pixels and digital bits

Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

about da*sey

Daisey Traynham is the buzz behind Firefly Multimedia, Inc. The wind beneath the firefly’s wings. She makes pixels glow…

She’s a veteran web designer and user interface developer who has done work for Motorola, Sharp, JBL, Roland, Oakley, Time Magazine…

Daisey telecommutes around the world from her cozy studio in Berlin, Germany.
Her main gig, with Art & Logic, keeps her on her toes with web standards, usability and compatibility. Her experience as a programmer helps steer the technical direction, while the artistic side keeps creativity and originality in the limelight.

Daisey is also a singer in the dynamic duo, Heavenly Noise and the up and coming Smile Rays. Along with her musical contributions, she is also responsible for websites, cd packaging and marketing/promotion materials.
My studio is your studio…
Design for your eyes and ears.

Sunday, June 18th, 2006

from crayons to pixels…

I consider myself lucky to have known since childhood what I wanted to be when I grew up. Granted, they didn’t have web designers back then… but I knew whatever it was, it was going to be colorful and visual and creative.Music and computers were omnipresent throughout my childhood. My parents were in a band, so since I can remember, there were always keyboards and speaker parts and cables and computer chips and guitars and dismantled rhythm units laying around - somewhat like a retirement home for anything musical and digital.

Being in the band led us to travel around the country in a motor home until I was 14. Because we were never in one place for more than a couple of weeks, my mother home-schooled me. If we were studying science, we’d go outside (in whatever town we were in) and find bugs and leaves and flowers. We would make big colorful poster-board charts mapping out the different types of clouds or even the strategically placed lines of the Periodic Table. History lessons always consisted of a trip to the local museum. We would check off states in our Atlas as we traveled through them studying their state flags, indigenous animals, landmarks, cities and cultures. She taught me everything in the most fascinating way. I had a hunger to learn because it was fun and it felt good.

Since she relied on imagination to make creative visuals for the subjects she taught me, one of the things that seemed to blanket over everything else… was arts & crafts.

I realized early that this was something I thoroughly enjoyed. It came natural. My mother nurtured this spark from day one and lavished me with art supplies. I’ve owned only a few dolls in my childhood… but I’ve had countless easels, marker sets, smocks, crayons, paints, pads of paper, etc. It was wonderful!

March 1st, 1982 — MTV had it’s “I want my MTV” video campaign. I was glued to the television not believing my eyes! THAT was it! At that point, I decided I was going to do whatever it took to go work for MTV.

I have yet to work for MTV, but only because my goals changed and I never truly pursued it specifically. As I bounced around in the graphic industry I would continuously find another facet that I hadn’t explored yet. Slowly but surely, I’m scratching them all off my to-do list. Who knows… one day music video production might just find its way back on my list. I hope so.

Years later, when I was 14, the “band” broke up.

Suddenly I found myself in a real school with real kids! With huge chalkboards and a library and an entire art department! I was so excited about bouncing ideas around with other kids… and having classes and a locker to call my own.

However, I’ll always wish I could have graduated from Mom’s University.

After high school, I had a barrage of jobs in various sign shops. I realize now that it was at that point when the technical and the creative split. There was the CAD software and the green pixilated monitor on one side of the shop, and the colorful vinyls and plastics, exacto blades and paints on the other side. Oddly enough, later in my life, the split between technical and creative actually caused me some heartache. We’ll get to that in another article because there’s a lot to be said about the “great divide”.

Years later, I was being more and more drawn to computer graphics. In the early 90’s I got my first computer and started laying out logos, brochures, and the obligatory posters, flyers and business cards for every person I knew. I found myself pulling in enough work to survive, so that’s what I did for about a year.

Back to school. I signed up for whatever art and computer classes were available at the community college hoping to be “taken to the next level.” On the first day of my pre-requisite computer class, I found myself sitting there in disgruntled disbelief. I was being told that my mouse was a mouse and my monitor was a monitor and this little square thing, this is called a floppy disk. Class… can we say floppy disk?

You’re kidding, right?

Unfortunately, he wasn’t kidding.

