mcville: Jelena Cestaric Interview

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Jelena Cestaric Interview

Dec 18, 10:50 PM by Petar

Interview with Jelena Cestaric at Endless-Light.com

Petar: Hello Jelena!
Jelena: Hi Petre!

Petar: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)
Jelena: I’m a 22-year-old university student, from Zagreb, Croatia.

Petar: How are you doing these days?
Jelena: A little tired from exams and work, but otherwise fine, thanks for asking.

Petar: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
Jelena: Well, uhm, let’s see… I suppose it was in my eight grade or something like that. I got my own computer about 8 years ago. I started taking interest in design right away. It took me a couple of years to try to make my own website… And I remember I wasn’t satisfied with beginners stuff… I wanted to do iframes right away. Although I had no clue what they were, lol.

Petar: What is your favorite art work /website!?
Jelena: My favorite artists have to be surrealists, such as Magritte and Dali. As to my favorite websites, those have to be mainly design, art and graphic sites, which I visit daily. Since I really can’t choose just one, I’ll choose two: Skyefairy.net, a creative arts site, and DigiCreation, a graphic site.

Petar: When you launched Endless-Light.com are you happy with the result of the site?
Jelena: Endless-Light.com was launched in February 2005., and I’m completely satisfied. When I was starting out, I just needed a place where I could put my wallpapers and drawings. I wasn’t planning on doing premade layout templates, but I tried it out and loved it. I had no idea if I’d be good at it, but I just kept trying and trying, constantly pushing myself beyond my capabilities. From the original site, that had everything I ever made, to the site as it is now, where only my favorite work is put online (I never offer people graphics I’m not completely satisfied with)... You can say I’m very happy.

Petar: What do you do in your spare time (We realize that spare time, in this context)
Jelena: Wow, it’s been a while since I had some spare time, so it’s not easy to remember :) But I love reading, I love when I find a good book and get to sneak of to read a couple of pages during my breaks. I used to draw a lot, I should draw more in the future.

Petar: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
Jelena: I don’t really have a favorite one, but I love all kinds of refreshing juices. I always have several cups around the computer while I’m working.

Petar: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for you ?
Jelena: Well, I love waking up early and making coffee, checking my e-mail as I drink it. If I have classes, then I’m rushing of to uni, but if I don’t, I usually spend the morning in front of the computer, or studying, writing essays, reading, and such. Actually, my entire day is like that – it’s either work, or university stuff. On rare occasions, when I don’t have to work or study, I spend the day in town with my friends.

Petar: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
Jelena: By doing the best I can. And if I can’t do something, I try and try until it’s done. But as for getting where I am now, I’d have to say it has a lot to do with luck, though not everyone would agree with me.

Petar: Who are some of your biggest influences?
Jelena: In art, I was influenced by surrealist painters, but also modern fantasy artists such as Luis Royo and Michael Whelan. In design, my biggest influences are designers who are better than me. Because of them, I keep wanting to be better and better. As for a specific influence, inspiration-wise, I do my best not to be too influenced by anyone’s particular style.

Petar: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like?
Jelena: Hm, let’s see… In the very beginning, I just wanted to be able to put together a site of my own. Very soon after that, I wasn’t satisfied with beginners work, I wanted to make first class designs and I was very frustrated when I couldn’t. So, I decided to take it one step at a time. First I learned basics of HTML and CSS, and then everything else just happened. I still have to perfect my PHP and MySql skills, that’s my next goal.

Petar: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
Jelena: A musician, probably, if I had the talent.

Petar: How do you like our site mcville.net?
Jelena: It’s very nice, I love how you get different stories from different people, it gives your visitors a lot of reading material.

Petar: If you could change something on mcville what would it be?
Jelena: Hm… If I really had to change something, it would be the header image. Not that it isn’t nice, it’s lovely, but I’d make something more suitable for the rest of the design, in different shades of blue, maybe more 3D… Something like that.

Petar: What kind of music do you fancy?
Jelena: I like various stuff, but it’s mostly rock. Coldplay, Dredg, R.E.M. and U2 are my favorite artist. Right now, lol.

Petar: What’s your favorite food?
Jelena: Oh, all the junk food… Lasagna, pizza, popcorn, potato chips, anything you can think of!

Petar: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?
Jelena: Depends on my mood. When I only feel like relaxing, I like going to the movies and maybe for a drink or two after that. If I’m in the mood for dancing, I end up clubbing all night with my friends.

some relaxing question to follow

Petar: Chinese or Thai (food)?
Jelena: Thai.

Petar: Coke or Pepsi?
Jelena: Coke, of course.

Petar: HTML or CSS?
Jelena: XHTML and CSS combined, though I have to say I’m a CSS addict.

Petar: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
Jelena: I rarely watch TV, I only tend to watch my favorite shows (like Lost, CSI, etc.), or a good movie if it’s on.

Petar: What OS do you use ?
Jelena: Windows XP Professional SP 2

Petar: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
Jelena: A lot of everything… Design sites, educational pages, forums… It’s nice and organized though.

Petar: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
Jelena: Music. Art. Real life events. And nature. Definitely nature, and how it can be beautiful, breathtaking and frightening at the same time.

Petar: Thank you for having this interview!
Jelena: You’re welcome, I had a fun time doing it ;)