Martin Hausman
mindindesign.comTell us a little bit about your background? My name is Martin Hausman, I'm 27 years old, born in the Czech Republic. I was put in an orphanage when I was 7 and came to Canada when I was 13. Although I was artistic since I was a kid, it wasn't until a couple of years after high school that I realized I wanted to do something with art, and what better way to go than Graphic Arts. I got into computers about 4.5 years ago, and it is my true passion.
Where are you from?I live in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, just outside of Toronto.
Design education:Digital Media Design Diploma from the International Academy of Design.
How is it running a web design company 'mindindesign.com' and a community/resource site 'noiz22.com'?Well like most people that work with computers, you're always working, your work is never done. Mindindesign is business, working with clients and meeting tough deadlines, it can be very stressful at times but it's all worth it in the end. Eventually I'd like to get my own team of designers and turn mindindesign into a bigger New Media company. Noiz22 is my hobby, it's where I have fun, even though I don't always have time to make updates or new tutorials, I try to squeeze it in whenever I can. It makes me happy that people can enjoy noiz22.com.
What software do you use to create your digital graphics?3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Flash MX, DreamWeaver MX, After FX, Illustrator, Swish.
What do you see in the future for Flash and Macromedia products?Macromedia is doing something right, they have an amazing line of products and they're setting the standards for the way we interact on the Internet. Flash is something that every web designer should know; it's a very powerful extension of ones artistic abilities and is only going to get better.
How do you find working with clients as opposed to personal work?Working with clients can be stressful at times, but it pays the bills so you suck it up and do what you got to do. A lot of times you're limited with your creativity and skill, but you have to give the client what they want because "word of mouth" is the best form of advertising. When it comes to my personal work, it's all about fun and creativity. Trying new styles, techniques and letting your imagination go free especially when the right tunes are pumping.
With broadband being a household service for almost every Internet user do you still think it is important to create websites that cater to dial-up users?I think that depends on the client and their target audience. If the client is targeting low end users and wants his/her site to work on dial up then I'll make it work on dial up. Otherwise "NO", especially when I'm creating personal work "broadband" all the way.
What do you know about Hawaii design/designers?I haven't had the pleasure of meeting any Hawaii designers yet, but I'm still young so there's still time. Although I've enjoyed pacdesco.com so I know there's good talent in Hawaii.
What inspires you?My biggest inspiration is music, I listen to a lot of Trance/Techno, and the music is what drives me. There's lots of very talented people out there to look up to, but most of my inspiration comes from within, believe in yourself do the best you can and have fun, the rest just falls into place.
What do you do besides art?I enjoy working out at the gym, sitting in front of a computer all day just destroys your body so I like to stay in shape and if I'm not creating art or working out at the gym then I like playing video games PC and Xbox. I also enjoy taking pictures/photography; I actually drive with my camera and take pictures everywhere. The new version of noiz22 will have a taste of my photography.
Do you think that Flash is cool or overused?Flash - Definitely cool, in fact amazing. Seeing sites like webagent007, nvidia-nzone or neostream just shows how awesome flash is, but there is a lot of crap out there as well.
Do you prefer technologically advanced sites or sites with simple but good design?I can appreciate both, I'm not a coder so I find it fascinating to see how programmers push their limits. I'm a visual and creative person so I always enjoy good design. There's so much crap on the net that it becomes refreshing when you come across a site that shows great design and skill.
Do you have any cool design tips?Be aware of your surroundings, everything around you can be used as a cool idea and pay attention to detail. Detail is very important it's what makes or breaks your design.
What are your bad personal and design habits?My personal bad habit is smoking cigarettes, I've tried to quit 4x and no luck. I would rather take a beating than have go through quitting smoking; it's definitely one of the hardest things. Bad design habits, I guess making things too busy. When I design and I'm really having fun designing a site, then I tend to get carried away, in the end I end up having to tone things down.
Do you think knowledge of actionscript is a must for all flash designers?If you want to create something good and worthwhile then yes, action scripting is a must. Or find someone that can do the coding for you, you make the art they do the code.
You've been running noiz22.com for a while now, have you ever encountered a firm that for some reason did not want you to feature their site?No, most of the time I get thank you emails for posting peoples sites, I like when people take the time to shoot me an email. Lots of times I get hate mail for not posting people's sites, I try to put quality sites on noiz22 and people get pissed when they submit crap and I don't post it.
Do you have any new projects coming up that you can tell us about?My new version of mindindesign.com v3 will be out end of January 2004 and then I'll start redesigning noiz22.com and I have lots of new ideas for the site, it'll be much more advanced.
Any advice for new graphic / web designers:Don't get discouraged, work hard and believe in yourself eventually you'll get what's coming your way.
Final comments:Just want to say Thank you to Marc and the Pacdesco team for giving me this opportunity. Thanks!
