Interview: Brian K. McDaniel of bkmcdaddy Designs
March 4th, 2010 by Interview: Brian K. McDaniel of bkmcdaddy Designs
Two weeks ago, I wrote, We are Calling all Web Designers and Developers: We Want to Know the REAL You, an article where I requested designers and developers to nominate colleagues in the field for an informal interview conducted by myself. It is my contention that these interviews will not only give us great insight into the people behind the designs, but they will also help with networking, collaboration, and generally getting to know each other on a more personal level. This is our first interview to be shared with our viewers on Admix Web, and I am honored to say it is a great fellow designer who does so much for the design and development community. Enjoy this intriguing interview with the non-traditional, unconventional all around great guy, Brian K. McDaniel, of bkmacdaddy designs.
Thank you for taking the time for this Interview. Can you tell the viewers a little about yourself?
My pleasure. I’m honored to be asked. My life story so far could probably make an interesting book, but I’ll try to keep it succinct. I grew up in San Francisco, son of a Southern Baptist Pastor. Graduated high school in Honolulu, HI, after we moved there in the middle of my senior year, and started playing in nightclub bands. I am classically trained on the piano from age 7, so I turned those skills into keyboards and lead singing for the next 5+ years. I met my wife while on tour in Guam and we were married 8 months from the day we met. This year we’ll be celebrating our 21st anniversary! We moved back to San Francisco, had 3 kids over the next few years while I became an operations manager at a distribution center. In the late 90s I utilized my music skills to become an ordained Worship Pastor at a small church in the SF Bay Area, where I started teaching myself web design to create the church’s website. 6 years later I transitioned to full-time Pastor at one of the largest multi-cultural Baptist churches in the country, but after 5 years focused on growing that church my wife and I became disillusioned with organized religion, packed up everything and moved back to Hawaii, where we tried to make a new start. After 2 years of combining various freelance jobs with operations management at a wine distributor, we decided it was time to get back on the mainland, but weren’t ready to go back to the Bay Area. So we sold everything that we couldn’t fit into a 4′ x 6′ shipping crate and moved to Tallahassee, FL, sight unseen. This is when I transitioned into full-time freelance web and graphic design, and so far it has been a blast!
Do you consider yourself a web designer, web developer, or both?
I typically use the title “web designer” but I do a little bit of everything. I’m definitely more of a designer than a developer, but I very seldom outsource any development. I’m not one for titles or for joining in the debates of what they should mean. I just do what I do and strive to do it well.
Why Design as a career? What were your inspirations for that profession?
Well, as you can probably surmise from my bio, I am a bit of a nomad, geographically, spiritually, and philosophically. I am also a lover of creative expression and its mediums. When I came out of high school I had to make a choice between music or graphic design as a career, and I chose music because it is my deepest passion. But after awhile it became apparent that music was not going to pay the bills, and web design was. For me it still involves creative expression, so what’s better than getting paid to do something you love to do? I truly had no inspirations for the profession. I just started teaching myself how to do it out of curiosity and then necessity; I am completely self taught, and still learning all the time. I started teaching myself on Dreamweaver back in the mid-90s when I purchased my first home computer. Been learning ever since.
How many years have you been in the field, and how has the field changed during that time?
By the time this interview is over I’m going to feel so old! I started in the mid-90s creating websites in Macromedia Fireworks and Dreamweaver, using tables and HTML and all that fun stuff. 15+ years later and the field is always changing. The speed with which technology advances is a challenge to keep up with. Seems like I just got a firm grasp on CSS and XHTML and now I have to learn CSS3 and HTML5! It’s a lot of fun to learn the new stuff, though, and exciting to see all the things we can do now in comparison to the limitations we used to have.
Can you describe a day in the life of bkmacdaddy?
Every day but Sunday (my attempt at a day off) starts at 5am. After feeding the cat and getting my coffee started, I sit at my desk and go through emails, then RSS feeds, then Twitter and any other social media. After 1-2 hours of this I get the days projects started. Since I am a one-man studio, this can be any number of things, from coding email blasts, to writing proposals, to invoicing and accounting, to designing logos, to website design and building. This is, of course, interspersed with getting my kids off to school and on some days my wife to school as well (she’s getting her cosmetology license at Aveda Institute). Throughout the day I continue to check in with RSS feeds and Twitter because it helps me feel connected. Usually I’ll stop around noon or 1:00 and make myself something for lunch, which I’ll eat while watching ESPN Sportscenter or something of that nature. Then back to the desk, where I’ll continue until around 5:30 or 6, when my family eats dinner. If I am satisfied with where I have left off for the day, I’ll stop working and usually mess around on twitter for a bit, then recline to the sofa with my wife and kids, a glass of wine or a Bloody Caesar, and whatever’s on the DVR for that night. I usually go to sleep by 10 or 11, and then start it all over again!
