Coke
Marko: html or css?
HTML
Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
I like comedies like Scrubs, My Name is Earl and Malcolm in the Middle, as well as dramas like 24, Lost and Rome.
Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
Links to websites!
Marko: heheh indeed :D -Good awnser:)
Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
The web design community is my biggest and best source of inspiration.
Marko: Thank again for having this interview Andy,Cheers!
No probs!
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>Coke
I waited for Pepsi :\