Right before we launched a site, we were done with the design but we were still working on the web development. I couldn’t sleep for 5 days… From then on, my client started to call and complain every 30 minutes till I finished it. It was a horrible nightmare.

Please give us a brief bio of yourself

My name is Ju Hwan, Lee and I am the current Art Director for Designfever, which is located in Soeul Korea.

What do you do for inspiration?

Reading books, watching movies, talking with friends.. I think doing all of these kinds of things inspire me.

Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

google: there is no searching site better than google.

www.goal.com: I am crazy about soccer.

www.gettyimages.com: The images motivate me. Checking out various images is really a good source of inspiration.

What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

I think I haven't achieved that yet.

What software could you not live without?

Well we use so many different software programs. When I first read this question, I thought that it would be the Photoshop. But thinking it over, it would have to be Firefox.

Whenever I come to work, the first thing I use is Firefox. After web surfing and checking e-mails, I open up Photoshop. I wouldn’t be able to live without Firefox.

What projects do you have in the pipeline?

We are working on the second version of http://www.harukainlove.jp/, which was nominated for a FWA award. Unfortunately we didn't win. Last version was to translate Korea to Japanese. The second version will be for Chinese. There are more tasks but I guess it is not the right time to reveal it.

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

tha.jp - tha. : by yugonakamura

psyop.tv : their creating ability is always so amazing.

http://www.ndc.co.jp/hara/ : I always learn something from Harakenya's knowledge.

What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

There are so many different ways to create a website. To me the most important thing is what visitors could experience from my website. I believe that some visitors might be inspired by my work.

Who is your target audience?

That would depend on my clients. Every different project has many different target audiences. :D

What area of web design lacks the most?

I think that is the dramatic expression skill for web creating.

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

I made one for my portfolio when I was a student. Well it is hard to explain what that one looked like. Sadly that is offline now.

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

I haven’t yet. But I have a plan to write one in the near future. I want to write about my experiences and knowledge about design.

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

Being an Art Director, personally I do not use flash, but I manage flasher. (I haven’t have chance to bring myself to work with Flash for a long time)

When we tried to visualize the time by using music, it was the most difficult part of working with flash since it was my first try working on 3D embodiment. I remember the time I spent so many days studying with my flashers, even though 3d embodiment is not that difficult these days. It used to be the flasher’s worst nightmare.

Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Of course I do. There is no better system to make an interactive web environment than 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?

I want to say, if you have a creative mind, “Of course you can!”

I majored the visual design in Korea. I feel like I was in hell. Except when learning creative skills and typography, I didn’t really learn various design skills from my school. I think sharing interests about design with friends was the way I studied design at that time.

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

No matter how small the project is, we always consider that design and preparation is crucial for this business. We keep in mind that having these professional minds is the most fundamental way to keep our clients and bring more clients.

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

If you see some nice art work, you should wonder why does it look nice. It will be really helpful for doing your art works such as drawing, Flash, creating websites.

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

I bought a big sporty bag. That is really big. I can put everything in it, books, clothes, and my laptop.

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

I love black half coat. I guess I am a labels man. But personally I don’t like the huge logos on it.

Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

Right before we launched a site, we were done with the design but we were still working on the web development. I couldn’t sleep for 5 days and had to wait to finish the web development. From then on, my client had started to call and complain every 30 minutes till I finish it. It was a horrible nightmare.

It has been a privilege, thanks very much.

Thank you for giving me this great opportunity.

designfever