What does your workspace look like?
We have a desk on one side of our living room, which I prefer because it keeps me connected to the rest of the family even when I’m working. I have two 24″ monitors side by side that I do everything on. I keep a notebook, a sketchbook, and usually some kind of beverage within reach at all times. My wife sits across from me where she works on her laptop, so we can face each other. She is a freelance photographer and artist, among other things, so usually we’re both sitting at the desk working away.
Would you define yourself as introverted or extroverted? How does that effect client relations?
I am definitely an introvert, but I have an extrovert side that comes out pretty easily in client situations. I guess all those years on stage in front of people help with that. I am very comfortable dealing with clients because I approach everything with an attitude of treating others the way I want to be treated. This works well for me.
If you could give a Shout Out to someone who has inspired you in your life, but may not know it, who what it be?
Probably the whole design community I am getting to know through social media and online interaction. Until recently I didn’t even know it existed, but I have grown in leaps and bounds since discovering others who share the same interests, skills, challenges, experiences and passions.
How do you balance your raw inspirations for a project, with the client’s sometimes bad ideas?
This has been a challenge for me, and I’ve even written about it on Freelance Folder. Ultimately I try to do everything I can to give the client what they want paired with my own advice, experience and inspiration. Seldom do I have to just suck it up and create “bad design”, but it has happened on occasion. In all cases I believe the client deserves to get what they want, since they are paying for it. I just believe it is part of my job to share with them my experience and ideas and reasoning before submitting to their requests.
What is your favorite type of design work? And, what has been your favorite project?
I really love designing and building websites. I thrive on the challenge of making everything I envision translate into a functioning website. My favorite project almost always is the one I just finished, so in this case it would be m2matiz and visitmog
m2matiz
visitmog
Explain the significance of your company name.
My initials are “BKM” so that’s the start of the name. Years ago someone made a joke about my last name (McDaniel) and called me the “Mack Daddy”, which I thought was funny and yet fitting in my aspirations as a designer – to be the “Mack Daddy of design” would mean to me that I was one of the top in my field. I still don’t believe I’m anywhere close to that aspiration, but I love the humor of the name and the goal it sets for me, as well as the curiosity it inspires in others who see it. I get asked about it often, and it’s fun to explain.
What design tools do you use? Which tools would you suggest to fellow designers/developers?
Adobe CS4 Master Suite for pretty much everything. I learned on Fireworks and Dreamweaver back when Macromedia first put them out, so I still use Fireworks for 80% of my design work, code websites in Dreamweaver (code view only – never liked WYSIWYG editors), and print work in either Photoshop, Illustrator and/or InDesign. I see these tools as the industry standards, but I really haven’t used much else so that would be all I could recommend.
Do you work better under pressure or do you need time to cultivate your ideas?
Both. I thrive on pressure and I am the type of person that never likes to stop in the middle of things. Combine that with my laid back attitude and high patience level and it really works well for pressure situations. But good ideas don’t always come immediately, so the cultivation aspect usually works well for me too. When I’m working against a tight deadline, the finished project tends to undergo a metamorphosis along the way anyway, so I think it lends to cultivation while still pushing forward. But I really love the pressure of deadlines (most of the time).
Tell me about the Blog: What made you start it and why do you write?
I started the blog for a few reasons. First off, I love to express myself, my thoughts, my beliefs and ideas through writing. I have experience teaching and writing curriculum, as well as my pastoral and leadership background, which breeds a passion for sharing, helping, teaching, discussing and learning through the interaction that can happen on a blog. Second, I knew that the blog would help my business in several ways. It would improve my website’s SEO, it would enable others to gain insight into who I am and my approach to my business and to life, and it would create another place for me to connect with people. Most everything I write on the blog is inspired from an experience or a need I’ve witnessed. It is a true creative outlet for me, and I wish I had time to do it more often. But it has also opened doors for me to write and share on other blogs, such as this one!
You seem so energetic, as if you never get burnout. What keeps you motivated?
I honestly don’t know why I don’t get burned out. I feel like I should with the ridiculous schedule I keep, but I guess when you are in a situation that allows you to do something you truly love, with people you respect and enjoy, while still getting to spend a lot of time with those that are most important to you (my wife and children) there really is not a down side. My motivation is my passion for all of those things. Whenever I think about getting tired, I just look at my kids and my wife and I am reminded why I do what I do. Giving them a life that, while not lavish, is genuine and decent and full of real love is enough to keep me going no matter what. Besides, it takes way more energy to be negative.
My favorite quote is, “Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.” Are you are planner or a doer?