So I quit school and got a job as editorial designer/illustrator for a local alternative magazine. One of the sections I laid out and pasted up weekly was the classifieds. I saw more and more ads related to computer programming and web design. By this point, I had done a couple of HTML sites for people and even had one of my own (everything centered with blue lines around all of my linked images) so I wanted to know more. The book store became my best friend. For me, a hot date on a Friday night meant my boyfriend and I geeking out in the computer section of Barnes ‘n’ Nobles. It was true love.

In fact, my first official web design job was working with Matt. We learned together, pushing each other to learn more. We were both contractors for a computer consulting agency; sometimes working on projects together, sometimes not. This was a great way to get experience because each separate project was a little universe onto itself. Coming out of a completed project meant you were updating your resume with all of the new technologies you’ve mastered along the way.

Being a people person, I was eventually drawn to positions where I could lead and direct web design studios. I wanted to take what my mom taught me and apply it to my job. Beyond imaginative brainstorming, organizing and keeping schedules on track, I was also the liaison between, what seemed like, extreme opposites. On one hand, was my fun and creative team in the back room with the black lights and music blaring. On the other hand, were the suit and tie corporate officers who just wanted it all done on schedule and under budget. I was the mediator.

Creative people are a strange breed. Sometimes inspiration for a great idea will come flying out of nowhere. Maybe the syrup on your pancakes this morning made a shape that would make a great navigation system. Or while sitting around flipping through magazines you might see a shape or a color that completely changes your mood. Or sometimes, the answers will come to you in your dreams.

Sometimes, I would take the whole team to lunch or to my art studio and line the tables with paper and crayons and markers and say “okay, draw what this project tastes like to you, close your eyes and just taste it.” In the beginning, while holding back their instinctive chuckles, my team thought I had a few screws loose; but they soon came to understand I was trying to open their minds, encouraging them to color outside the lines and to be free. A couple of invigorating and extremely productive days later, we would come back to the office with dozens of designs taped to the wall for the CEO to choose from.

It never failed; they would always choose at least one solid layout.

Viva la dot-com craze! It was fun while it lasted, that’s for sure! The long hours, the promises, buzzing around high on life (and carafes of coffee) with visions of stock options and early retirement, fame and fortune. I’ve built up several amazing companies, only to see them fold before my very eyes. It was heart-breaking, but it was worth the experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

A year ago, I found a wonderful gig telecommuting for an international software engineering company that’s been around for over 10 years. I was looking for freedom and stability; and I found it. I have a “virtual” office that I log into every day and I have about 50 co-workers that I’ve never met face to face. From one extreme to the other: office hours to no hours, neon lights to candle light… from crayons to pixels.

I have many experiences that I would love to share. Stories that might make your next project a little easier, or ideas that might help you present your designs in a way that the calculator toting business men will understand… and agree with. I hope to share my experiences in hopes of not only documenting them, but also to share a piece of myself with others in the web design community.

We’re all in this together.

We’re all here to learn from one another.

We’re all web designers because it’s what we love to do.

Sunday, June 18th, 2006

the 12-step commute

The alarm clock would go off…

Every morning I would lay there hoping something amazing would happen to save me from having to go through it all over again a short 24 hours later.

I never was a morning person. Mom said, as a baby, I used to sleep until noon.

Come to think of it, I never was a neon light person, or a pantyhose power suit person, or a cubicle person. And I certainly wasn’t a rush hour traffic person.

After my last dot.com layoff, I took a one month sabbatical to cleanse my mind, spirit and body… I would lay around in my backyard soaking up the natural sunlight my skin had been deprived of all summer - while working indoors only one block from the beach.

Then I came across an ad on a job search site:

Work from home - All work is performed in a 100% telecommuting WAN environment allowing you to live anywhere in either the U.S. or Canada.

Really? Could such a job exist?

I sent my resume (several times actually, along with emails consisting of my ramblings about the parallels between music and programming.) For some reason, I wasn’t taking the standard approach I always had when it came to pursuing a job. It’s almost as if something in me had snapped and I realized life is too short to go around playing corporate games. I was in search of a work environment that would allow me to be myself.

The interview went great and I started 2 weeks later.

