Interview: Franco Averta from Concept Dezain
May 28th, 2010 by Tweet
This is our 9th interview in the interview series here at Admix Web, where we are publishing one interview per week of fellow web designers, web developers and graphic designers. We have been lucky to get some pretty interesting people for these interviews, and I have a few interviews set for the next few weeks, but I am still requesting designers and developers to nominate colleagues in the field, or themselves! 
Please contact me if you are interested at hlamarche[at]admixweb[dot]com. This week we have our first Argentinian Graphic/Web Designer, who happens to be a friend of ours here Admix Web, Franco Averta. Franco works as a graphic/web designer by day, student by night, and runs Concept Dezain blog in his free time! I hope you like the interview! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for doing this interview for Admix Web. Can you give us a brief background on yourself?
Thank you for granting me this opportunity . My name is Franco Averta, I’m 24 and I’m from Argentina. Currently I’m working as a part-time in-house designer for an electronics company. I also work as a freelance graphic designer under the Concept Dezain “Flag” and a couple of months ago I started my blog. Also, I’m currently pursuing my degree as a Graphic Designer.
Do you consider yourself a web designer, web developer, or both?
I consider myself more of a web designer and somewhat of a web developer; I’m always trying to learn new things and I try to do my best for each project I’m involved with. But, at some point in the not too distant future I would like to seriously pursue web development as well.
Why Web Design as a career? What were your inspirations for that profession?
That’s kind of funny. When I finished high school (2003) I got my first computer, I started to study Social Communication and installed Photoshop CS in my brand new computer. I started messing around with this software, easy things, making collages, putting friends in funny pics, etc., I was using the web to learn everything I could about Photoshop and that’s when it hit me, I was visiting a lot of designers blog and I really liked what they were doing. As Inspirations I have a lot of designers I follow since some time ago like Chris Spooner, Jacob Cass, David Airey and many others.
Are you self taught or did you study design?
As aforementioned, I’m currently studying Graphic Design at the University. But I love to read design blogs and learn new things all the time. As for the software used (an important tool for designers nowadays) I’ve done several courses about Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, and also Html and CSS obtaining the basics, and then I continue to keep perfecting myself with the help of the web.
How many years have you been in the field, and how has the field changed during that time?
You could say I’ve started in the design industry in late 2007 , when I created my first website for a client, prior to that it was more like a hobby. What I can say about the industry during my brief time on it is that it`s like a living thing, each year it becomes bigger, and it has a tremendous growth rate from new software to web standards and therefore, we need to remain always be up to date on its ever changing technology and remain abreast of any ensuing changes.
Can you describe a day in the life of you?
Well, Im a normal guy : I wake up at 8 am I have breakfast and attend my “day job” . During the first half an hour or so I check my mails and social networks then I start to work. At 3:30 pm I get home, Have a quick lunch and depending of what I need to do I divide my time between finding interesting articles around the web, preparing new ones for my blog, doing college homework or working in a clients project. At 6:30 pm I leave to college and I get back home at 11:30 pm or 12 pm. I have dinner, watch some TV, and finally I go to sleep at 2 am pretty exciting huh?
What is your favorite food?
I have 2 favs, asado, it’s kind of BBQ for US, and as I’m an Italian descendent I also love pasta. So I have a bit of a conflict of interests there, don’t you think?
What does your workspace look like?
I have a desk in my room with my computer and my laptop; I also keep a notebook for taking notes.
Would you define yourself as introverted or extroverted? How does that affect client relations?
I’m an introverted person but that doesn’t affect my relationship with clients. You could say that when I’m in a meeting with a client I forget all about being introverted and I handle myself very well to have a fluid (unreserved ) conversation.
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?
That’s tough. I find my inspiration from all the great Designers that are a part of the awesome design community, I can’t just name a few, because each of them in their particular way, through their blog, work, advice, or just connecting with me inspires me.
What is your favorite color? Does it infiltrate your designs?
My favorite color is red. Yes I do some things with this color but only personal work, I don’t try to use it in massive proportions on every Project I get.
How do you balance your raw inspirations for a project, with the client’s sometimes bad ideas?
When a client contacts me for a job I do a lot of research, and then I will advise them on what is the best way to do the project, always respecting the clients wishes whilst simultaneously attempting to get them to understand why I’d like to do some things in a different manner.
What was your first design you actually marketed? How do you feel about it now?
The first design I marketed was a web site for an events company from Argentina. I think it was a good effort on my part at the time. It was a very simple design and it was all done with Tables and very little CSS.
What is your favorite type of design work? And, what has been your favorite project?
