Keep it real. Reeeal simple and clean.

  Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

I was born and raised in Skelleftea, a small town in the north of Sweden. Studied music in high school and university, but decided to change direction somewhere along the way.

I started my professional career in Boston doing flash animations for EF education, spent 2.5 years working at Paregos in Sweden, lived in Malaysia for a year before moving to Vancouver and starting a job as an Art Director for Blast Radius.

I've been with Blast for almost 3 years and in three locations; Vancouver, Toronto, and San Francisco, which is where I'm currently residing.

I've spent the last couple of years working with the Jordan Brand on the digital side of things.

  What do you do for inspiration?

I find inspiration in all kinds of things around me, could be music, movies, magazines, people, experiences etc. I get most inspired when I'm surprised, when I don't have any expectations.

  Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

Alright. here it goes:

pandora.com (became a fan very recently)

video.google.com (these guys sure make good internet!!)

thefwa.com (the new site is awesome!)

  What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Making a living out of something that I love to do!

  What software couldn't you live without?

Hm. Tough one. I'd say I could probably live without them all, but they sure do make my life easier.

  What projects do you have in the pipeline?

CD cover / website for a Malaysian Music Artist. Digial campaign for Derek Jeter's new Jordan Shoe... and a long overdue vacation in a tropical country!

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

Not sure if these are the top 3 design companies out there, but they're some of my favourites.

northkingdom.com (the guys that made paregos what it once was)

psyop.tv (motion graphics at it's best)

theembassyvfx.com (wicked good 3d)

  What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

Last time I redesigned subdisc I noticed an increase in traffic when my hosting company sent me an email saying I'm using up too much bandwidth!

  Who is your target audience?

For subdisc it's anyone interested in the type of work that I do.

  What area of web design lacks the most?

Typography.

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

It was a site about drums called "the groove page"; unfortunately this site is not longer with us as it went down in a hard drive crash.

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

I have not, but I would love to do it one day.

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

Probably the redesign of jumpman23.com, I worked with a very talented flash programmer; Steve Bond.

We spent quite a bit of time on it, but due to a change on the client side we had to change direction very close to launch.

Challenging. but fun. It'll continue to grow and improve throughout the year.

  Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Definitely. But the whole "formerly macromedia" thing worries me!

  What are your views on design/graphic school. Do you think someone can get into the field without educational experience in a school environment?

Well, I did, so it's definitely possible.

But I think schools for design/graphics are getting better and as always it's up to the individual to make the most out of it.

  When your company was just getting started, what did you find was most effective for getting new clients?

Doing great work and being seen / recognized for it.

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

Trial and error. That's how I started and that's how I continue to learn new things.

I get an idea of what I want to do, and I don't stop until I've figured it out.

I've also been very fortunate to have worked with some extremely talented designers and flash programmers.

  What is the most expensive thing you've bought in the last week?

A PSP. Can't wait until they put a flash plug-in in it! I'll be all over that!

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

Casual. I have way too many "we" shirts and they usually go with dark brown jeans, and a fresh pair of Air force 1's, air max 90's, or Jordan 4's.

  Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

Keep it real. Reeeal simple and clean.

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

Thank you!