Another email I get a lot is from people just getting started doing web design and/or using Flash. I usually tell people the same thing. Theres no secret or magic potion, it all boils down to effort and experimentation. Most of what you see in my work is self taught, as school didn't really cover Flash or any advanced web design or development at the time. I just spend a lot of time with my head in the books, hand on the mouse and surfing the boards at Ultrashock, DQS, and Kirupa The message boards are really useful to help understand different ways people approach a design/development task. That's a great source of education and a great place to get started! As for books, try looking into some of the books by Friends of Ed, O'reilly and Macromedia Press, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for and will have a reference to go back to as well. And any book by Colin Moock, is a must have, especially ActionScript for Flash MX, by Colin Moock!

To get going on your own though, the best advise I can give is to get your site going and make it reflect who you are and what you do. Get it listed on as many Web Design portals as possible, and optimize it well for search engines. So far every customer I've ever had have all called or emailed me. I haven't sought out any business on my own at all. Start by getting yourself a domain (www.YourSite.com) and make your site speak for itself and people will be beating down your door I guarantee it!
Experiment, don't be afraid to stretch the limits of what you already know can be done. Don't look to the web for inspiration or else you'll end up looking like everyone else on the web. Look to external sources like TV, Movie Trailers, Commercials, CD-Rom presentations, people, traffic, photographs, cars, architecture, anything that inspires you that is not so saturated on the web already. Break the mold, think outside the box, stretch the limits, and every other buzz word/metaphor you can think of. Just don't follow the crowd, be original, and try new things. Don't just follow the tutorials you see on Flashkit or Ultrashock. Make something that people beg to know how you did it. Make something that evokes an emotion, good or bad, make them love it or hate it. Either way, just make your viewer feel SOMETHING!

That's the best advise I can give you. I hope you take it and make something badass!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 24th, 2005 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Crucial Limit, Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.