mcville: Dan Rubin Interview

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Dan Rubin Interview

Dec 19, 05:32 PM by Marko

Interivew with Dan Rubin at superfluousbanter.org

Marko: Heya Dan !

Dan: Hey there Marko!

Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)

Dan: Well, I just turned 28, most of my business contacts think I’m older, while everyone else thinks I’m a few years younger. I’m a native Floridian, which is a rare find these days – born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, just a few miles from the beach.

In addition to running SuperfluousBanter.org (and I’m using the term “running” quite loosely considering my posting frequency of late), I run a small design and branding agency, Webgraph.

Marko: How are you doing these days?

Dan: Honestly? I’ve been better – my car just got totaled in an accident, the woman I’ve been planning to marry has left me, and everything seems upside down… other than that, I’m doing just fine :)

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?

Dan: I was 13 years old when a neighbor and family friend gave my younger brother (Alex) and I a Mac Classic – he didn’t have kids of his own, and felt it was extremely important that Alex and I learned how to use a computer, so when he upgraded, he gave us his old system (in later years, he upgraded us to a Mac IIci, and then when he passed away he left the rest of his systems to us, including a Quadra 950 – this really got me started in graphic design and desktop publishing). I just started playing around with all the software (from the OS on up) and taught myself how to do everything from basic maintenance to networking, and of course everything design related (I have to give a nod to Before & After magazine, which really taught me a lot in my first few years of my design self-education).

Marko: What is your favorite art work/website!?

Dan: Oh god, um, what a tough question to answer – I have so many preferences, depending on my mood. When it comes to art work, I continue to like the paintings of aviation artist Robert Taylor- his WWII art inspired me to learn how to paint, which was the first step in my education as an artist. I have many favorite web sites, but at the moment I’m really into the new IconBuffet and Firewheel Design.

Marko: when you launched superfluousbanter.org are you happy with the result of the site?

Dan: When I first launched the site, I had no idea what I was getting myself into – this was in 2001, and I didn’t start blogging until a year later, so for the first year it was just a splash page with a catchy name. Since then, I’ve been amazed by the response to posting my opinion and thoughts, though the last few years I’ve almost disappeared for various reasons (I’m hoping to make a comeback very soon).

Marko: What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in this context, is pretty relative)?

Dan: Wow, big question (well, big answer :) – most of my spare time is dedicated to music: Alex and I have been the musical and artistic directors for a 30-man a cappella/barbershop chorus for the last 6 years (we’ve been singing barbershop harmony for 16 years), plus we sing in a barbershop quartet (I sing Bass – we’re currently ranked 14th in the world – roundersquartet.com), and have just started a contemporary/jazz a cappella group called VoxHouse (site and demo tracks coming soon to voxhouse.com). In addition to the rehearsals, competitions, performances and traveling associated with each of these groups, I also coach other local a cappella groups, occasionally teach as a clinician for high school a cappella music programs, and I’m a substitute for the Dapper Dans at Walt Disney World (the resident barbershop quartet of Main Street USA). I’m sure there’s something musical I’ve left out, but I think you get the picture… Oh, and I also swim semi-competitively with the Fort Lauderdale Aquatics US Masters team at the Swimming Hall of Fame. Every once in a while I sleep…

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?

Dan: When I drink (and it’s not that often), I like Captain Morgan’s (Spice Rum) and Coke, but I also make (and drink) a killer Bahama Mama. I didn’t start drinking until I was 26, so I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do… mostly I drink Vitamin Water, Powerade or just plain drinking water.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for Dan Rubin?

Dan: Hear the alarm clock (sometimes), turn it off, sleep for another hour, try to get out of bed, sleep for another 30 minutes, crawl out of bed and stumble around for a while, have a few cups of tea (mum’s from England, so it’s a requirement), check email, see if anyone has IM’ed me overnight, respond to anything if I feel up to it, convince myself to get to the office (a recent development – ran the business from home for years until a few months ago), try to be productive for the rest of the day, drink more tea, check voicemail, check email, IM people, maybe get some work done. Usually my day ends with something to eat for breakfast (seriously, I forget to eat most days until late at night), and rehearsal/coaching/something musical for one of the groups mentioned above. Oh, then I’ll sleep for a few hours and start all over again.

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?

Dan: I’ve been lucky so far – 95% or so of my clients are referrals or previous clients (the rest find us online, either by seeing some of our work or visiting the agency’s site. After that, it’s just a matter of being the right agency for our clients’ needs (and budget). I wouldn’t say we’re as busy as we’d like to be, but things have been picking up over the last few years, and I’m not sure I want to be so busy that I don’t have time for all my musical endeavors anyway :)

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?

