mcville: Ryan Werth Interview

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Ryan Werth Interview

Feb 21, 05:34 AM by Marko

Interview with Ryan Werth at ryanwerth.com

Marko: Hello Ryan !

Ryan Werth: whatup dogg

Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)

Ryan Werth: sure, i’m 26 years old, live in northeast ohio with my girlfriend and our cat maggitron 2k2. i’ve been doing design work professionally for the past 3 years, freelancing for the past month, and plan on continuing freelance indefinitely … it’s been great so far

Marko: How are you doing these days?

Ryan Werth: busy, busy, busy. but doing well, thanks for asking :)

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?

Ryan Werth: umm probably in elementary school. oregon trail on the old apple II’s. that was the $hit. other than that a friend of mine had a commodore 64 that we used to eff around on.
my family’s first computer was an atari st when i was 8 or 9, which was obsolete in the states probably about a week and a half after we got it. i remember an app on it called degas elite … which was probably not much more than microsoft’s paint app, but it was like photoshop to me at the time … that’s probably actually my first experience with design software.

Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?

Ryan Werth: It’s really hard to say. with the amount and variation of work out there these days, it’s hard to pick a couple as favorites. i really just like the variety.
as for art work … don’t really have a favorite there either. i don’t really follow art too much. i used to be pretty into de stijl and dada. i think that those, to some degree, have influenced my own design and art work.

Marko: when you launched ryanwerth.com are you happy with the result of the site?

Ryan Werth: I’m happy with it for now, but already looking forward to a redesign. there will probably always be improvements to make, but right now it’s getting the job done for me.
I really needed to get something up asap, i had been pretty unsatisfied with my work situation, and had been flirting with the idea of going freelance for probably about 6 months, then the tuesday before x-mas ‘05, the entire creative department got cut from the budget at the company i was with, so i was forced to follow through with the idea of freelancing (had actually registered ryanwerth.com 2(?) days before getting cut, so it wasn’t too much of a shock). and it’s been no looking back since. i’m kinda glad something forced me to start freelancing. it’s been absolutely fantastic, it’s really renewed my excitement in design, and i can’t really imagine going back to a full-time gig right now.
so anyway, yeah, i’m happy with the site, it has been (and will continue to be) a work in progress … adding things as needed. it’s served very nicely as a means of testing some different development methods, learning different techniques, and having a place to send potential clients. but it’s definitely “round 1,” and i’m really looking forward to redesigning and having a chance to further develop it.

Marko: What do you do in your spare time (We realize that spare time, in this context)

Ryan Werth: honestly, i usually work in my spare time. i’m pretty new to the standards scene, and always learning, further developing skills/practices, etc. but if i’m not working i’ll probably go out for a drink or hang out and watch a movie or some bad reality tv with my girlfriend.

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?

Ryan Werth: coffee … though i suppose that’s not really a favorite, more a necessity. i’ve been loving IPA’s as far as drink drinks go. in particular alesmith ipa … best beer i’ve had … yet.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for Ryan Werth ?

Ryan Werth: it’s really just a cycle of drinking coffee and working, for the most part. usually until somewhere between 7 & 10, then i try to find a second to relax a little.

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?

Ryan Werth: well, i’ve only been freelancing for a little over a month now, so almost all of my work has come from past coworkers & employers. i’ve maintained a good relationship with past employers and it’s really been great to work with all of them again, especially with the variety and quality of projects i’ve been getting from all of them.

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?

Ryan Werth: I’d say my background at kent was a pretty big influence … i do like helvetica :)
when i was just starting out, teaching myself flash, jared tarbell’s work at levitated.net was a huge influence. i spent a lot of time downloading his fla’s and picking apart his actionscript … i learned what an array was, what a for loop was, etc, etc … all that, from looking at his code.
as for the turn to css / web standards, stylegala all the way. that’s the site that showed me what could really be done with css. monc.se was one of my favorite sites back then, i loved the floral decoration/ornamental stuff they were doing. csszengarden was a big influence also … in showing what could be done with css.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like?

Ryan Werth: My background is in design. i’m a graduate of the school of visual communication design at kent state university, much of my work there concentrated on print, but when looking for work, i realized that there was much more a market for digital work. actually, while in school i really wanted to do dvd design. i loved the idea of creating print pieces (sleeves/labels, inserts, etc) and tying that in with the interactive menu design. in particular i remember seeing pieces like the rushmore dvd and beastie boys video anthology dvd and wanting to work on projects like that.
after that i decided digital/interactive work was the way to go. i learned flash working on my senior project and got a job at a web design firm and that was that.
recently though i have been wanting to get back into print, especially with the freelance, it’s nice to have the opportunity to work in both again.

Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?

Ryan Werth: broke.

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?

Ryan Werth: I really like the ajax menus. and the clean look. good stuff. nice work! (also, i like that you’re using textpattern over wordpress … i seem to have been running into alot of wordpress lately and its just nice to see both being represented)

Marko: If you could change something on mcville what would it be?

Ryan Werth: hmm, specifics? i might rework/refine the side borders. and i’d probably redefine all the measurements to ems … but that’s just my thing ;)

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?

Ryan Werth: pretty much ween and rap, haven’t really gotten into anything new lately, the last two new things i got into were probably cornelius and mc paul barman … just bought the velvet underground: loaded, so i’ve been listening to that a lot again lately

Marko: What’s your favorite food?

Ryan Werth: usually anything quick … probably burritos, maybe pizza? but it’s always nice to have a nice dinner whenever time permits.

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?

Ryan Werth: I’m usually ready for a night of just hanging out on the couch with my girlfriend by saturday … relaxing, having a glass of wine, getting a movie. if i do get out though, it’ll probably be to riverside wine or the zephyr in kent.

some relaxing question to follow

Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?

Ryan Werth: thai these days … curry tofu do be exact

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?

Ryan Werth: coke

Marko: html or css?

Ryan Werth: both but probably a little more css right now, still have a lot to learn and try out with css, more progress to make there i guess

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?

Ryan Werth: project runway right now … just waiting for a project css to come out ;)

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?

Ryan Werth: miscellaneous dev tools (local links to my phpmyadmin, local builds, etc), links to sites that inspire current projects i’m working on, and of course a well organized collection of design resources (various articles & sites i love).

Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.

Ryan Werth: @#$% ... that’s a hard question. maybe challenges? other designers? i think it’s inspiring to encounter other people who are excited about design. criticism is always inspiring too, both positive and negative … anything that counters apathy … i’ve met a number of individuals who are apathetic to the design process, and it just totally kills a project and can really bring you down and trivialize your work as a designer.
so i guess, long answer short: challenges, responsibility, and others’ enthusiasm inspire me.

Marko: Thank again for having this interview Ryan, Cheers!

Ryan Werth: np, thanks for asking me!

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Ryan Werth Interview

Feb 21, 05:34 AM by Marko