Jon:
First I want to say I am a fan of your work. What got you into design and computers?

Shane:
I began playing with computers and programming when my parents bought me an Atari 1200XL it was basically the 2nd stage Atari system. It had a keyboard, mouse, but also a large format floppy drive and cartridges. There I played games and did programming at an early age. After a while I stopped because we couldn't afford anything better. Once I got to college I was over at a friends house. He had a computer with all these cool graphics programs and he was making fake drivers licenses, flyers, and all sorts of cool things. I was blown away. I had always drawn and sketched as a kid but this blew me away. The first project I did I scanned a picture of Arnold Schwarzeneggar and had some pictures taken and then digitally put me in the picture. From there I was hooked. I graduated college and figured out a way to start playing with computers. The rest is history.

Jon:
Did you study computers in school?

Shane:
Nope. I started out as an Aeronautical Science & Engineering major because all my teachers in High School told me I was good with math & science. Well it wasn't hard stuff but it was boring and so were the people. At the time I was playing football as well. At some point I took a Speech class and decided I wanted to be a sports caster like my cousin. So I changed my major to Rhetoric & Communications and a minor in German. Only in my last year of college did I start experimenting with computers. That was 1996.

Jon:
What would you say turned you on so much to computer design versus animation, graphic design and film making if that’s a true statement?

Shane:
With graphic design you get immediate satisfaction. You see things move and change at the click of a button or the movement of your mouse. Video production is quite hard because you make a change, then you must wait while you render out your sequence to see if you nailed the effect you wanted. It’s much more tedious and time consuming. It’s something I play with more and more as I get better with what I am currently working on. But it’s something that I knew I didn't have time to be really good at in a short time.

Jon:
Some people might say the opposite. It seems to me there are a lot more animators and filmmakers than web designers on your level. Which leads me to my next question...
What do you think of the web design world? How would you describe it to people and would you consider yourself part of it?

Shane:
The web design world is a fun place. The people who are legitimate are great people. When I say legitimate I mean people who have corporate experience and do this as a profession. The only negative thing about web design is a lot of people try and pick it up simply because some things in it are easy. This makes for a large dilution of talent. There are people out there who really have just a copy of Photoshop but call themselves designers. That gives the profession a bad name.

Jon:
It seems like computers have had that effect on a lot of forms of art.
What is the future of web design, do you see flash type sites you have been involved in becoming the norm, how much bigger do you see computers getting in society?

Shane:
Flash sites are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of things we are limited by simply because of bandwidth issues. Once broadband becomes a reality and people aren't viewing sites on 56k modems you will see another revolution occur. Flash is merely a bridge between those 2 worlds. Broadband/Dialup Once the need for that bridge is gone look for incredible things to happen. Computers will continue to grow. There is no limit to the things they can assist us in doing.

Jon:
Do you feel like computers are having a more positive effect or negative effect on our lives?

Shane:
Both. Much like the TV, computers serve many functions. They give us information. They help us do tasks. They monitor things. The positives are endless. But just like TV they serve as distractions to things and can overtake our lives. It’s just one more thing that people can become addicted to without a doubt. I think anything is like that - TV, computers, soda. Anything can be addictive and anything can be a negative influence if abused.

Jon:
Would you be surprised if in ten years everyone was walking around with watch-comps hooked up online and people barely watched TV anymore?

Shane:
10 years? No, but in 20 yes I could picture that. I often wish I had a computer chip in my head to monitor functions and things and handle my e-mail in my head as I was walking about my daily activities :)

Jon:
You could watch porn while you were at church with a chip sending signals to your brain.
It seems like our attitudes about fame are changing...fame used to be reserved to the people who got on TV, or got exposure through radio. Now people basically own their own media platforms, exposure is easier than before in many ways. What do you think of this newer type of fame and what kind of response have you received from the public?

Shane:
Although I have received a certain amount of fame for what I do and where I work it doesn't really get to me. Maybe it’s my personality but I think the fact that it is computer related makes it distant to me. I still come home everyday, hang out with my wife, workout at the gym, coach football, and do my normal routine. Nothing has really changed. So I don’t see an impact. If people were in my face I'm sure it would be much different. But answering 20-30 e-mails a day really doesn't bother me, nor jade me because it’s more just like pretend or something. As far as others go, I think it depends upon your personality. People look for attention all the time. Even before computers and new mediums. Some people wanted to be football stars. Others wanted to be the top salesmen in their company. These new methods of gaining notoriety are just one more way for people to find something to make their lives special. I think it obviously depends upon how you are gaining notoriety though. People just want to know they are liked in some way. As long as people aren't out killing people, I don’t really care what they do to get popularity :)

Jon:
Is there a destination for you, do you have a plan, where would you like to take all of this?

Shane:
I would like to own a cabin on a lake, stay at home and design all day and raise a family.

Jon:
Why is there not more intense design out there?

Shane:
There has to be a need first. Companies don’t need intense flash. It doesn't mean their products are better and it isn't guaranteed to increase sales. Until there is a need for such a thing it will remain pretty average in order to maintain the status quo. Rocking the boat isn't always the best thing for companies. As such most just take the middle ground.

Jon:
Very true. Lastly...
What advice technically or artistically would you give to someone who wants to become a web designer?

Shane:
There are a lot of talented people out there paving the way. Observe what they do. Learn the techniques. Do not copy their ideas but learn them so that you can create you own ideas. Work long hours. Do not sleep much. Last but not least. Love what you do and do it with a passion.

Jon:
Thanks Shane.