Dan: I like to think that 37signals has had a big influence on me from a usability point of view (even before 37signals came to be, I was a fan of Spinfree), but going even further back, the list includes Zeldman (of course), the boys at Adjacency (long since bought by Sapient). More recently, I always feel inspired by Shaun Inman and Cameron Moll’s design style, and Paul Rand has certainly influenced the way I think about branding. I’d be remiss to leave out a closer influence, Didier Hilhorst – I was lucky enough to work with him on a few projects, and his visual style is infectious.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like? How did that take place and why?

Dan: My background is all sorts of things – when I was younger, I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer or a pilot, since I was hooked on WWII military aircraft. I was into various forms of artistic expression early on, including 1:72 scale model aircraft, watercolor and oils, and creating things out of Lego bricks. My interest in design and page layout was almost by accident – after getting into computers to begin with, I was asked to design a booklet for a local organization, and since I like to do everything the “right” way, I decided to teach myself desktop publishing as best I could. From there I discovered typography, and graphic design, and I became a sponge for anything and everything I could learn.

Web design was another accident – I was a contractor for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, working for the curator of their new (at that time) museum, doing scale modeling, design, cataloging artifacts, producing an interactive exhibit, etc., and they asked if I knew about the web, since they needed a web site. Of course I didn’t really, but I said I did and immediately began learning all I could about the web, HTML, and everything related to web design (I didn’t end up producing a web site for the museum because of politics within the Tribe, but I was already hooked on designing for the web). My interest in web standards was yet another accident, after stumbling on Zeldman’s site during a day of random surfing.

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

Dan: A musician, though I’m almost spending more time with music than work these days, so… I’d most likely be a music therapist, though there’s a chance I’d have to do something a little more visual… marketing perhaps? Either that or I’d be a hobo (the bum, not the typeface).

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?

Dan: Do I really have to answer?

Marko: O it’s really that bad? :)

Dan: OK, OK, I was just kidding – I like the festive holiday header graphic, and the script typeface has a lot of character… hell, you have fresh content, so it’s much better than my site :)

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?

Dan: All sorts of a cappella and vocal jazz, classic jazz, rock, pop, oldies, R&B… pretty much anything except country. The actual list of artists is much too long to include here :)

Marko: What’s your favorite food?

Dan: Two answers: for dinner, tomato soup with sharp cheddar and a French baguette; for breakfast/lunch/anytime, 2 eggs over-medium with some buttered white toast. Let’s hear it for comfort foods!

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?

Dan: When I don’t have a gig with one of my groups, I usually stay in – I’m still in that period right after a bad breakup when you don’t want to do anything fun… normally though, I enjoy the bars and clubs in downtown Fort Lauderdale, we have some great cover bands here, and you can take your drink outside and walk down the street with it in hand (which I’m told isn’t legal in many cities in the US).

some relaxing question to follow

Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?

Dan: Neither? But I’ve had Thai and didn’t hate it, so… Thai.

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?

Dan: Pepsi, unless rum is involved, in which case, Coke.

Marko: html or css?

Dan: XHTML & CSS baby! But come on, shouldn’t the question really be “web standards or crap” ?

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?

Dan: I don’t have time to watch much TV, so at the moment I download Lost on iTunes, and try to record Battlestar Galactica, Stargate (SG-1 and Atlantis), Alias, 24, Prison Break, E-Ring, Surface and The Daily Show when I remember to do so… I really need TiVo…

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?

Dan: All sorts of things I stumble upon while surfing (I really need to get into del.icio.us), but my most-used bookmarks are for Backpack, Basecamp, Blinksale, various hosting control panels for myself and clients, Flickr, and a few blogs I like to read from time to time: zeldman.com, whatdoiknow.org, daringfireball.net, mezzoblue.com, hivelogic.com; and at the moment, quite a few Ruby on Rails links. Though I hate to admit it, there’s also a bookmark for MySpace (come on, I’m re-entering the dating pool after nearly 8 years, apparently this is how it’s done these days…).

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

Dan: The patterns in music and nature, and the amazing ability of some people to love and care for others in the face of adversity. Being loved is a major source of inspiration for me, and thus lately my inspiration has been seriously lacking… lame, huh?

Marko: Thank again for having this interview, cya m8!

Dan: No problem, cheers!

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Dan Rubin Interview

Dec 19, 05:32 PM by Marko