Employee Spotlight: Phillip Davis
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002
This edition's spotlight is on Phillip Davis. Phillip is our resident designer. He has been with Dogwood for almost two years. He comes to us from the world of agency advertising and print design.
Q. How many years of experience do you have in print design?
A. 7 years experience.
Q. How does your print design experience help you when designing web sites?
A. My experience in print helps in web design in many ways. Like someone once told me design is design whether you're creating a milk carton layout or whether you're putting together a multipage/multifunction web site. Many design techniques and visual applications in print can be carried over into various areas of web design. Overall composition, I believe, is one of the most important aspects when considering how my experience in print design has helped in web design. Sometimes you have to sit back and look at the "big picture", see what catches your eye and where it takes you from there. Do all elements work together seamlessly to create a successful overall composition? It may be how the font design works with the photography or what colors invite a viewer to learn more about the subject matter. All components have to complement the overall design. I think that is so important especially in web design because the attention span for viewers is so short. Every page has to work to support the design of the entire site or the user may become confused as to what information they are suppose to gain from visiting your site.
Q. What was the biggest challenge you faced when you made the transition from print design to web design?
A. I think one of the biggest challenges in the transition from print to web was learning to have a good understanding of how a viewer sees a site, as opposed to how a viewer sees a print ad, how they navigate around and gain information there. Also, learning the new applications to physically create the sites and understanding how the html code makes things function sometimes could be challenging.
Q. How does the creative process differ between the two?
A. The creative process differs in web and print in several ways. Like I mentioned in question 2., the viewers attention span is short so with web design you have to make sure the information is easily available. So you really put a lot of thought into your home page. You want the user to be able to find everything they can or know where to find it just from the design of the front page. In print design a concept based off of an idea or a visual element can be the key to a successful ad. Whereas with the web the concept is viewer usability, how the information is organized to make the user's visit as informative as possible. Even with a brochure design you want the entire brochure to be consistent in the layout and you want the information to flow well, but basically you read it from the front to the back, in that order. With a web site you're navigating all over, so whichever page you're on you want to be able to find your way around to other sections effortlessly. That is the concept: how well the site is designed and organized to be visually appealing yet still deliver the information that the user wants to see.
With the web you have to think of how everything you create will be viewed on a computer monitor, and monitors come in various sizes and can display in different resolutions. You want text to be legible and your images to be crisp and clear. Although these techniques are also applicable in print, they are especially important in web design.
It was kind of interesting to think that everything I create has to fit the dimensions of a rectangular monitor. I call it "thinking back into the box", in sort of a physical manner as opposed to the aesthetic opposite approach that we were taught in school. In a way, it kind of limits what you can do. But on the flip side it can also open new areas of design that you wouldn't do in print. So I look at it as an opportunity rather than limitation.
Q. What do you like about working at Dogwood?
A. Dogwood has created an environment here to be creative. But not in just design but more so in technology and information. We are always encouraged to share and utilize our thoughts and ideas on the latest applications and technologies. I think our directors give us the opportunities to be directly involved with all aspects and areas of our projects. It's not like a (dare I say) "dictatorship" but we are welcome to give ideas and input even with client relations. It really is a "team" atmosphere. Everyone, in a sense, wears a different hat and has different responsibilities, so we are able to use an individual's talents with the rest of the team to reach goals to make the project as successful as possible. I think that's the beauty of what has been established here at Dogwood. Oh yeah, the people are kind of cool too.
Q. What are your interests outside of work?
A. Well I guess it's pretty obvious that I love design. I love music, various types of music, classical, jazz, gospel, and even dance/techno. I have a fondness for theatrical performance, choreography and dance.
I'm also a big sports fan. I love college football. The fall is my favorite time of the year. The excitement of a college game between two great teams is just awesome. There is something to be said about this type of entertainment that cannot be scripted, and you can never accurately predict the outcome.
I couldn't answer this question without mentioning my family, my wife and son. They are my most important activity outside of work.
Q. What web sites do you like to visit?
A. I kind of chuckled when I read this question. I think the Internet has really become a useful tool around each household that is online. I use the internet as my basic source for news and information. So naturally I visit a lot of news sites such as CNN.com and for local news I use al.com. Being a big sports fan, I often go to sports related sites as well like ESPN.com or CNNSI.com. When I want to buy a car I use the Internet, when I want to check the weather I will probably turn my computer on before I turn on the t.v.
When I need inspiration for a design I often go to sites that specialize in web design or graphic design, no particular sites, there are just so many, some better than others. Sometimes I will research ad agency's sites because they often post some of their work and it's neat to see what's "cutting edge" around the country. I also like to check out a site called Webmonkey.com which has lots of information for web development and design techniques for beginners and for the advanced developers. These are just a few of the sites I like a to visit.