- Do you think mobile devises such as the iPhone & iPad will effect how you design websites?

It is an interesting question, because when you discuss desktops/notebooks, bandwidth is increasing, baseline monitor resolution is improving, and coding languages and standards are allowing many cool effects. (Namely transparent PNGs, CSS and a host of others.) So I see the desktop/notebook ‘sphere allowing us to create beautiful, sophisticated, designs within a valid framework.

But on the other hand, I see the handheld arena growing and becoming extremely important.

Not for every vertical, but for many. But designing for the iPhone gives flashback…

flashbacks to 1993 when we had no bandwidth, no resolution, and had to optimize everything to a single palette. (Do some of you remember the standard gray background?) Not quite as restrictive, but reminisant of those early days.

So the short answer is yes… and no. My standard designs will continue to take advantage of the technology platforms available, but many sites will need a little brother that packs in all the content, ease of use, and speed… just in a smaller package.

- Do you think the benefits of having a full flash website stand up against HTML and it’s obvious SEO benefits?

This is a discussion I get into often with clients and friends. I will first assume those reading this understand the intrinsic pros and cons to each format.

That said, I think you need to ask examine the following first:
• What are the goals for my website?
• What is my core user group expecting when they visit my site?

I’ll use my site as an example, www.markus-id.com. It is a full Flash site, and my decision to go this route was very deliberate. I decided the cost of SEO optimization is acceptable because Flash I wanted to create a site that provided a more immersive and graphical experience that integrated video seamlessly. My site is a destination visited by people that get the address by word of mouth and personal referrals. For that reason SEO is not critical for me. And finally, as a designer, the people visiting my site already have an expectation that my site will be rich with rich media, and other content. I also find the font control to be very important.

On the other had, I just talked a client out of using a full Flash site in lieu of a CSS/XHTML site design. It is a start-up retail website trying to increase market share and eventually dominate a particular vertical. SEO is critical, and the user group probably wouldn’t appreciate the nuances of a full Flash site. The flexible format, and ease of updating the CSS/XHTML site is also very appealing. Most importantly, SEO is a critical component of their success.

While the answer depends on the nature of your business, goals, and core user group, I still think SEO is critical to the success of real companies competing for business today. You want your site to do some heavy-lifting, everyday to stay ahead of the pack, and you can’t do that without an aggressive SEO strategy.

I think SEO does trump what Flash has to offer if your business is in it to win.

- If you could meet someone living or dead, who would it be and why?

Winston Churchill. Savior of the free world as we know it.

- Do you have any favoured projects from the portfolio?

• Currently I like the University of Arizona CEAO website. Massive project, tons of content, but very usable and easy to look at. http://www.ceao.arizona.edu/

• I also like the Motto productions site very much. For it’s simplicity and look.

• This one is pretty old, but I’m still proud of it. I designed the website for the Counting Crows and it won “Best of the Web” 2 years in a row.

• I have 3 very exciting projects going right now, so if you ask me this in 2 months I’ll point you to those then!

- If you didn’t become a designer, what would you have ended up doing?

I’d be an Air Force Pilot