Name:
Andrey Falkon

Age:
25

Location:
This is a hard one. :) i'm in Haifa, Israel right now. Originally i'm from Odessa, Ukraine, have spent some time in London, relocating to the States some time soon, and eventually want to go to China. you've got a picture.

Mac or PC:
PC, but have nothing against Mac. Computer is just a tool.

Site(s):
http://falkondesign.com
http://design-agency.com/project and http://design-agency.com
http://library.bahai.org
http://kizmetinteractive.com
http://falkondesign.com/90/
http://www.visualmagic.awn.com/
http://teleimages.com

The Boss:
The Boss? Not really a part of my working model, i'm trying to arrange my environment so i can stay somewhat independent, and i had been successful in doing exactly that for quite a long time.

Design education:
None. i was learning on the way. i had been working for the publishers for a few years, and had a chance to experiment / try all jobs associated with print process and print design. Later did some multimedia work and work for TV and post production stuff. i even did my share in fashion design. Plus i'm always trying to finds time and do some art. So as you can see even without getting formal education i went through a great school. And than web came along and i think it's absolutely great media and you can combine so many disciplines under it, but in the same time it's different in approach, which meant another stage in my design education.

Hunk, spunk or flunk:
A little bit of each, but definitely much more spunk than flunk. i'm always running around with new ideas and projects, and trying to push them through. But than sometimes i think it's more reasonable to back off, or simply wait for a better time. It's always a question of strategy. Sometimes i'm just funk.

Disgusting personal habits:
Wow, like the whole list? :) Well i guess two which bother me most would be smoking and quitting smoking. i'm preoccupied with one of them at all times. i think i have to quit quitting... or quit finally.

Nice personal habits:
i'm habitual designer, music listener / dj, tai chi practitioner.

Hobbies off the net:
See nice personal habits. i'm spending a lot of time on music. Have collection ofsome 700+ albums. Getting more into djing, and it's a great fun i should say.
Picture this: you have some melody in your head, than you collect different samples which will complement it, than you have to come up with some drum bass sequences, and finally you bring it all together, applying different effects and trying to achieve some balance and harmony. Does not it remind you something? i think it's the best exercise for any designer. You deal with sounds instead of images... Another thing i love to do is to sit in the local coffeshopswith my friends.

Favourite quote:
It's really hard to choose one. People have verbalized quite a number of good thoughts, and in many cases they even bothered to write them down... One which keeps pushing me in my life was brought by Richard Bach, ha said "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true".

What do you know about Australian web designers:
There is a number of cool designers from Australia i was happy to get to know and communicate with. i love work of Andrew Johnstone and Justin Fox does some very exciting stuff, and i'm fascinated by illustrations of Fischer West. More newer promising design shops appear all the time as well. But i'm not sure we can speak of Australian specific design school, maybe back in print times, but now it characterized by different interesting designers... just like anywhere else in the world this days. But that it's just my own opinion.

How did you first learn of the internet? What drew you to web design:
Actually, my first introduction to the internet was a first internet job as well, back in 1995. Local ISP guy called me up and asked to help with their web site. We met and he showed me different web sites, saying how cool it is and how i should get into it, and i was like... "It's a joke, right?". It looked like a step back comparing to print and TV stuff i was doing at the moment, youremember all those ugly sites and slow connections back than? But after i was done with that site, i could see great potential in the net, and could not stop designing for it since.

What do you like/hate about the net:
The coolest thing which happened with appearance of the net is the net culture. It's more global oriented and more sharing in a way, and it's sure to bring the whole new mentality, and the exciting part that we are in the very beginning of the process, and we can witness how it unfolds and develops. It already brought so many people together and removed so many boundaries. Location starts to matter less and less. i'm easily working with people in different countries and we are just as effective in our work as if we would have been sitting in the same office. There is not much of what i hate about it. A few things which bother me i consider to be a part of process of growth, and i disregard them as such.

What is your working style (Photoshop, etc):
Definitely Photoshop. i'm spending most of my time with this program, very often in combination with Illustrator and Image Ready. Do quite a bit of Flash stuff too. And than there are great number of smaller programs for different more specific tasks. Plus MAX and Bryce for 3D works.

Do you think that Flash is cool or overused:
i think Flash is mega cool... and overused... and not used enough. What's being overused is a number of simple techniques which Flash easily suggested. And you can see a multitude of web site, which look and feel very similar, most of them being a parody on better ones. i believe it's not enough to create moving pictures, they have to move for a reason. There is as well a number of web site which are absolutely fascinating, fresh and innovative, and i see more of those coming in the future as result of better understanding of possibilities of designing with Flash and Shockwave.

Do you prefer technologically advanced sites or sites with simple but good design:
i don't prefer one over another, it always depends what goals are and whatneeds to be done to make a web site most effective. i did both... depending on task in my hands.

Do you have any cool design tips:
i don't know how cool it is, but main tip would be to design as much as you can, the more practice you get the better you are. And you have to be detached from usual, there is no reason to go the same path as many before you. Try to find something new and exciting.

Favourite sites:
Way to many of those. i want to mention entropy8.com , it's all times favorite.theremediproject.com and shift.jp.org are good sources of inspiration, so is bornmag.com and design-agency.com/project. inVERTEBRAE.com made a cool appearance, it's a new, fresh, dynamic online mag.

Favourite designers: (Web or otherwise)
David Carson definitely made me see design process in a different way. Another great source of inspiration was illustration of Dave McKean. Other people, whose work has a great influence on my development as designer, are Auriea Harvey, David DeCheser, brothers Pacetti... many others.

Design styles you hate:
There is no design style i hate, i honestly dislike lack of such tho.

Do you think web designers will become the design elite:
i doubt that, there to many web designers around. i guess it would be more a norm to be able to do web design than a sign of some eliteness. One thing i know for sure, there would be always demand on web designers who are doing good edgy design work, who are flexible enough to follow the changes of this media and embrace new technologies.

Do you see yourself as an influential web designer:
Influential? It would be nice to flatter myself this way, but i don't think i have got to that level yet. i'm getting "thanks for an inspiration" emails once in a while, but i know i did not make enough groundbreaking stuff to make a difference. Maybe one day.

How would you like to be remembered:
i would like to be remembered. Period. By my work. if i would be able to create something, which people will appreciate and remember at least for some time, i would know that i did my job.

Any final comments:
Thanks for the opportunity to speak and for the cool questions asked. Best of luck with Design Is Kinky!

Thanks Andrey