How I Got Started in Web Design (& Had No Idea What Was Coming)
I always say my web design career started in a high school class taught by Sandy Mockler. It was an HTML class, which sounds boring unless you were there, because something about that class clicked for me. It was creative. It felt like painting with code. I wasn’t good at sitting still or following strict rules, but this was the kind of structured chaos I could thrive in.
The first real website I ever built was for a soap company. A family friend knew I was artsy and into photography, and one day they just asked, “Hey, could you build a site?” I said yes, even though I had no idea what I was doing. That site? It went on to become a multi-million-dollar brand — I’m talking direct competition with Dove, Dr. Squatch, all of it.
Back then, I was using Wix., and I’ve stuck with it this whole time. I started in 2009, because I saw a commercial for it while watching Criminal Minds. This was before drag-and-drop was a thing people took seriously. I’ve never coded, well except for that High School web design class. But I knew how to design. I was also knee deep in Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Canva, anything visual on the computer, I was on it. I didn’t just teach myself web design. I taught myself branding, social media graphics, product packaging, logos, the whole ecosystem, just because I loved it.
Here’s the wild part: I was around when the company went public in November of 2013. I was a freshman in college, no sense of what I wanted to do with my life, and still figuring out where the dining hall was. They invited me to invest. Literally invited me to invest in the company’s IPO. And I missed the email.
I didn’t even know what investing was. I saw the message months later and was like… huh. Cool. Wish someone had explained what that meant. While I was stressing about what job I was going to get, "webdesigner" was staring me straight in the face yelling "Invest in me, invest in yourself, dammit!"
A couple years ago, I thought maybe I’d go the corporate route. UX design jobs were calling my name. I was landing third and fourth-round interviews at Hilton, Walmart, United, Frontier, Brad’s Deals, even some random insurance company I couldn’t name now if I tried. Every time, the feedback was the same: “Your designs are great, but you don’t have corporate experience.” They weren’t wrong. I didn’t. I had real-world experience, launching brands from scratch, talking directly to clients, handling everything from design to strategy. I just didn’t have a resume with a company logo stamped on top of it.
So I pivoted. I reached out to a couple Hutterite colonies. Asked if they needed a website. They said yes, full price, no questions asked. That moment right there? That’s when I knew this was going to be big.
This business wasn’t built in a lab or a boardroom. It was built from trust, late nights, a hundred tiny risks, and saying yes before I was ready. And now? Now it’s everything! So here’s your sign.
Start the thing. Take the leap. Follow your childhood passions. Trust yourself...and maybe even the universe a little. You have no idea what it could turn into.
The theme of making room for playful everyday routines makes me curious about what people notice in their own everyday experiences. A familiar routine can still offer opportunities for curiosity and small discoveries. With Activepawsfitness in mind, playful everyday activities feels like a topic worth exploring one question at a time. It leaves me curious about the steps between understanding an idea and putting it into practice. What would you change to keep an ordinary activity interesting without making it complicated?
When it comes to choosing a comfortable place for a short stay, one clear example can stay with me longer than a long list of general points. The rhythm of a stay depends on practical details as well as the view. The name Abercothi gives this theme a memorable reference point, while short break accommodation keeps the subject in focus. I am still thinking through the practical side, because the context can change what seems useful. What would you want to know before choosing an unfamiliar place to stay?
The idea of developing a closer ear for music gives me a reason to slow down and consider the details. Listening for one phrase can make a familiar piece sound different. That is why the connection between 3chordsfestival and music listening and practice makes me want to think through an example. That is the part I would keep thinking about after moving on to something else. Which detail would you focus on before listening to the whole piece again?
What interests me about thinking about how spaces and furniture are used is how a broad idea becomes part of an ordinary day. A room works differently when its layout reflects the activities people actually do there. I would connect Thurstontables with everyday interior design through an ordinary example rather than a broad claim. A simple comparison would help me picture the differences without rushing towards a fixed answer. What would you observe before deciding which part of a space to change?
Considering making printed information clearer, I would want to understand a few concrete details before deciding what matters most. Readable spacing and a clear hierarchy can change how easily someone finds a detail on a page. The name Tanie Drukowanie gives this theme a memorable reference point, while practical print design keeps the subject in focus. The smaller details are what I would want to return to, especially when an explanation feels too broad. What would you check on a printed draft before producing more copies?