Always searching the web for good portfolios. I like the best mixes I can find - form and function. Recently I had a look at the portfolio of Mary Ellen Wetherington and saw some great designs. Mary Ellen is partners at Ngage Design Studio. I requested an interview with Mary Ellen.

How did you get into web design? “During the last year of mybachelor’s degree in computer science, I did a great deal of experimentation with programming for the WWW. I then furtheredmy knowledge by earning a masters degree in instructional technology. A graphic designer and I teamed up shortly after to create our current company Ngage Design Studio. I am a programmer, not a graphics person, so we complement each other very well. Just because you can do amazing things with code does not mean people will want to use your services. The fact is that the graphic design has a major impact on selling your services. Clients usually see the surface and cannot visualize the backbone.”

Do you remember the very first site you designed? “Sure, the first site I designed was by no means simple. For a computer architecture course, I participated in a group project where four of us designed a local site similar to www.cfnc.org. We in essence jumped right into the fire.”

Where do you get your art for these webpages? “In house graphic design and photography.”

What will be the next big development in webpage design? “The sky is the limit. Every client presents a new challenge. The next development is simply what the client will request next.”

Have you ever worked with website templates? “A few websites we worked with have templates as a base. We tend to stay awayfrom templates because the originality and personalization is lost. Templates are usually effective for the person trying to cut costs and design a website themselves with little to no experience.”

What website template providers have you tried? “We have used Template Monster.”

What was your experience with them? “We received notification that a template we had purchased contained graphics that were copyrighted. This was made known to us several months after we designed and published the site. This caused a major problem concerning site redesign and could have had major legal implications. This was not a fault of Template Monster, but of an outside provider. Other than that one incident, we have had no problems.”

What do you think about Flash technology? “Graphically pleasing, but not especially functional. The use of Flash should be sparing and dependent upon the type of website. Flash has many components that tend to work slowly, require plug-ins, or hinder the functionality of the web browser. The use of the Flash Intros used to be very popular, but think about how many times you click ‘Skip’.”

What are your sources of inspiration? “Inspiration comes from our clients. Their excitement when they view a site built justfor them and works exactly the way they described is worth everything.”

What was the biggest problem situation you’ve encountered? “Make sure your contracts are correct and your fees are negotiated properly. Do not sell yourself short. Many problems that arise are non-payment or under-payment.”

Thankyou Mary Ellen, for the benefits of your experiences and viewpoints.

Attention! Holiday Shoppers!

Arthur Browning