When I first logged into my office (a collaboration server) I was greeted by welcome emails from the 50 employees already enjoying this telecommuting lifestyle. I poked around the application and found my mailbox, project folders, discussion groups, and conference folders with tips and code snippets. I felt as if I was wandering the school halls during class, quietly peeking into each of the windows as I passed by each room.

There are literally hundreds of folders with messages buzzing around. Some messages are lengthy, filled with technical specs and details, while others are one-line responses or links to related articles and tutorials. There are discussions of family, music, art, movies and technology; just as you would have in a standard office environment. And when somebody in the company has a baby, all of the employees post messages of congratulations and cheer.

One of the beauties of working solely on a collaboration server: everything is documented. Every little comment, every little note, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time, is documented. Which means nothing is missed or lost or overlooked. Quite honestly, I’ve never felt so organized… and with such little effort. Imagine being able to do a search on something somebody said 3 months ago.

Another huge benefit is having access to other projects and how they were handled. There’s no better way to solve a problem than to see how others have successfully dealt with it in the past. And since there are 50 developers and designers, someone is bound to have the answer.

I recently checked out the website for a well-known product that I happen to really like. After filling my little shopping cart with enough natural health and beauty supplies to last a year, I decided to follow the employment link. After reading about the web developer position and falling in love with the idea of working for such a cool company, I sent my resume and yet another one of my eccentric emails.

After the first phone call, it was decided I was perfect for the job.

“Great! When can you move to North Carolina?”

Umm…

I explained the two reasons why that’s not an option.

1. My home and family are here.
2. I would never relocate for a position in the IT industry.

I’ve been laid off twice already.
Go ahead, call me bitter.

Today — a company can afford to relocate a full-time web developer
Tomorrow — the needs of the business or the economy changes, and then what?

No thanks.

So, I offered to work remotely. After all, it’s a perfectly feasible solution to a perfectly solvable situation. Even though they were looking for an in-house person to fill the job, they were curious about how it would work. I was asked to put together a detailed email about how it could work… if they were willing to try it.

It came down to the president of the company and the idea was shot down.

There’s something about having that warm body physically there in the office that companies just don’t want to let go of. Perhaps it’s because they want to see you working? Or maybe it’s so they can look over your shoulder and make sure it’s being done as they had asked? Or maybe the idea of telecommuting is impossible for some companies to accept because it’s just not the way business has been done in the past. Old school.

I think business models and organization charts need to progress right along with technology. The planet is a lot more connected now than it’s ever been, so why not take advantage of that? Save the overhead costs of having a brick and mortar office. Give the employees the freedom to work however and whenever it is that allows them to be most productive.

It’s been 5 years now since I unplugged my alarm clock and stuck it in a box in the closet. Five years have gone by where I work when I feel like working, sleep when I feel like sleeping, eat when I’m hungry. I’ve learned that I’m much more productive without the distraction of fax machines, fire drills and idle chit chat.

It’s been 5 years, and I see my co-workers once a year.

No neon lights, no pantyhose, no cubicles.

And the only rush hour traffic I deal with is when my dog is laying in the path of my 12-step commute.

Sunday, June 18th, 2006

51%

A couple years ago, while working for a start-up.com, I was asked a question that sent me on an inner journey.

If you had to be 51% of one thing and 49% of the other, how would you rate yourself as designer vs. programmer.

It was quite a struggle once told I had to make a decision. Years later, I’m curious how many others have faced this same challenge.

At first, I had a hard time understanding why I had to be one or the other.

Our company had been around for several months and it was time to “take it to the next level.” Overnight, we had grown from a tiny office with fold-out tables and cardboard boxes to an office space that later proved itself big enough to roller blade from one end to the other.

We had grown from 15 employees to over 150 including our own national sales reps, marketing department, advertising, back-end programmers, network admin, front-end designers, illustrators… suddenly we found ourselves answering the phone and saying “I’m not sure if we have a so-and-so here, let me transfer you to our directory.”

We weren’t a little family anymore.

But that was okay, because we were being kept busy with 401K seminars and strategy meetings. How can we broaden our market? What sets us apart from the competitors? What kind of image are we presenting to our customers?

