A Brief Introduction
by James Thompson
Since 1998 I (James Thompson) have enjoyed designing and developing websites for a diverse range of clients. Prior to the entire digital revolution my passion had always been for fine arts, graphic design, music performance and production. My earliest memories of drawing & painting were with my mother. She was a fashion designer in the 1960’s, and my art teacher at the Elizabeth Nay Museum in Austin Texas. She really had way of nurturing creativity.
My first animation program featured a man doing jumping jacks while a bird flew over and pooped on his head. Seeing code turn into creation was powerful and I felt great joy in entertaining my classmates. While my flip book animations and cereal box scroll viewers had far greater aesthetic value, this was entirely different. A machine was playing out my creative commands (Basic Programming Language). CHOMP… I was bitten by the technology bug!
I received a degree in fine art at a time when digital arts courses were in their infancy. While creating promotional materials for bands I made a discovery that would change everything for me… Photoshop! Finally pen and paper and all the concepts of design I had learned were merging in a satisfying way with keyboard, mouse and screen. Limitations in computer memory at the time made applying filters or effects at higher DPI (dots per inch) slow and tedious. But the end result was fantastic!
Around this same time my introduction to HTML and website design was both fast and furious. It combined all that interested me: design, interaction, and animation… all immediately available to the masses. I still find it very exciting to be in this rapidly changing industry. While I remain at the helm and primary point of contact for all clients, I have been adding to my talent team.
Using my creativity and experience to achieve project goals for a client and get the wow reaction when requirements are delivered is what keeps me going. – that and coffee.
~ James