Steve Mullen Interview

I was recently contacted by a college student and asked to answer a few questions for a class project. I figured since I already had it typed up I would share it on my site. Enjoy.

What is your job title?

Web Designer, Front-End Developer & general Fighter of Ugly.

What is the name of your company?

My full time job is at Creative State. I occasionally do a few side jobs and I simply work under my own name.  

Why did you choose your career?

I have always enjoyed art in someway. When I was younger I would draw a lot, then a friend has a copy of Photoshop 4.0 and I was hooked. I made some terrible stuff back then but I was in love. I eventually grew enough in my skill to make a career out of it.

How do you spend most of your work day?

I work in an office, but it’s a pretty rad office, open floor plan, modern, no cubicles or smelly old people. We have Nerf basketball set up, when the brain needs a break. Each day is different. I wish I could say every day I work on amazing projects for super cool clients but that’s just not the case in the real world. Some days I come in and never even touch any design and just do a bunch of bug fixes or updates. Other days I will spend the whole day doing nothing but design. I like those days.

What so you enjoy most about your career?

The money, the women, the cars and the fame.

What are some drawbacks to your career?

That none of the above mentioned are true. This typically is not a career you choose just to make good money. It is tough to make a good living doing this type of work. You need to have a passion for the job or else you will burn out very quickly.

What education and/or training do you have?

I have an associates degree from a well accredited design program in this area. I did some research and talked to people in the industry and my degree carried more weight for getting jobs than a 4 year at another school. This may not be the case everywhere so look into the best options for getting work after school. I still would like to get my bachelors in the future.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

I don’t see much changing personally. I have a house, a wife and a baby so I am set in all of those areas. I hope to still be doing what I love and continue to improve my skill level. I really enjoy motion graphics and that is one area I would like to improve over the next 10 years.

What would you have done differently if you could change your career path?

Man, this is a tough one. I really enjoy what I do and have wondered before what I would do if I were not in the web industry. I would probably be doing something with video. I love mountain biking and it would be super cool to be able to shoot and edit mountain bike films for a living.

What tips would you give to a student who wants to have a similar career?

Make sure this is what you are passionate about. If you are not passionate in your work it will show and you will quickly burn out. Learn on your own time! School is a great start but there is so much more out there than school allows time for. Find some great websites and read them on a regular basis. This industry changes very quick and you need to be able to stay on top of you game or you will get left behind very quickly. Lastly, don’t try to be good at everything. Find something you like and become an expert at the one thing, then try to broaden your skills. If you try to learn everything at once you just end up being average at a lot of different things. Most companies are not looking for average.

What program(s) do you use/recommend for your career?

This is a lot of personal preference. I use Photoshop for design and I code my sites by hand in Coda. I would strongly recommend being able to code by hand.

Where did you get your education and/or training?

My Degree is from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. I had been using Photoshop for quite some time before I started college and was building some basic sites. After school, on the job training improved my skill 1000% in just the first year.

What is your greatest achievement in your career field?

Some people are big into awards, but I don’t ever seem to have time to keep up with what is out there. My personal website has been featured on many design related websites including smashingmagazine.com. Just working for a great company and working for some cool clients has been a big personal achievement. I am still relatively new in this industry and I view the position that I am in is a big achievement.

Who was your most notable customer?

As far as personal work goes I was contacted by E! (Entertainment Television) to do a design for a new morning show they were putting on the air. The design turned out great but unfortunately I don’t think the show lasted and the site is now offline.

Through my job I have worked on a lot of notable project from Garth Brooks to Darryl Worley and several country music labels. I am currently working on a design for the Tulsa State Fair that is going to be super cool.

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