It wasn’t long before the CEO sat us down and announced we were bringing in Ogilvy One to analyze and design our “look and feel”.

But we already have a “look and feel”

Within a week, our vacant cubicles were swarming with consultants. They were buzzing around papering the walls with sketches and printouts, talking about e-this and e-that and branding and site personality.

We realized quickly… these guys meant business.

Their creative director and I were paired off to assess my studio and the skill sets within. She and I sat at the white board and made 2 lists: designers and programmers.

For the most part, everyone shuffled nicely into one category or the other, with an occasional “he does both, but he really prefers programming.” Or vice versa.

Then she asked me.

Me? Oh, well I do both.

“No, Daisey, you have to choose one or the other. Are you a designer or a programmer?”

How could I possibly choose between two things I’m so equally interested in? I’ve been designing and creating visual art since I was a kid. A majority of my professional experience has been in the design industry, both online and print. I dream in colors and shapes, I taste in hues and alpha channels… So do I lean towards being a designer?

Yet programming has allowed me to fill a void that otherwise was left empty. It’s challenged me to think logically and analytically… there’s no greater feeling than being stuck on a technical speed bump for days. Then, finally you try something that couldn’t possibly work (what the heck, you’ve already tried everything else) You save it, refresh it and it works! Victory, at last! You float around the room on your digital cloud 9 feeling oh so on top of the world. So, does that mean I lean towards programming?

Finally, she explained her reasoning; mainly so she’d know what my role would be in the exploration and development stages over the next few months. I told her I would have to get back with her on that. I was stumped. Truly, stumped.

In the earlier days of graphic design, artists and designers were introduced and drawn to the visual programs: Quark, CAD, Photoshop, Corel, Illustrator, WordPerfect, PageMaker, etc. So naturally, they got their solid footing in design before they even thought about diving into the world of programming. But then, the more they explored the internet and its interactive possibilities, the more some of them realized how limited they were in their 2 dimensional “art” programs. They wanted more.

Visions of animations and mouseovers and pop-up windows became part of the designs, and the only way to bring those visions to life, was to jump in there and code it yourself. Even if you weren’t going to be the one doing the coding, you at least had to know what does and doesn’t work on the world wide web. As a user interface programmer, it’s a much smoother process when the designer knows how to optimize, slice and prepare images for the web. And as a back-end programmer, it’s nice to have clean and concise code to add your functionality to. So as a designer, it helps to know what the end product is going to be and how it’s going to be handled and further developed.

I feel a huge part of designing a website is piecing it together and holding its hand all the way until it’s entirely navigable within the browser. A web designer’s job doesn’t stop at Photoshop, just as a mother’s job doesn’t stop at giving birth.

The more projects I’ve worked on, the fuzzier that line gets between front-end and back-end. It seems front-end designers are expected to know much more than they were a couple of years ago… mainly because there are so many programs that do a lot of the grunt-work for you. (But of course, we all know we can’t rely on WYSIWIG alone.)

In fact, I’m hearing the title “User Interface Designer” in exchange for “Web Designer” these days. The term Graphic User Interface (GUI) captures not only the look and feel, but also the aesthetic functionality… the bells and whistles.

So how could one specifically say “I am one or the other” when both worlds are so intricately woven? I think a designer would be doing himself a grave injustice by not knowing what technical boundaries their designs must conform to.

Also, as a freelancer, it’s a huge bonus to be able to develop, not only aesthetically pleasing websites, but also fully functional interactive sites utilizing anything from database driven scheduling systems to secured shopping carts.

So what did I ever decide when asked the 51% question?

To this very day… I still can’t answer that.

Sunday, June 18th, 2006

myspace blog

da*sey on myspace!!

Tuesday, December 13th, 2005

published articles

From crayons to pixels…
Wow Web Designs - 2001

51%
Wow Web Designs - 2001

The 12-step Commute
Wow Web Designs - 2002

Optimize Your User Interface - The Compression Manifesto
Art & Logic Resources - 2003

Designing Web Interfaces for Handheld Devices
Art & Logic Resources - 2003

Automated Web Photo Galleries
Wow Web Designs - 2001