I have to say my favorite type of design work is building websites and I tend to lean towards a Grunge feel / look , albeit till this day I haven’t designed a website that allows me to use Grungy elements (except for my portfolio). I don’t have a favorite Project, all of them represent a new challenge for me and most of the time I’m very happy with the final result.
Explain the significance of your company name.
My company name is formed by two words, the first one is Concept (Something formed in the mind; a thought or notion) and the 2nd one Dezain, actually is design spelled in Japanese, I wanted to add something Japanese because I love Japaneseculture.
Are you a Mac or a PC? Why?
I’m a PC, this is due to the fact that in Argentina there’s a lot of differences in pricing ( which makes the acquisition of a MAC strictly unattainable at the moment ) ; so for now I’ll stick with my old PC until I am able to upgrade to a Mac . Although I don’t have any complaints about being a PC, at some point during the future I would like to own both : A Mac & a PC.
What design tools do you use? Which tools would you suggest to fellow designers/developers?
I use Photoshop for every web related stuff and Illustrator for print media which enables me to do things which require vectors (printing stuff, logos, etc.). I also use Dreamweaver for coding the websites and for FTP I’m very happy with FileZilla.Another tool that I’m just discovering is In Design, and this a very powerful tool. I used to use flash for some things until I discovered the unobtrusiveness of jQuery , so now I’m leaving Flash behind.
Do you work better under pressure or do you need time to cultivate your ideas?
Surprisingly, I work better under pressure. It’s not a something I like to admit , but it’s something I can’t change about me. Since I was in high school I have a better “performance” under pressure.
Tell me about the Blog: Concept Dezain. What made you start it and why do you write?
After over a year of reading design blogs I decided to start my own. The blog was borne out of my own curiosity and need. I felt compelled to share my thoughts with the world and maybe in the process help others. I’m very happy with the blog because it has received quite a lot of attention & recognition since its inception , and over the past few months I have made a lot of friends through it.
What are some of the design and development blogs you read on a regular basis, why?
I read a lot of blogs, I can’t even begin to name them all, I use twitter as my Feed and when I find or someone sends me a link I think it’s interesting I check it, this way I don’t miss anything.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see design, the web, and development in 10 years?
That’s very difficult to predict – as it would open up many presuppositions, however : within ten years time I see myself working in my own design studio. And as for the design industry I have no idea, making such a prediction would certainly be deemed presumptious on my part. I’ve been around for such a brief amount of time and already I have witnessed amazing changes, so I can’t even imagine what will happen in the next 10 years, however I am certain that the strides will be stellar within the fields of technology as well as design.
Please share some pearls of wisdom for up and coming designers in the field.
I think the most important thing is to love what you do, and be persistent. Devote yourself to your field of study. Learn from examining the works of other Designers. And have clear goals. Don’t try to be someone else, just be the best that you can be. And always remember Creativity as well as success are 1% Inspiration and 99% Perspiration, and everyone possesses that 1%!
How can people get in contact with you?
I’m spend most of the day connect to Windows Live Messenger, francoaverta@hotmail.com, you can catch me there else on Twitter @conceptdezain or Facebook.
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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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Yeah! Good work Holly!
I agree with you Franco – the best recipe for success is that 1% inspiration & 99% perspiration . One cannot attain success unless they do work hard and are passionate about what they do , and I know you are passionate about Design because : Thats all we ever talk about online !
And as far as a Mac goes – dont worry , you’ll get yours soon one day, however : Machines ( choice of ‘OS’ system )are not what make a good designer great at what he is – it is his skills which do so 
and basically , this is all you have to concentrate on ( which I know you do every day ! ).
Im glad that I have come to know you and we have become cyber-buddies , cause you know youre my No #1 Man when I need design advice on anything design related & drive you crazy in the process
Thank you Holly for bringing & introducing Franco to the design community , this is the most he has said to anyone ( including me ! ) so you def deserve big thumbs up for getting him to divulge this much
Franco is not only a great designer and passionate about what he does , but he is also a good friend to have , and Im fortunate in having come to know him ( as I seek his advice on basically everything ! – despite the fact that I tend to follow my own path at times 
) 
Great interview Holly , Franco truly deserves to be recognized for his passion as well as his skills within the design community .
Thanks to Holly and Teylor for intervierwing me, it`s a great opportunity for me.
Thanks @Mia for your kind words nad for all your help
Hi Franco,
I hope everything’s going well with your studies, and also that you’ve found some info of use from following my blog.
All the very best.
Thanks David!!!, I find your blog very usefull and your work very inspiring!!!.