Interview with Sarah Sturgeon [ssturgeo]

Sarah Sturgeon [ssturgeo]

MULTIMEDIA

What is your specialty in multimedia?

My specialty is in Web Design, mainly focusing on front-end development.

Do you have a website or blog where we can see something of your work?

Yes, http://www.sarahsturgeon.com/portfolio.

What has been your career path? How have you arrived to the point where you are? What did you do before?

I graduated from Ashland University in 2008 with a degree in Commercial Art with a concentration in Interactive Media. I then worked at Alcoa for one year as a web developer for alcoa.com. Since then I have been picking up some freelance work, including some Flash projects for Heinz/Sysco.

How did your interest in multimedia technology begin?

I always have had an interest in art and graphic design, and a the choice of a multimedia career evolved from that. I like how the interactive elements of a multimedia project allow for even more opportunities to be creative with the user experience. It is still a relatively new field, so I think that there is still room for a lot of growth and innovation, as opposed to other design fields that have been around much longer.

Please provide a brief description of the hardware and software you currently use most.

I am comfortable with both Mac and PC as far as computer hardware goes. As for software, I am most experienced in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Visual Studio, Homesite 5, and Interwoven Teamsite.

What parts of your work are the ones you enjoy most and least?

I enjoy the creative aspect, and I enjoy the satisfaction of figuring out how to do something new.

I would have to say that my least favorite part would be being stuck inside staring at a screen for long periods of time. But I am sure that bothers everybody sometimes.

Technology and art - a collison of the left and right brain?

I agree, I believe that one needs to have a little bit of both for my field. This is partly why I like the Web Design field. I think I tend to be more of a right-brained person, but I like that it forces me to exercise the other side of my brain also!

How do you learn new techniques? Manuals? Tutorials? Trial and error?

I always have to learn by doing, and used to never feel like I got much from manuals. But I have been using books more often lately. If the book explains things clearly and in a visual way, I find it helpful to work through it as I read and do the tutorials.

What new technologies are you experimenting with now?

Right now I am working a familiarizing myself with with Wordpress and some basic back-end development such as SQL. I am also trying to learn how to do some more advanced things with Actionscript 3.

Does it irk you when something new makes what you've already learned obsolete?

Not really, because it is part of the job. Technology is always going to be advancing and there are always going to be new things to learn. If you don't like learning new things you should probably pick a different field.

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Sarah Sturgeon [ssturgeo]
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