James Koster Interview
Nov 4, 01:31 PM by Marko
Interivew with James Koster – sixshootermedia.com
Marko: Hello James !
James: Bonjour!!
Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)
James: Gladly: My names James (or Jay as I prefer(Or Jim as my family calls me)) and I’m 19 years old. I live in England, and I cant really be any more precise than that, allow me to explain: I goto college in Birmingham for 3 days a week, while im there I live with my Dad in Coventry, when I’m not there I’m either with my family in Peterborough, with my girlfriend in Chester while shes at University, or, when she has time off too, with her and her family in Darlington! Ye, it’s hectic and trains aint cheap.
Marko: How are you doing these days?
James: I’m not bad at all thanks. I do however feel a lot older than I think I probably should at this age. Probably comes with running my own business and having to travel aorund the country so much in comparison to most of my friends who live in one place and work in a super market.
Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
James: Whe I was about 5 or 6. My dad would some times take me into his office where there were hundreds of Apple Macs, I was fascinated by them. I got my own mac when I was 10 (I think), but that was only for playing games hehe.
Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?
James: I love anything creative. I couldnt pinpoint one piece of art because theres such a diverse range. Some notable artists though: Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, MC Escher. I love all of their work. With regards to favorite web sites, well, no style in particular really grabs me, there is just something about some websites that you come across once in a while that makes you sit up and really take notice. It’s something hidden that’s really hard to explain! It could be a nice font, a nice image or even just a nice, original colour.
Marko: when you launched sixshootermedia.com are you happy with the result of the site?
James: I am happy with the result yes. I wouldnt launch it otherwise heh! There are however a few niggling issues with it that I still havent had the time to fix due to being too busy with other projects!
Marko: What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in this context, is pretty relative)?
James: Well, if I can I got and see my girlfriend. Besides that I contribute to the open source web design site (oswd.org – currently down), browse all of the css showcase web sites, play quake 4 and post on a few forums. Away from the computer I like to play/watch football, play my guitar and read. (lots of time for reading on trains :-)
Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
James: Pure Orange juice. I don’t drink it often cause it takes quite a few oranges to squeeze and make a glass of it, and other people in the house like to eat the oranges! Besides this, water. Which I drink when I cant get freshly squeezed orange juice.
Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for James Koster Koopmanschap?
James: Crikey. Well, if it’s a monday/tuesday/wednesday then itll be: Up at 7. On the train by 8. At College for 9. Finish college 3/4ish and get home for 4/5ish. From then on I’ll work on sixshootermedia until about 8 or 9 (with a break for dinner!). When I finish (sometimes I carry on all night) I might play my guitar, watch a film or just chill out with some orange juice and watch a movie. I like to be in bed by 11 though when I’m up at 7 the next day. Kind of boring really. If I’m at home on thurs or fri then I will work all day on Sixshootermedia, but if I’m away then I could be doing anything :-)
Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
James: I started by doing css tempaltes dirt cheap on some forums for people who make requests. I built a portfolio which of course gave people a showcase of my work, which got more and more popular. Basically I started at the bottom and worked up, all the time learning new css tricks and techniques in graphics programs etc.
Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?
James: Design wise, it is hard to say. Web site designs go through fashions like clothes do in real life. It’s the people who produce something new which looks great every time that inspire me the most. This seems to be somebody different every time which is a good thing in my opinion!
Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like? How did that take place and why?
James: Well, I’ve always loved being creative. Art was always my favorite subject in school and I always (and still do) enjoyed sketching/drawing outside of shcool. My first brush with designing was when I was about 8 or 9 and really got into Football. I used love designing design football strips for goal keepers (who back then had all sorts of fancy patterns on their tops). I got into web design itself through online gaming. I used to play in teams and got to know a few people who made the web sites for these teams. They gave me a few tips but ultimately I learnt the hard way by, viewing source code and figuring out how stuff works that way. It’s the design aspect that made me want to learn. In a similar way to the goal keeper tops I guess. I saw things I liked and wanted to create my own versions.
Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
James: A very poor musician.
Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?
James: It looks good. I hadn’t seen it until today but for me it looks like a content driven web site so the plain style works well. Nice and easy to read / navigate :-)
Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
James: Rock and Roll baby.
Marko: What’s your favorite food?
James: Fresh Fruit
Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?
James: Well, I’m not a big party goer/clubber into the early hours as the music just does nothing for me and dancing isnt really my thing either. I’m quite happy to spend the evening in a pub listening to some live music and just sitting/chatting/drinking with friends.
some relaxing question to follow
Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?
James: Thai
Marko: Coke or Pepsi?
James: Coke if I have no other options.
Marko: html or xhtml?
James: xhtml!
Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
James: Rarely, and if I do it’s either football or the Simpsons.
Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
James: Are you 18 or over? :-) Just Kidding of course! you would find all of the css showcase sites, manutd.com, my sites, esreality.com (I still play games sometimes!), my online banking site, play.com, oswd.org, skysports.planetfootball.com and of course a few blogs :-)
Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
James: Nature
Marko: Thank again for having this interview, cheers m8!
James: That’s my pleasure!
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James gave really some brilliant answers. I liked his styles.