Soooo…many of you have been oohing and aahing over my new blog! And I can say that without sounding conceited because I cannot take credit for the work. I hired collaborated with an amazingly brilliant and talented designer. Amy Drucker is a friend of mine whose writing and photography I have admired for a long time. When I was ready for a new, more sophisticated blog design, I knew that I wanted to hire her. She has an amazingly balanced and mature style coupled with an insane wealth of knowledge about all things technical.
She also happens to be one absolutely incredible, multi-talented woman. As soon as we began working on my blog, I knew I wanted to feature her in my Dozen Details series…mostly because I had at least a dozen random, nosy questions to ask her and wanted a good basis for doing so.
So without further ado, I give you Amy Drucker…
1)Have you always made your living in a creative field? Or has life taken you on multiple roads which ultimately led you to your current business?
Short of a few side turns the answer is yes. I’ve veered off the path a few times with diversions which have included owning a knitting shop and selling real estate. I’m learning though, that nothing else gives me the same satisfaction that I get from design work.
2) What led you to design and how did you get started?
As a child when asked what I was going to be when I grew up my stock answer was ‘an artist’. In college I studied photography but I doubted myself and thought I needed a more ‘marketable’ skill so I didn’t pursue it. Shortly after college I had an employer who recognized that I had an ability for designing printed materials and I quickly became the in-house designer for his firm. He was wonderfully supportive and actually scaled my job back by two days a week so that I could go back to school and study design. Eventually I left that job and went out on my own as a designer. At first I specialized in print projects with a lot of text and I think I was good at it because of a particular sensitivity I have—I am easily distracted and find too much information difficult to process. I used this to my advantage by organizing my designs so that they made sense to me, and developed a simple, straightforward style. A few years later when the internet became important I wanted to be able to offer the same type of design for the web. I took as many programming classes as I could and tried to stay true to my original vision of creating designs which showcase content rather than overshadow it.
3)Technology is changing so fast…How do you stay on top of all the changes and technological trends?
I don’t have to. My business functions in a niche. I don’t design websites with huge databases or lots of flash animation. I am not a programmer who needs to know the latest and greatest new language. I need to know my corner of technology and know it well. So that’s where I focus my energies. I keep up with trends in blog and small-business web design by spending a lot of time online and seeing what works and what doesn’t. I subscribe to the big blogs which discuss the topic and many obscure ones which do too. I think it’s much more important to be an expert in one area then to be only ‘kinda good’ in one hundred areas.
4)I would think that a certain amount of staying competitive comes from knowing what other designers are doing and seeing what other websites look and function like. How do you do stay unique to yourself and your style in the midst of “what everyone else is doing”?
Trends are important in that they can help inspire and introduce new ideas but I’m very careful not to get caught up in fads. (Come to think of it, I subscribe to that philosophy in my personal life as well.) For me design and function are inextricably intertwined. If it doesn’t work right or isn’t easy to navigate and the information isn’t easily accessible users won’t return and everyone loses. My form of design is driven by the content of the site and it’s ultimate purpose. Like when we designed your blog, Maegan. Your photographs are stunning and need to be the focus of the design. It would have been a big mistake to over-design your blog with too many colors or design elements which would have detracted from your content.
People come to me because they’ve seen my work and found it compelling in one way or another. If I lose sight of my own style, not only will I be selling out, but I truly believe it wouldn’t be good for my business.
5)You have two children. It must be hard to juggle your demands from work and home. What does your typical “work day” look like?
I don’t really have a typical work day. I get up early and work before everyone else is up. Then it’s breakfast, backpacks, notes and school bus (you know the drill). When that’s over I turn to toddler time. I try to have a few hours of scheduled child-free time at least three or four days a week. This past year that took the form of nursery school and a steady sitter one day a week for Quinn. I don’t work at home during those hours because I become too distracted by the dishes in the sink or the mess on Jake’s floor. Most days I take my computer to the library or the local coffee shop and work there. I also find that working in public helps me to feel connected to my community. I guess it’s like anything else when you are raising kids: nothing is predictable!
