Jason Stirman Interview
Mar 2, 10:16 AM by Marko
Interivew with Jason Stirman from stirman.net
Marko: Hello Stirman!
Stirman: What’s that? Come closer and speak into my good ear! Oh, that’s better, Hello Marko!
Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (age and other stuff)
Stirman: I’m 28 years old, 6’9” and 265 pounds of pure muscle. Wait, scratch that last part, but I am 28, hypothetically.
Marko: How are you doing these days?
Stirman: Life is good my friend. My son, Cadence just turned three, and my beautiful, pregnant wife is nearing her due date. It’s going to be a little girl, Greenley Mae Stirman. No complaints here, I am a blessed man.
Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
Stirman: Christmas morning, early 80’s, Commodore 64, now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about! According to the 2001 edition of Guinness book of records, the C64 was the most “prolific computing device ever manufactured”.
Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?
Stirman: iso50, that guy has skills. His work is beautiful, his site is money and his music is well crafted.
Marko: When you launched stirman.net were you happy with the result of the site?
Stirman: Absolutely. The original version of the site looked quite a bit different than the current version. It was more “edgy” and “urban”. After only a few weeks it started appearing in various style galleries. It’s a great feeling to be recognized for something you put your heart, and free time, into. Honestly, my site was the first site I ever built with XHTML/CSS, and I’m still learning. Shhhh, it’s a secret, don’t tell.
Marko: What do you do in your spare time?
Stirman: Well, I have a full time job working as a software developer / UI guy for HP, so I do all my freelance work in my spare time. Add a wife and a three year old boy and a house to maintain, and “spare time” doesn’t find its way into my schedule often. But, when it does, I really like to read.
Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
Stirman: Grande White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks. I don’t drink it as often as I would like, because, until I win the lottery, a cup of coffee that costs almost FIVE dollars doesn’t really make sense to me financially or ethically. Not sure what I meant by “ethically”, but it sounds intellectual, so I’ll stick by it.
Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for Jason Stirman ?
Stirman: Sure. Wake up around 6:00 AM, hit the gym for an hour of basketball and an hour of weights. Stroll to work around 8:30 or 9:00, check e-mail, browse the CSS sites, post a blog entry and get to work. Come home around 6:00’ish eat dinner, play with Cadence for an hour or so, put Cadence to sleep, watch some TV with the wife, go to bed. Sleep. Rinse and repeat.
Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
Stirman: Well, having a nice full-time job has allowed me to be selective about the freelance gigs I accept, which is a nice luxury. I have landed a few jobs from people that stumbled onto stirman.net, done a few sites for friends and family, and have a steady workload coming in from a friend who works at a bigger design firm. When a client’s needs don’t fit well with what his firm can offer, he passes them along to me. My number one tip for freelancers is, establish a relationship with a big, expensive design firm. They turn down clients all the time who can’t pay what they’re asking, so, if you got the chops, you can get their scraps, ya dig?
Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?
Stirman: In the web world, Andy Rutledge really helped get me going, Jason Fried is like my Zig Ziggler and John Oxton inspires me with beauty that really works well. Some my biggest influences, however, are the contributors to PostSecret, these postcards are beautiful and vulnerable.
Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like?
Stirman: Nope, I have no formal training in design, but have always considered myself a wanna-be artist. I received a Computer Science degree from the University of Texas in Austin and learned to love programming, well, it’s more of a love/hate relationship. My progression into web development started with a contract gig I landed after college to do some graphic design print work. The designing was fun, and I was proud of the work I did, so I thought I should put up an online portfolio and see if I can land some more jobs. So, I started my portfolio in Flash, which I had played around with quite a bit, but soon found the CSS Zen Garden. I was perplexed and confused, but intrigued. So, I started reading and going through CSS tutorials. A few months later, stirman.net was born. It’s a creature I have to nourish daily, but it’s a labor of love, sometimes.
Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
Stirman: Hmmm, good question, I would probably just be your typical, run of the mill, NBA all star, averaging about 28 points and 12 rebounds per game. Actually, I have a love for creating music and if the programmer route didn’t pan out early on, I would have searched for a job in a studio or something. I would love to be a producer. That’s right P-Diddy, feel free to call on my cell, iight?
Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?
Stirman: Well, I love the interviews. Reading about how other designers got started, or what inspires them, is inspiring. Now, I know, usually everyone strokes you ego and says how cool the site is, but I will offer some constructive criticism, which you can edit out later if you want, I feel like the site should be two separate sites, one for the interviews, articles and community, and another for your personal portfolio. The first time I saw it, I was a little confused about what the main purpose of the site was. But, that being said, it looks great and works well… Kudos!
Marko: If you could change something on mcville what would it be?
Stirman: Kill the entire right column, it creates too much clutter. Some of that info would be better in the footer, and some of it would be better deleted. :)
Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
Stirman: For me, nothing beats stripped down, acoustic sets, with a couple vocalists and mad harmonies. The earthier the better. That’s just my thing. But, I also have a closet fascination with electronica and hip hop.
Marko: What’s your favorite food?
Stirman: I love sushi. Well, not all sushi. I have a few specific rolls I could eat on a daily basis. Oh, and in a close second is whipped cream. I could down a whole can faster than most fraternity boys could shotgun a beer. Maybe not, anyone up to the challenge?
Marko: Where do you get out to on Saturday’s?
Stirman: I usually end up at some swanky jazz club, on the stage rippin’ ballads with the band after having one too many martinis, ya know… the usual.
some relaxing question to follow
Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?
Stirman: Chinese, no doubt. But to be fair, I have only had Thai food once. I ordered some chicken plate and I can honestly say it was the most bland meat I have ever put in my mouth. All this hype about Thai spice and flavor, and I got some weird chicken chop that tasted like cardboard. Perhaps I should give it another go.
Marko: Coke or Pepsi?
Stirman: Coke. Pepsi has an undesirable after-taste. I have lots of family up North, in New Jersey and Philly, and they all seem to dig Pepsi. So maybe it’s a regional thing, but that doesn’t account for the aforementioned undesirable after-taste.
Marko: html or css?
Stirman: Neither, web development sucks. What? I have to pick one? Fine, you’re so bossy… CSS. Although CSS can’t live without HTML, but HTML can live without CSS, albeit it’s an ugly existence. So, if we’re talking about self-suffiency here, I would have to go with HTML.
Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
Stirman: Yes and yes. Next question. Okay, my favorite show is “Lost”, hands down.
Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
Stirman: Digg, del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia, PostSecret, McSweeney’s, and other goodies that I can’t tell you about, due to restrictions put forth by the Homeland Security department, and the fact that I don’t really bookmark many sites because I have a super-human, cyborg-like memory. Wait, what was the question again?
Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
Stirman: Community, vulnerability, music, photography, faith and selflessness.
Marko: Thank again for having this interview Stirman,Cheers!
Stirman: Sure thing. Thanks for including me in your interviews. Now, do we shake hands or hug? Or do the one hand shake, one hand hug thing. Perhaps the “pound” would work well here. We could do the athlete thing and give each other firm pat on the butt and say “Good game”. I’ll leave it up to you.
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Congratulations, Jason! I remember you when you were just a wee one playing on your dad’s soccer team. Your mom was still wearing pigtails. I can’t believe you’re all grown up with babies of your own. Hi to your mom and dad and sister!
Hey, I can’t remember anything from your childhood, Jason. Hardly anything from my own either. Maybe the memory loss problem is a generation XY or whatever is on right now -problem.