If I were considering someone for a job it would be purely based on their portfolio, previous work history, and personality. Formal education would be my last consideration.

  Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

I was born in Rota, Spain in 1982. Growing up I lived in New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, and Japan until our family eventually settled in Charleston, SC.

In 2002 I dropped out of college at NC State to move to Los Angeles for a job at 65 Media. I had the pleasure of working with some very talented folks and learned a lot about the industry.

During my time there I met my good friend and now business partner Matt Cooper.

Last year Matt and I started Neoganda - we make Websites for movies and entertainment-related brands.

  What do you do for inspiration?

Lately, sleep deprivation. Lots of it. Otherwise: books, magazines, and movies — especially cheesey action flicks.

  Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

TheFWA.com

google.com

ESPN.com

  What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Creating Neoganda with my buddy Matt.

  What software couldn't you live without?

iTunes, Photoshop, Flash, BBEdit, iChat and Outlook.

  What projects do you have in the pipeline?

We recently launched the Website for Oliver Stone's World Trade Center . The future is on a need to know basis

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

Odopod

Wieden+Kennedy

Crispen Porter + Bogusky

  What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

Never enough

  Who is your target audience?

Because most of our stuff is theatrical, it usually depends on the film. Generally speaking males age 18-36

  What area of web design lacks the most?

Depth. Depth to concepts and ideas mostly. The Philips Shave Everywhere site for example was a brilliant site built around a great concept. It was funny, engaging, and well crafted both visually and technically.

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

It was horrible and thank God it's not online anymore. It was a Geocities site with lots of bevels and an animated GIF of an envelope flying into a spinning 3D mailbox. Unfortunately, not much has changed.

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

My attention is way too short to write any books. I'll leave that to the pros.

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

Over the course of a month I built 18 e-cards which pulled peoples' photos, music, and videos from a database and displayed them in Flash.

It had to work with some proprietary server software. It was also the first thing I ever really did in Flash. I don't think the studio I did them for is still in business - hopefully it wasn't because of me. Sorry about that.

  Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Absolutely. I'm interested in seeing how Adobe integrates it with their software suite. Hopefully they'll be able to streamline the process between going from Photoshop and After Effects to Flash.

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

If I were considering someone for a job it would be purely based on their portfolio, previous work history, and personality. Formal education would be my last consideration.

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

Networking. By the time we started Neoganda we had planted enough seeds earlier in our careers to get our feet in the door at studios we wanted to work with.

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

Lots of late nights and gallons of Diet Coke.

For me, the best method was diving into an application and exploring every menu option, shortcut key, etc. until I felt comfortable enough to build something on my own.

Also, the wealth of information available on the internet (through forums, tutorials, and source files) is invaluable.

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

I picked a pretty boring week to answer this interview - probably take-out dinner at P.F. Chang's.

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

Here at the office it's pretty casual. My usual attire is a white T, jeans, and a trusty pair of Adidas.

  Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

I think someone may have shit on or around the coats area...

  It's been a privilege, thanks very much.

Likewise.