6)You are also a photographer and a quilter. How do you decide where to put your creative energies?
Being called a photographer by you is quite a compliment. Thank you.
My creative energy has a life of it’s own. I’ve learned in recent years that my chosen medium for artistic expression varies with my mood and just to go with it. I’m no less of an artist if I’m designing quilts than if I’m writing essays or taking pictures. Expression is healthy (and crucial to my well being) no matter what form it takes. And it was that realization which, more than anything, helped me get to a place where I began to feel comfortable calling myself an artist. Learning to come to terms with low output periods is something I struggle with. There’s an ebb and flow to creative production and riding it instead of fighting it is more productive for me.
7) Okay, let’s just take a quick inventory here: You are a mother, you run your own design business, your quilt, you sideline as a photographer, you read, you hang out with your friends, you spend time with your family…I simply cannot be the only one wondering…how do you keep it all in balance?
That’s easy—I don’t. Honestly, I’m not being cheeky here. I just don’t keep it all in balance. Something always has to give. If I’m engaged in a good book, I’m probably not taking any pictures. If I’m very busy with work, my house is almost certainly a mess. I go weeks without seeing friends and my sewing machine often goes without being turned on for months at a time. But I’m okay with it. There are only so many hours in a day (and maybe fewer for me since I am not of much use to anyone at night) and I’d rather not spend them being frustrated that I didn’t get everything done.
8 ) Can you tell us about the “Mothers” series you did on your blog in May? What was your primary purpose for the series and what, ultimately, sticks out as the greatest thing that came out of it?
9)You recently began a weekly self-portrait challenge on Flickr. Now granted, you are smokin’…but how do you get the courage to put yourself in front of your own camera each week?
(Blushing.) One of the things I love best about the creative community that we’re a part of in the blog/flickr world is how supportive it is. No one is judging. It’s a very safe place to explore and express. Photographing myself, even just for the few weeks I’ve been doing it, has been truly enlightening. So far, I’ve chosen to focus on images of myself which I like and, believe me, for every one of those, there are fifty more that I would never let you see. And that’s okay, because it’s a powerful thing to see what’s beautiful about yourself. In fact, it strikes me that this is the entire purpose of this particular group (52 weeks of BAM!). But I guess it’s important to tell you here that this is not a new issue for me. I’m forty-one and I’ve been coming to terms with aging for a few years now. I had to let go of wanting to look like I did when I was twenty and learn to embrace looking like I do now. Much to my surprise, having my second child (nine years after I had my first) was a huge part of that for me. I was so amazed by what my body had done that I started loving it. But I digress.
10) Any tips for someone looking to enter the field of design?
Skills. Get some. Develop them. And then learn some more. Lots of people have vision and talent, but that’s only half the battle of designing for a living. If you expected me to say ‘be true to your artistic vision’ I’m sorry, But the reality is that if you wish to make a living in a creative field you need to have a marketable skill. If you choose to keep your art as solely a creative expression — and I do this with photography — then my advice would be completely different.
11) Any future projects on the horizon that you’d like to share…whether it be in design, photography, quilting, etc..
Actually, not really. I don’t really like the way it feels to discuss projects before they are fully formed. It’s confining for me if they end up changing shape.
12) What does success look like to you?
I know the answer I’m supposed to give here has something to do with inner peace and self-satisfaction but truth be told I think career success includes an element of financial accomplishment as well. But I don’t view success as an all or nothing proposition. I think it’s possible to be successful in one area of life and not yet there in another. I do consider happiness a measure of success, however, and if I can enjoy my life while I’m walking my path I would absolutely feel that I had success right where I wanted it.
So, I know what you’re thinking…I have got to buy this lady a cup of coffee one day and really get to know her! Well, get in line…behind me!
But for now, you can find Amy at her blog or on Flickr. And if you’re interested in Amy’s design work, she has a sliding tab at the top of her blog with contact info. And if you’re wondering…yes, there is a big and beautiful Madeline Bea Photography website in design stages as we speak!
Thanks, Amy! You’re amazing!
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