mcville: Darren Ansley Interview

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Darren Ansley Interview

Oct 30, 06:14 PM by Marko

Interivew with Darren Ansley – besupercharged.com

Marko:Hello Darren!
Darren:Hey Marko, how’s it going dude?
Marko: exelente m8:)

Marko:For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)
Darren:Let’s see, well I’m 36 years old, and I am originally from southern Louisiana. I have been in the design field for a little over 11 years.
I majored in Fine Art in college and my concentration was Intaglio (printmaking), and it wasn’t until I got out of college that I decided to go into Graphic Design. My first job out of college was at a screen printing company designing t-shirts and bumper stickers.
I started designing web sites while I was working for an advertising agency in New Orleans, and thankfully none of them are still live. I then moved to Texas to work for a dot com that of course, ended up going under.

Marko:How are you doing these days?
Darren:Things are going really well these days, and I can honestly say that I am excited everyday about the type of work that I do.

Marko:When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
Darren:I took a class my sophomore year in high school that was typing the first half of the year, and computer science the second half. The sad thing is that I really never learned how to type very well.

Marko:What is your favorite art work /website!?
Darren:That would have to be Airbag.

Marko:when you launched ansleycreative.com are you happy with the result of the site?
Darren:Not really, I redesigned it a few times and finally realized what it was lacking wasn’t just style, but good content, and an overall theme. I restructured the site, added a blog, developed content and changed the name to supercharged. I would say that I am happy with now, but I will probably keep on tweaking it. The url is now www.besupercharged.com, www.ansleycreative.com will continue to work for a while, but I will eventually phase out that domain.

Marko:What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in this context, is pretty relative)?
Darren:Read, ride my mountain bike and brew beer.

Marko:Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
Darren:Beer. The only drawback is that beer is a not a great work-enhancer, so moderation is key, I really try to limit myself to a case a day.

Marko:Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for Darren Ansley?
Darren:Wake up way too early, get my son ready for school, and settle down to enjoy a nice long commute in Houston traffic. I get to work, check my email, read a few posts on sites that I visit regularly, and then meet with team members to discuss projects. The rest of work day usually involves designing, coding, and providing support to clients and team members. I get back in the car, zone out, and hope the car will remember how to get home by itself, but unfortunately that never happens.

Marko:I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
Darren:I get on my knees and beg – just kidding. Most of my work now comes from people that I have worked with previously or referrals.

Marko:Who are some of your biggest influences?
Darren:
Paul Rand
Saul Bass

On the web:
Dan Cederholm
Greg Storey
Dave Shea
Cameron Moll
Keith Robinson

Marko:Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like? How did that take place and why?
Darren:As I said earlier, it was originally Fine Art. I really got into web design because I liked building and assembling things.

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

Marko:How do you like our site mcville.net?
Darren:Well, I’m not to crazy bout the font used for the headings, it’s good for the logo, but it’s a little distracting elsewhere.

Marko:O it’s really that bad? :)
Darren:No, you have a site and you are adding to it regularly, focus on the content and the design will evolve.

Marko:What kind of music do you fancy?
Darren:Rock mostly, late eighties grunge, some alternative and punk. I don’t like anything too polished.

Marko:What’s your favorite food?
Darren:Cajun and Creole

Marko:Where do you get out on Saturday’s?
Darren:Ride my bike, take my son to the park, work on home improvement projects and hang out with my wonderful wife.

some relaxing question to follow

Marko:Chinese or Thai (food)?
Darren:Thai

Marko:Coke or Pepsi?
Darren:Coke

Marko:html or css?
Darren:css

Marko:Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
Darren:The Office, the British version is better, but I really like the American one.

Marko:What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
Darren:CssImport, Stylegala, NewsToday, Airbag, Simple Bits, A List Apart, Authentic Boredom, Digital Web, Mezzoblue and Asterisk

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

Marko:Thank again for having this interview, cheers m8!
Darren:Thank you Marko, I enjoyed it.

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Darren Ansley Interview

Oct 30, 06:14 PM by Marko