..I can work on it till I drop from exhaustion on my computer or when my girlfriend gets crazy and threats to destroy my G5.

  Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

Pierre-Francois Hagege I’m 26. For the time being I’m working for Wcube (Interactive communication agency in Paris).

Before that I worked at Strategik & Numerik an Healthcare communication agency for 2 years and focused mainly on Botox. And before that… I want to forget it.

  What do you do for inspiration?

Looking at websites, reading books, brainstorming (/drinking) with all the team or listening to music very loud (by the way, thanks Martin for being so patient with that).

  Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

http://www.thefwa.com

http://www.google.fr/

http://www.fcukstar.com/

  What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Always the next thing I’ve got to do.

  What software couldn't you live without?

Photoshop and OsX.

  What projects do you have in the pipeline?

The new version of Lee jeans Europe (online now), and many more but you know I can’t tell ;)

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

www.apple.com, www.hi-res.net and www.northkingdom.com

  What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

I‘m not really sure that design really increases traffic, but don’t ever tell my boss about it!

  Who is your target audience?

It really depends of the projects but mostly a teenage and young adult audience.

  What area of web design lacks the most?

Everything but pop-up bans.

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

Oh, top and left frame with a black background and scrollbars everywhere, a kind of “blog” but I’m glad and proud to announce: it’s offline now!!!

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

No book for the moment but maybe one day if I got some time to spend on it.

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

For me each new project is a new flash challenge.

But to answer the question I can work on it till I drop from exhaustion on my computer or when my girlfriend gets crazy and threats to destroy my G5.

  Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Now everybody uses it for playing video:

http://www.youtube.com

http://www.dailymotion.com

I’m very interested by ajax and dhtml tricks :

http://www.gucci.com/ is a good example for me of what you can do without flash.

I really think that all new technology will die one day (RIP Director), but who knows…

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

I think art school environment may be useful learning design bases (history, typography…).

But I’m tired of hearing “you’re coming from this or this school, you must be a great designer”

Talent is the most important. It’s not something you can learn; it’s not just theory. You've either got it or not.

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

Ideas first, and design after.

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

I’m learning something new each time. Maybe just be passionate, look at the others, ask questions and work hard everyday. Always feel like a newbie like I do! This is my best advice.

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

A clothes dryer ;) I prefer doing everything else but this.

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

Street and skate apparels. I‘m definitely a labels man.

  Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

A good designer likes cats and Pim’s (sort of cookie with marmalade)

  It's been a privilege, thanks very much.

Oh man, if someone told me, I will answer to you one day… It was my pleasure and sorry for being late (as usual).