I did a small site for a band I was in when I was 16, it's probably somewhere on geocities. But I'm in no rush to find it. It was black with lots of blue centre aligned text.. oh and fire as well, lots of fire !!

  Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

Lived in Leeds (England) all my life, 20 years old. Play acoustic guitar, take pictures and design.

  What do you do for inspiration?

Talk with friends, talk with strangers, listen to music, watch people, read magazines, the usual stuff. Looking through old possessions is always a good source. I don't really go hunting for inspiration on the web.

  Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

www.showstudio.com - www.shift.jp.org - www.oculart.com

  What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Not going mad.

  What software couldn't you live without?

IE

  What projects do you have in the pipeline?

A nice site for part of the canal network up in Yorkshire (a local thing), and new collaborative type based site with my friends.

  What area of web design lacks the most?

Navigation. It can be creative, but I really need it on a plate sometimes, or I'll close the window.

  Who do you rate as being the top 3 design companies?

I like the work of Studio AKA for the animation design, Frog for the smooth plastic and Attik for the print. But I don't know enough about many other companies to say.

  What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

I don't actively publicise anything, but it gets around. The nice guys at linkdup.com always make sure I'm seen.

  Who is your target audience?

Anyone who doesn't really follow design fads and fashions. Mainly designers or anyone who enjoys photography.

  What did your very first site look like? Is it still online?

I did a small site for a band I was in when I was 16, it's probably somewhere on geocities. But I'm in no rush to find it. It was black with lots of blue centre aligned text.. oh and fire as well, lots of fire !!

  Have you written any books, if not do you plan to?

I've been asked, but I don't plan to write any. Some of my work is in books. Some of my photography for the 'homesweet' project will be published later this year, in a stunning new book by a team called phantom:research foundation.

  What was the toughest thing you ever did with Flash? How long did you spend on it? Is it still online?

I suppose my idea:canvas (meant to be a whole site relaunch) was really tough. I spent about 5 months making it, with full menu docking and stuff, and then was unhappy with the gross amount of gimmicks I'd thrown in. I kinda had to rethink what the hell I was doing any of it for, when all I needed was something like my current site. I put it up anyway on the current site as a project. I learnt a lesson from it: Don't go overboard.

  Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Certainly.

  How have you learned so many Flash/design skills and techniques and can you offer any advice for newbies?

Most of what I learnt is straight from the macromedia help files and macromedia.com online documentations. They have everything in there. Also were-here.com is a good place to find people with similar flash problems you might be having, you can learn together.

Design wise, I learn a lot from my friends at the Attik Huddersfield studio. For first time designers doing web stuff, I would really recommend contact with some good print designers. They're the toughest guys to please, and you know they are right. Everything has to be right.

  What type of overcoat do you wear when Flashing, basically are you a labels man?

Not really. Going through a crazy shoes experience at the moment.

  Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

Do the right thing, or the wrong thing. Whichever is best.

  It's been a privilege, Nic, thanks very much.

Thanks, take it easy.