mcville: JR Ordonez Interview

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JR Ordonez Interview

Nov 22, 08:12 PM by Marko

Interivew with JR Ordonez at Pixel Plain

Marko: Heya JR!

JR: Hello, Marko!

Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)
JR: I’m 30 years old and live in Berkeley, California with my wife, Jill.

Marko: How are you doing these days?

JR: Busier than I would like and generally very happy.

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
JR: I think it was a TI-99 back in the mid eighties. It came with a booklet with lines of code to enter at the command prompt… to make pixelized people dance. It was similar to Apple Logo.

Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?
JR: Don’t have a favorite per se, as there are too many beautiful artworks and designs out there with their own merits. It’s a question that overwhelms me, so I can’t say!

Marko: When you launched pixelplain.com are you happy with the result of the site?
JR: Yeah. Pixel Plain has gone through several incarnations, but I am happiest with the latest version. As far as results, it has garnered more attention that I would have ever expected.

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

JR: Mostly listen to music and hang with my wife, Jill. Once in a while, I get completely obsessed with a video game and spend every ounce of free time on that ;-)

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
JR: Coffee probably contributes to my daily life more than any other drink.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for JR?
JR: Wake up, go into the next room, catch up on emails, do some work, eat lunch, do some work, listen to some tunes, eat dinner, realize I haven’t been outside at all, shrug it off, read online and do whatever I’m currently geeked out on (right now exploring “Typo,” blog software made with Ruby on Rails).

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
JR: Luckily, mostly through word of mouth and through pixelplain.com

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?
JR: Architects and interior designers are my biggest influence by far. You know, Dwell Magazine type stuff. As far as the web goes, I’d have to give a nod to Jeffrey Zeldman for his inspiring work with WaSP and A list Apart.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like?
JR: I actually have a degree in Art, with a concentration on Oil Painting and Illustration. While I was in school, I led a double life and spent half of my time in the Mac labs at the Graphic Design department playing around and helping design students with their projects. My comfort with computers and love for art and design sort of evolved into designing for the web.

Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
JR: I think I’d be an illustrator or a flower farmer. I’d still like to try being the latter later in life.

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?
JR: I like the overall direction. All those banners are a bit overwhelming though.

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

JR: You have two graphical text headings per feature/interview which is redundant. I’d keep one and use the other space for a synopsis. e.g., A one liner about who/what it is or maybe a nice quote from the interview/article. Also, I’d change the nice expanding effect you have on your nav from a hover to a click. It’s hard to get to a link sometimes with it jumping around.

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
JR: Lots of Jazz. Also, Electronica, Hip-hop, Alternative & Classic Rock.

Marko: What’s your favorite food?
JR: Rice, baby!

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?
JR: Try to walk around as much as possible and spend time with the family.

some relaxing question to follow

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

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?
JR: Wouldn’t know, sorry.

Marko: html or css?
JR: CSS (what’s HTML?)

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
JR: Yes, Jeff Corwin Experience on Animal Planet

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
JR: News tabs, webmail, Mac stuff, webdev stuff, several categories of RSS feeds.

Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
JR: People that do what they want and really go for it.

Marko: Thank again for having this interview JR, Cheers!
JR: It was a real pleasure, Marko. Thanks.

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JR Ordonez Interview

Nov 22, 08:12 PM by Marko