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Today WebM.ag is speaking with Mindy Wagner, Mindy works out of Viget as a Web Designer, her name is frequently mentioned as one of the top female Web Designers in the world and is a role model to up and coming designers and Mindy is definitely holding her own in the male dominated Web Industry.

WebM.ag: So Mindy, Tell our readers a little about yourself and what you do?
MW: I’m a web designer for Viget Labs. Prior to joining Viget I was Assistant Design Director at Syracuse University. I’ve been working professionally as a web designer for about a decade now.

WebM.ag: What would you say where the best and worse experiences of your career?
MW: Best – Heading south to join the Viget team. Viget has a great culture, great clients, and an amazingly talented and ambitious team.
I have so much fun at work!

Worst – Working at a software company that pushed everyone too hard and created an atmosphere where everyone was looking for a scapegoat.
It was one of my first jobs after college and I learned a hard lesson there… corporate culture is incredibly important. It’s tough to produce good work when you’re always worried about losing your job or
missing a ridiculous deadline.

WebM.ag: What are the biggest challenges you face as a designer?
MW: Keeping up with new technologies is always tough. I love to learn, but I’m always trying to strike a balance improving my design skills and improving my front-end dev and UX skills. Lately I’ve been working on my typography and illustration techniques. I would like to get back some of my art skills… my sketching has gone downhill tremendously since my old art class days!

WebM.ag: What are some of your favourite web apps and why?
MW: I use Basecamp, Campfire, and Twitter every day to keep up with coworkers and clients. Dropbox helps me keep files synced between work and home. I also absolutely love Flickr and Wordpress for personal stuff.

WebM.ag: Your name has been mentioned a number of times, and referred to you as an Inspirational female designer, how does that make you feel?
MW: Like a rockstar! Kidding. Definitely honored to be on the list among such great designers. Some people make a big deal out of those lists.
I see a lot of positive comments, but there are always a few saying women shouldn’t be singled out – a designer is a designer. While that’s true, the male/female ratio is still very lopsided in the web
design community. I got used to being outnumbered a long time ago, but I know some women are intimidated by what appears to be a boys club.
Reassurance that we’re out here holding our own can’t hurt.

WebM.ag: Where do you get your inspiration from?
MW: Everything. I subscribe to a few great blogs but I’ve limited how many I follow because everything starts to look the same after a while. I think part of being a designer is never being able to look at a cereal box, magazine, or landscape without relating it back to your design projects. It would be nice to have an off switch sometimes…

WebM.ag: Do you spend anytime during your week learning new skills in design?
MW: Definitely. I’m always trying to grow as a designer. Viget strongly encourages us to learn and expand our skills. The designers have a standing monthly meeting to discuss front-end dev techniques and a weekly meeting to critique each others’ work.

WebM.ag: What are you working on now?
MW: I’m working on a great project at the moment. It’s a large site with gorgeous photography and a lot of cool textures and colors to work with. The company has an inspiring mission. I love what they’re doing so I’m excited about helping them connect with more people. It reminds me that design can be really powerful.

WebM.ag: Did you study in college/university to help you get into this field? Do you feel having a design qualification is essential to being a designer?
MW: I got a degree in Electronic Media Art & Communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (emac.rpi.edu). I took classes in everything from computer science to screenwriting to 3d animation. The time spent exploring and experimenting was incredibly valuable. I’ll never get that kind of time for personal projects again. My degree definitely opened doors, but it wasn’t a traditional design program. I did a lot of catching up on topics like typography and color theory.

WebM.ag: What advice would you give to a newbie starting out in design?
MW: Practice constantly. Design is definitely a lifelong learning process.
Evaluate everything you see so you start to get a feel for what makes a good design so successful. Challenge yourself. Take on projects you’re afraid you can’t do and use it as motivation to learn new things.

WebM.ag: Tell us something about you that you haven’t mentioned in an
interview before?
MW: I come from a very small town in Upstate New York. There was no design scene or web community, and very few local designers to network with.
I never thought I’d get the chance to do work for big clients. And I certainly never thought I’d be getting interviewed!

WebM.ag: So what can we expect from you going into 2010 and beyond?
MW: My to-do list is crazy long. I’m looking forward to doing more great work for Viget, but hope to find some time for personal projects too.
My website is horribly outdated. I want to redesign it and start blogging there. And brainstorming fabric ideas for Spoonflower.com is my latest obsession. Someday I’ll have an Etsy shop…

Quick Fire

Music Of Choice? Indie
What are you reading? Waiting on the newest John Irving novel to get to my door.
IE6, love or hate? Hate, of course.
PC or MAC? MAC. I switched 3 years ago and cannot imagine going back.
Facebook or Twitter? Twitter. I’m too busy (lazy) to log in for updates.

A Big Thank You To Mindy

We would like to thank Mindy for taking time out to speak with us here at WebM.ag, you can contact Mindy through her site: mindywagner.net or through Twitter: @graphicsgirl

You can also speak to Mindy through Viget to discuss any possible projects, or simply to view the great work Viget are doing.

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