Soul Oyster & Etc.

My first full experience out of the country was an ease, not at all what I was warned to be expecting. It was a bit aggravating in some ways, slightly longer lines at the airport and faulty air conditioning, but worth the experience.

Jamaica is a world of beauty, that lies relaxed and assured of itself. It has depth, turmoil, strife, history and folklore. It is a paradise of white sandy beaches, crystal blue waters, emerald green rivers, and blue mountain ridgelines. It’s past is comprised of several countries over several centuries, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1494, 2 years after landing in America.

Today Jamaica is a complex mix of progress and old ways. It takes pride in its history while tourism builds around it. The old roads are still there, but now used as horse trails for tourists. The Great Houses are museums or trellises for vines, and pauses for bus tours.

But Jamaica has a distinct sense of self. It embraces its culture and invites you to be a part of it. It doesn’t try to hide the past, however painful it may be. Its because of that pain that they’ve created such unique and beautiful contributions to the world, most notably and most distinctive being Reggae music.

Posted at http://www.designinterviews.com/
03, 14th, 2007

JENN MARCELAIS of Souloyster.com

In my quest for excellent webdesign values I visit many designer websites. One that has impressed me, both in webdesign and in portfolio, is SoulOyster.com.

Jenn Marcelais is the owner of Soul Oyster Web Studios for Web Design, Web Development, Graphic & Flash Design, Internet & Web Marketing, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Have a look at Jenn’s website. I interviewed Jenn, happily the very first interview published on Design Interviews Blog.

How did you get into web design? “I was working as an office manager for a small company and the owner wanted a new website, but didn’t want to have to pay someone else to do it. Already having a background in Graphic Design, I picked up a book and taught myself html.”

You are doing a lot of Search Engine Optimization, is this a specialization for you? “I’ve been studying SEO techniques and website promotion for the last 6 years. In that time I’ve gained a lot of knowledge on what works and what doesn’t and developed that into an extensive program that gets results for my clients. Fromwhat I’ve learned about SEO plus being a web developer that knows how to code the back end of a site, the websites I construct are very optimized from the beginning and tend to rank well in search engines with little work required.”

Where do you get your art for your webpages? “I do all the design work myself. I like using lots of photographs and have subscriptions to a few stock photo agencies including PhotosToGo.com and IStockPhoto.com.”

What do you think will be the next big development in webpage design? “I think designing for smaller screens will make a resurgence with Apple’s IPhone. Plus Web 2.0 will just continue to grow and expand.”

Have you ever worked with website templates? “Yes, I’ve had a few clients purchase templates then had me customize it for them.”

What do you think about Flash technology? “I think Flash is great for expressing more emotion through your websites, plus giving it some life. But you should only use Flash in small doses or at least allow people to escape them if it’s a larger movie. It’s easy to overdo it and not realize your audience may just not care.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Flash? “SEO-wise, they’re a nightmare, plus they can weigh down the speed of your pages. Some visitors find them distracting. But they can give your users some pretty cool interaction with your site and create an overall experience for them.”

What are your sources of inspiration? “All over, from other websites to art, architecture, other graphics or even a single photograph.”

What was the toughest project or customer situation you’ve encountered? “When a customer doesn’t understand the process or has an unrealistic vision of what the internet is and how it works. I try to educate my clients as much as possible and point them in directions where they can find even more information and educatethemselves.”

What are your interests and dislikes in webpage design? “It’s a tough business. You have to constantly keep up on the latest trends and educate yourself. But it can be very rewarding and I like that my clients are so diverse. It keeps things interesting.”

Thankyou Jenn. It is always a pleasure to interview a designer with understanding and an eye for esthetics.

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Arthur Browning