Both. I’m an analytical thinker, so I like to examine things from every angle and determine the best course of action. But I also have lived long enough to realize that spontaneity is the lifeblood of adventure, and I want to reach the end of my life knowing that I have experienced every adventure I possibly can. I don’t see the point in having a 5-year plan for my life. I have goals, but I don’t necessarily have them etched in stone. I prefer to live in flexibility, and this makes life more interesting and exciting. For instance, when we decided to move from SF to Hawaii, we raised the money and made the move in less than 4 months. Likewise, when we decided to move to Florida, we did it in 3 months. We didn’t take the “reasonable” amount of time to save up the amount of money we probably should have, but just believed we could make it work simply because we set our minds to it. To me, life without risk is a waste of time.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I have no idea. I stopped trying to make predictions for myself or others years ago. I live day by day, because no matter how much I think I know, I will never be able to predict what will happen next. At our wedding reception I was asked what my expectations were for our marriage. My response: “I have no expectations; therefore I will have no disappointments.” I still live that way.
Please share some pearls of wisdom for up and coming designers in the field.
When people ask me for advice, I have the same answer no matter what the field. Pursue your dreams with everything in you. If you fail, at least you know you gave it your all. If you succeed, you reap the joy of obtaining your heart’s desire. Either way, in my book, you’ve succeeded. This world needs people who have thrown caution to the wind and pursued their passions with wild abandon. Those are the people who will not just make a difference in this world, but will make this world different. That’s who I want to be, and that’s the kind of people I want to associate myself with.
How can people get in contact with you?
Primarily through my website or on Twitter. I have a contact form and my email on the website, and I am @bkmacdaddy on Twitter, which I pretty much have open all the time, except when I’m sleeping. I am also on Facebook and LinkedIn, so whatever your preferred flavor of communication, feel free to connect with me.
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Holly Lamarche is a writer and attorney from New Orleans, Louisiana. Holly lived in Santo Domingo for two years, where she taught at a local private High School, and she currently writes and edits part-time for AdmixWeb and lives in Lafayette, Louisiana.
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Is it okay to comment on your own interview?
Thanks so much for asking me to be a part of kicking off your new series! It was a blast doing this interview and I’m really looking forward to getting to know others more in depth like this. Thank you again and again for all you do here at Admix Web!
Of course you can comment on your own post! I am glad you liked it! You life story is very inspiring and you are a guy worth getting to know! Thank for taking the time to share with us!
Why not’?
Brain is an awesome guy. A must follow designer. Nice post Holly
i total agree with kawsar, when i am new to twitter this talented guy/friend helped me, and a one of the great tweetr
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thanks for giveing your interview here, it was awesome to know your life story. and really inspiration
Got to Second that. I followed Brian when I first get on twitter and never regret my decision to press the follow button.
Just want to let everyone know how Brian works has really huge influence for me.
Cheers!
Andrea
http://www.theMindMovies2.com
This interview was inspiring!! I add bkmacdaddy’s tweets to my favorites all the time. If you’re a designer or developer on twitter and you’re not following this guy yet… Then what are you waiting for!? Follow him now @bkmacdaddy, I honestly believe you won’t regret!
@bkmacdaddy keep doing what you’re doing homie, you’ve earned my respect. Peace.
I could not agree more! Great guy!
What a refreshing interview with one of my favorite designers. He brings so much for the world to learn and enjoy from! He has always been one of my inspirations and idols when it comes to designing and his insights I always learn from! Always great to know more about the people we interact with!! Thank you for sharing such a great interview!
This was a wonderful interview. It was informative, and Brian gives some great tips and advice. You gave it a natural and easy feeling as if I were sitting in the room with both of you. It was an enjoyable interview that gives many up and coming designers hope and inspiration.
Great interview! Waiting for the next one
bkmacdaddy.. an inspiration.. both in his work ethic and home life. a fantastic honest and relaxed interview. thank you b.
.. and i highly recommend him to design and build your website!
Nice interview. I can really relate to this as a person who has been an in house designer for the first 6 years of my career, who is now trying to go out on his own. I have always been more of a print design guy, but I’m actually trying to teach myself web design via Dreamweaver as we speak! There is some good advice here.
@matthernandez
Yeah, Brian is amazing! It was a great interview!
Very inspiring read. Great interview, thanks!
Great interview Holly.
Brian is someone I have followed online for the past year or so. I find him a wonderful source for both web resource and friendship. In these days of fast chats its great to take a few minutes and really learn more about those you pass on the online surf.
Cool stuff Brian! See you online…
Yes, I agree…Brian is great! He provides great Tweets and writes very useful posts on his blog. And, he has so much to share with fellow designers! Thanks for your comment
Thanks for this interview
@silenceway
Thanks for the comment! Come back soon, we will have a new interview every week
Can’t wait to read your next interview Teylor!