I used to do some crazy hours. But not any more. Creativity cannot be squeezed out, it has to flow out on its own. If years have taught me anything, it is that if I want to be effective, I cannot be tired.

 Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

I've started my professional career in the mid 1990s, back when the web was an exciting novelty. It was a baptism of fire. I’ve fought Serbian establishment online, it made me realise the power and the value of the web very early on. 

Since my move to the UK in the late 1990s I attempted to create a 3D visualization for the Internet in 2000 and have worked at Engage, Kitcatt Nohr, TH_NK. Lately I'm trying my luck as 3DWWW.

What do you do for inspiration?

I take walk.

What's the longest you've ever stayed up working on a project?

I used to do some crazy hours. But not any more. Creativity cannot be squeezed out, it has to flow out on its own. If years have taught me anything, it is that if I want to be effective, I cannot be tired.

What software could you not live without?

Well, that is a tricky question. I think if there is a software which I could literally not live without, it must be Linux/FreeBSD Kernels. So much of our modern world is underpinned by them. If you were to remove them we would be teleported to the dark ages.

Thanks Linus and The FreeBSD Project for sharing.

In terms of software, is there anything new you have been playing with lately or that has impressed you?

I am continually amazed by Adobe Lightroom.

Who is your target audience?

Everyone. From students taking notes in classes and lectures, mates in the pub capturing that perl of gaff, businessman and reporters, to grannies wanting to capture the very first word of a grandchild.

What area of web design lacks the most?

Longevity. The Web is treated as a medium of a moment. Nearly everything on the web is ephemeral. And is treated as such. It is not designed to last.

The web is getting out of the web. Do you find that thinking in digital solutions alone hinders you? Do you feel the urge to solve the problem using all mediums necessary?

This is a great question. I think that disappearance of a boundary between physical and digital is probably the most significant thing happening today. I believe that it will have as profound effect on humanity as the web has had so far. If not more.

So yes, I do not only feel the urge, but I am very excited that I can now establish a digital interaction with a physical environment. The possibilities are staggering.

Looking 10 years in to the future, how far can websites go?

They can go as far as not being websites at all. They’ll be things.

Technology is progressing so fast, and providing we do not achieve singularity within by then, we are very likely to live in an environment which will be intelligent.

Today, it is possible to get a fully functioning, and actually quite powerful computer, for £15. A Raspberry PI. If we follow the current trend, in 10 years the same hardware would be as cheap as a paper clip. Then we would be able to start making every single thing intelligent. Computer will not be just this big thing sitting on your desk/lap/palm. Your bus stop will be a computer, as will be the bus, and sadly, most probably, the bus driver.

Websites will seep from our screens into our environment, and will be a part of our world as traffic signs and billboards are now. There will not be just a website for the bus timetable, the bus stop will be the website.

Devices will be “the website”

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

About 10 years ago, I was creating Flash UI to control the Blaxxun Contact VRML Plugin.  I worked on it for months. It was a great technological and creative challenge.

Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Sadly, no.

There is perhaps a shift in web use these days. We are seeing a decline in the purely experiential sites in flash with huge production efforts, to a relationship with clients based on tools and services, that many times have simples interfaces. How do you see that trend developing? Will Flash suffer?

I think the web is just in a technological transition from Flash into other technologies, and that what we see now is just a dip until new technologies are established. 

For a very long time, Flash was the only practical way of publishing on the web anything which was not a document. Now we have Flash which is on the way out, and HTML5 suite of technologies which are still in their infancy, and poorly supported.

But give it a little time, and when technological equilibrium is established, I think the purely experiential sites with huge production efforts (and budgets) will come back in anger.

If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring FWA award submitter, what advice would you give them?

All I could do is quote philosophy of the legendary Bruce Lee: “Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Embrace the technological limitations, do not fight against them. Trying to shoe-horn an idea into the technology will inevitably end up in a disappointment. Embrace the limitations and use them to your advantage.

What would be your ultimate vehicle to travel in?

ISS. With unlimited access to the Cupola module.

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

Play, experiment, and do not be afraid of what you don’t know.

How do you keep your finger on the pulse of the latest web trends?

I read (between the lines).

What country excites you the most in terms of innovation?

South Korea

There must be a project that you have always dreamed of doing, what is it?

Build my own ultralight airplane.

What are you excited about learning next and is there a long term challenge you are considering tackling?

WebGL is extremely interesting. It promises to be the panacea for the web. A utopia where the limitations of HTML no longer apply, and anything is possible.