The one thing that is clear is talent shines through, educational experience or not.

  Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

40 years young. Married with two kids: Meg and Tom. Started Fingal in 1998 in earnest, now 45 people and turning over £5m+.

  What do you do for inspiration?

Read, write, watch films, read comics, browse the internet, listen and learn I hope.

  Please list 3 of your favourite sites

enjoygreenergrass.com - for gorgeous and quirky web design – gone but not forgotten

shilodesign.com - outstanding motion graphic portfolio

Audi R8 - shows where car sites are heading

  What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Winning the pitch for the new Rolls-Royce site and delivering both phases on time!

  What software couldn't you live without?

After Effects, Flash, Photoshop, Maya

  What projects do you have in the pipeline?

A new site for a major clothing brand site, the redesign of Honda’s global F1 portal and some interesting work for Philips.

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

Preloaded - Hi-res - Argonauten G2

  What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

Huge. Rolls-Royce’s site has seen traffic increase by more than 40% since relaunch. This is consistent with most of our projects. Fingal’s new site has seen traffic increase from about 1,000 unique visitors per month prior to more than 32,000 per month post-launch.

  Who is your target audience?

Fingal’s audience is potential members of our team and potential clients. Our client’s audiences change with every project.

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

It looked simple. And thankfully no, we have since redesigned it many times!

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

Not yet. When I get the time, I’d like to write some American crime fiction.

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

The Rolls-Royce site, it took more than three solid months of the whole team, and yes it is very much online (www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com)

  Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Yes

  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 like design schools, I like schooling in general. But recent degree shows have been a little predictable when compared to more conventional disciplines (print etc) which is perhaps indicative of new media’s relative youth.

The one thing that is clear is talent shines through, educational experience or not – you only have to look at the CVs I receive daily.

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

Passion and delivering on promises.

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

Practice, practice and ask too many questions.

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

My wife’s Christmas present

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

Sometimes. Comfort and style in equal measure. Belstaff.

  Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

It’s all about the team. If I had a biggest skill (some will say I don’t) it’s that I know talent when I see it. I am only as good as the people who work at Fingal, and – thankfully - they are bloody good.

  It's been a privilege, thanks very much.

No, thank you.