This is a post in Braintalk

Braintalk with Jason Reed - Web Designer

1. Hi , who are you and what do you do?

I’m Jason Reed, and I’m a freelance web designer/developer. I specialize in standards based XHTML/CSS/JavaScript front end web development. You can find my portfolio at http://www.jasonreedwebdesign.com. Here are some examples of my work:

2. Describe a typical day at work?

I start the day usually by checking my email, reading some RSS feeds and getting a gameplan together for the day. Being a freelancer, the rest of my day is spent doing a bunch of things- writing invoices, taking client calls, responding to email, etc. Occasionally I actually get to get some work in, as well.

One of these days I’m going to force myself to do all of my administrative stuff one day a week, and spend the rest of the week actually working.


3. What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love the blend of right/left brain thinking. I love design, working with type, and photography, but I also really love writing code as well. I love that I have a good variety of things I can do throughout the day, and that no one day is exactly like another.

I work from home, and I love being able to play any music I want at whatever volume I want. I also love having my two dogs sleeping at my feet while I work.


4. What do you like least about your job?

Being a freelancer and working from home, it sometimes feels like I never get out of the house! That, and spending time fixing IE6 issues.


5. What is your worst enemy of creativity?

Distractions, in the form of RSS feeds, phone calls, constant email, and IM.


6. What do you do when you start a new project and you have NO ideas?

I typically do three things-
1. Check out some design sites (like Sharebrain) to see what other people are up to. I am really hesitant to jump on trends, so I try to find things that work that not everyone is doing at the moment, or take existing ideas and push them in a new direction.
2. Put on some good music, get out a pen and a notepad, and sketch whatever comes to mind. I typically try to just create layouts at this stage.
3. If I still can’t come up with anything, I head outside and take a break. It’s amazing how often great ideas come to you when you’re in the shower, or on a walk around the block. Get outside and get some fresh air!

I’ve also taken to designing from the inside out. I forget exactly who came up with that idea first, but it’s a good one. Start from the guts and work out from there.


7. What inspires you the most?

In general, I think I’m inspired most by music, great typography, and photography. Inspiration is such a weird thing- it can be really hard to source sometimes.


8. Do you listen to music while working? And if “yes” what music do you listen to?

Absolutely- I couldn’t live without it. I try to fit stuff to match my mood, and my tastes are pretty eclectic. I will go from Elbow to My Bloody Valentine to Miles Davis in an afternoon.

That being said, there’s some obvious favorites: Radiohead, Wilco, Elbow, Doves, Spoon, Death Cab for Cutie, The Dears… the list could go on and on.


9. How do you deal with criticism?

Wow… good question. It really depends on the source. I have a few designers whose opinion I highly regard. If I ask them to critique some work for me, it typically means I’m stuck and need a nudge in the right direction. When I ask for their advice/criticism, I really listen to what they have to say. No one designer has all the answers, and it’s all too easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Most often, a five minute review with a fellow designer will give you a lot of ideas on how to improve your designs, so that is really important to me.

With client feedback, most of the time I’m looking for the root of the criticism. The hardest part of my job is interpreting client requests. If they ask for changes, you really need to know why they think things need to be changed. More often than not, you’ll find that there are better ways of achieving what they want.

That being said, it’s hard sometimes, especially when clients overlook the subtle things you really like about your work, but I remind myself that as much as I might like a particular design, nothing is every really perfect.


10. What does your workspace look like?
It’s always a bit of a mess. I keep ‘to do’ lists on stickies, along with the usual assortment of notes and whatnot. I also like to have my guitars nearby so I can grab one if I get stuck and need a break.



My gear is comprised of a Mac Pro, a couple Apple Cinema Displays, a Wacom tablet, and a Canon Rebel XTi.

Software-wise, I love CSSEdit, Coda, xScope and Photoshop. I can’t imagine how I ever got by without Firebug, either.

11. Do you remember the very first web-project in which you were involved?

Yes… it was back in late ‘96, and it was pretty terrible. I don’t think it had any “blink” tags but it may have had a few animated gifs.

12. Is there any advice you would give our readers?

Focus on doing one thing really well- don’t try to be everything to everyone. Don’t be afraid to tell your clients no, and don’t be afraid to not take work if it just doesn’t feel right.

Oh- if you’re a freelancer, get a good accountant and make sure you keep good track of your finances.

13. What has been the most fun project to work on so far?

I don’t know if I can choose just one. The best projects happen when clients give you freedom to do your best work, encourage you to take the time to get the little details right, and have the budget to match.


14. Imagine yourself in 15 years… what do you see yourself doing?

Still working in some capacity on the web, if I haven’t retired a millionaire yet. I love what I do, so I imagine that I’ll be developing ideas well past retirement.


15. Please tell us 3 people who we should do this Interview with (Why them?).

Scott Hansen - http://blog.iso50.com - A great designer and a great musician too. I’m jealous.

Other obvious choices (for me, at least) would be Shaun Inman, Cameron Moll, Dan Cederholm, Veerle Pieters, Khoi Vinh, Roger Johannson…


Jason, thank you very much for answering our questions.
So if you want to visit Jason and see more of his work you should do this now: jasonreedwebdesign.com

Oh and if you like good music, you really should listen to Jasons Band “Dreamachine“. And Jason: If you ever come to visit Germany - bring your guitar and lets jam