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HeadWeight Design - Web and Print Design in Atlanta, GA

HeadWeightDesign

The name HeadWeight Design was borrowed from a friend I used to work with. She had a habit of referring to someone with an "overly healthy" ego as having a lot of head weight. I always thought it had a nice ring to it, and I happened to be reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged at the time. As a result, I was feeling extra ambitious and rather forgiving of an exaggerated ego. Eventually I asked her if I could use the phrase as the name for a design company I was daydreaming about. I don't actually believe she thought I was serious, and she said I was free to use it. Well, fast forward a couple of years, and here is this site and this company.

To make a short story shorter, the name is related to Ayn Rand's concept of a justifiably noble ego for the hardworking and intelligent. Thanks again Mamtha for letting me use it. =)

The current site design, of course, has nothing to do with the name itself. I wanted to communicate something about myself into the site; I was pushing for wit and a certain amount of edginess. The idea here is that HeadWeight Design is the treasure in a sea of sub par designers. The pun is, self explanatory.

About Me

I'm an artist by nature and a web designer by choice. The aspect of design that intrigues me most is the ability to grow something from the ground up. To go from a rough concept and mold and refine it into something that is not only visually stunning, but also communicates the concept is something few people have the ability to experience. I've only experienced this in one other situation, and that is when I create music. I play guitar, bass, and pretty much whatever else I can get my hands on. I am also no stranger to a recording console and have produced tracks for every band I've ever played in; some have even received air time. I think it's amazing how much the two disciplines have in common.

My goal is to be the best artist that I can, so I always strive to surround myself with people that can push me, and challenge what I create. Often opinions will differ, but I always try to look at their perspective objectively so I can understand why they feel the way they do. Do I ALWAYS follow everyone's advice... certainly not. I do, however, always learn from every opinion that is offered to me.

I'm looking for opportunities that will allow me to pursue my passions. I create simple and effective designs, and I am more concerned with the user experience and accessibility than I am with showing off what I can do in Photoshop. From what I've seen on the web, there are a lot of great designers in the market today; there are also a lot of hacks. I would recommend any of my clients or potential employers to do their research before making any decisions regarding who to work with. There is a lot to be said about the relationship between client/employer and the designer that most people never take into consideration. A good match between the two will ensure the work created will be that much more amazing and rewarding for both.

Skills

I am a designer and a front end developer. I usually create and revise in Photoshop and Illustrator, but also make use of GoLive, Fireworks, InDesign, and a multitude of audio editing programs when they are needed. For the most part, I use Dreamweaver to develop code. However, I want to be very clear, I do NOT use the design view, and the only significant advantage I see in using Dreamweaver at all is the auto-fill code function and integrated FTP. They are time savers. I am equally comfortable coding in a text editor, or in a server environment. The server I use for my personal projects is IIS. I would have no problems functioning in Apache, but IIS is where the bulk of my exposure lies.

I do not use tables unless it's for a calendar or a similar "table". I firmly believe the best approach for development is to keep everything separate. I use (X)HTML for content, CSS for style and display, DOM scripting for action and behaviors, and ASP for server side scripting, and I keep everything segregated. I've previously been required to make updates to sites that don't use this approach, and it requires exponentially more. Do it once, and do it right. Freelance client, or an employer, I have never worked with someone who wanted to pay me to do something more than once when it could have been done once correctly and permanently. Not all clients fully understand why the standards approach saves them money in the long run, but I don't mind explaining it to them.

I am also comfortable designing and developing for SEO and accessibility. If you follow the process I outlined in the previous paragraph, this job is already 50% done.

Design

The first step, and most critical, in my approach to designing any site is to sit down with the client and talk extensively. We usually talk about the site 50% of the time, and their business as a whole as well as their personal views on business in general for the remainder. I want to understand my clients very thoroughly. The more I can get into their head, the better our work is going to be. I will take notes, and that will function as my reference for the entire project.

Next, I will create rough drafts. I'll do this until I hit a nerve, and stumble on to something I feel is a winner. I'll then take that into Photoshop and play around with it until it's presentable to the client. I'll prepare three versions two will be similar with small variations on sizes, imagery, and fonts/colors, and maybe one will be an extreme (and sometimes abstract) variation on the theme. You never know when the client will like the "artsy" approach. I take those to the client and get their feedback, and at that point I make the revisions in Photoshop and go back for final approval. I repeat this step until the client is happy; it usually doesn't take more than one trip back.

At this point the hard part is done, I cut up my Photoshop file, and drop it into a CSS file, format the HTML, and connect the two. If any scripting needs to be done, I'll do that in this stage as well. Once the first stage is complete and 100% functional I go back to the client and make sure they don't want any last minute alterations. If not, I rinse and repeat until all the pages are done. I'll use ASP include files for repeating info like footers, text navigation, credits, and copyright info. That way, if anything small needs to be updated or modified, it's a one step process. Now the site is complete and the client is happy.