When I was 10 years old, I took an interest in drawing. This interest continued into high school, where I would draw — almost non-stop — whether I was at home or in the middle of class. While it may be a silly medium, I was mainly drawn* to the comic book style of artwork. Learning all the techniques, the various styles, and watching my skills improve rapidly, month after month.

Yet, the aspect of drawing that I enjoyed the most, was creating my own characters. Using the medium to tell my own stories. That was hands down the best part.

At age 16, I’d found a new hobby. Music. More specifically, playing the guitar. I would practise for hours at a time, even at the expense of food, rest, and a social life. There were so many challenging techniques to master, so much to learn.

The first day with my first guitar, I began writing music. Those earliest compositions weren’t anything to brag about, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t help myself. I continued to write my own music, moving beyond guitar to incorporate other instruments into my compositions. I’d jam with other musicians. We’d practise, record, and just have fun playing our music. But as fun as jamming was, as almost sadistically satisfying as technical mastery had become, nothing gave me as much enjoyment as creating new music. I never had serious designs on being a famous rockstar. I didn’t crave the spotlight. I simply wanted to write songs.

Fast-forward a few years, to the mid-nineties, when I’d bought my first computer. Before long I was playing around in graphics apps, which led to an interest in graphic design. On the road to becoming a graphic designer, I was side-tracked by web design, inspired by how web sites of that era were finally starting to look good.

I took a course in multimedia publishing and design. My education began to extend beyond graphic design and the heavily print-focused course material, dabbling in Flash, CSS, JavaScript, and mastering HTML. Later in my career, I became an avid learner of all things related to branding, usability, customer experience, and persuasion. I became an information sponge, subscribing to literally hundreds** of RSS feeds.

Still, as much as I enjoy working in this field, my passion isn’t designing web sites. It isn’t usability, graphic design or coding. It was never drawing or playing the guitar. My true passion is in creating. Coming up with new ideas. The satisfaction of building those ideas, not just dreaming them up, but actually turning them into something. The challenge of solving all the big and small problems revealed along the way. The thrill of constantly learning something new.

Designing for the web just happens to be the perfect combination of all my favourite things.

*Pun intended.
**550, as of April 27, 2010.