       | ||
|
:: back :: |
|
:: articles :: - www.flashkit.com - Hillman Curtis Interview By Michael Lane Known in the community as a master in the art of motion graphics, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business. Razorfish, Adobe and Rolling Stone just to name a few. His book Flash Web Design is required reading in some of the most prestigious design schools in existence. His designs have garnered over 35 awards, including 10 for Macromedia's Shocked Site of the Day. His name: Hillman Curtis. I recently had an opportunity to ask Curtis some questions via email and he was more than willing to allow us a glimpse into his world. So let us get started. ML: Take us through a typical day working on a project. HC: Mike, there's never really a typical day. This week I'm spending more than an average amount of my time chasing the sometimes convoluted directives of my current and unusually difficult client. But still I imagine that this week I will, perhaps, come into the office at about 8 a.m., brew up a double espresso...maybe get an egg sandwich from the corner pizza place, check emails...quickly answer them and get to work designing...making the changes the client requested. Between 9 and 9:30 the rest of the crew will start to wander in, and I will check in with them...see how they are doing. This week I think, Ian is finishing up an animation as well as working with Matt wrapping the first phase of a big ad job. Homera is holding the shop together, as usual, managing every ones time and dealing with the clients, deadlines, and deliverables. Grant will probably spend the week helping me with the job I'm on and designing my new book, which is due out in the winter. At 11:30 most days, Homera and I will conference call with a client for a review of changes. Immediately thereafter we will meet and recap the new requests and Homera will put it all in writing and send it to the client for sign off. Often at this time I stop for a moment, get another espresso or a big thing of water and ask Homera what else I should be doing. She'll tell me maybe that I need to write a new chapter, review the editors changes on previous chapters, edit the new RollingStone.com video, answer an interview, design a print ad, and so on. Then, before I know it it's six thirty and I'm rushing out to grab a subway home. ML: As far as motion design is concerned, do you feel that with the inclusion of XML and PHP to Flash that it is making it more difficult to design in this field? Or is it simply helping to weed out those not dedicated enough to learn it? HC: Well, I guess I'm going to get weeded out...ha ha. Luckily there's talented people out there that can understand and speak XML, actionscript, etc.,, way better than I can who are a pleasure to work with. I'm a concept person...focused on the visual and functional communication and experience, that's what I do best...fortunately I have experience with programming language, in my case Lingo back in the day, so I understand the logic enough to effectively direct. ML: As a designer, should you attempt to learn everything (ASP, PHP, XML, etc), or do you believe in the "Jack of all trades, master of one" approach? HC: You have to take a shot at it everything, find out what you are best at...happiest doing, and do it, but it's so valuable to at least take a class in an area or technology that confounds you, or pound your way through it in a project, just so you can start to understand possibilities. ML: You're very well know for your use of motion graphics and visual emotion. Is there an particular reason that you chose not to create your own site in full flash? HC: Yes. We do a lot of different design for a lot of different mediums, so we have a lot of different people, potential clients, visiting our site. Some, perhaps, are looking for site design, some for Flash, some for print or broadcast...so my aim was to find the simplest, most functional and intuitive way to present our varied services. Believe it or not I first designed the site, almost to completion, in Flash 5...but ultimately it wasn't speaking to me. It didn't feel like an appropriate reflection of our company at this time...for example, I first designed the site using rollovers for the global nav, then realized that those rollovers were hiding information, not helping the user find information, so I came up with a very simple solution, I would display both the global nav element along with the subnav elements, so in a way the navigation system works both as that and a table of contents for those visiting for the first time...it didn't require Flash or Java, so that kind of started me down the path that lead us to our ultimate design. ML: What's in your toolbox now for creating a high impact site? HC: The design work of my peers and those who came before me. Those are my tools...I know that sounds damn pretentious, but I just don't care. For me, having new inspiration is elemental, and without it I would be lost. That said, I know you want to know what actual software we're using or excited about, and we're using Dreamweaver, Photoshop/ImageReady, Fireworks, of course Flash, LiveMotion...but what is getting me very excited are the new tools for the design and production of streaming video. I love firewire and DV...I want to get better and better at designing with DV. ML: We've all heard designers say that they receive a lot of inspiration from nature and their immediate surroundings. Where do you go or what do you do when that design slump hits? HC: Beat myself up usually...ha ha. Seriously, I can convince myself that the work I'm doing has no value...and do so often. Then something or somebody comes along and makes me stop. It's usually some form of art. A poem from Dennis Johnson read to me from my wife, watching Annie Hall for the hundredth time, or the Graduate, or Five easy Pieces, going to a book store, getting scared out of my mind by some new amazing web site or streaming video...that sort of thing pulls me out of it and reminds me of how fortunate I am to be involved in creative work. ML: What are your feelings about the large layoffs and the slump in the industry? HC: I'm saddened for those who have been hit hard by it, but I stopped obsessing on it long ago...I do wonder how much further it will go, where will it lead us, how will it continue to change our lives. ML: We know that you've contracted work out to agencies such as Razorfish, have you ever done so with individual freelance designers? If so, what's been your experience? HC: Actually it's the other way around...Razorfish has contracted work out to us, we have referred jobs to them and other agencies, but we stay away from contracting work out to freelancers or other studios simply because we have little to gain. We live and die by the quality of our work and we have stayed deliberately small so that we can stay focused on design, not management. ML: What are your personal Do's and Don'ts for those interested in motion graphics design? HC: Find the theme of the spot and design for that theme...let the theme help you make your design decisions. I talk about this in my new book. It's all about finding the single message and keeping "wow" stuff out of it's way. Which is harder than it sounds and something I struggle with every day. ML: Once again, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give us this interview. Take care. HC: My pleasure. copyright © 2002 ebiznet99.com |