Interview with Jason M. Putorti - Deux

Interview with the famous designer of Mint.com Jason Putorti. Questions involving changes of the web design industry.

I have been able to get a second interview with my favorite designer, Jason Putorti from Mint. He has been kind enough to answer a second set of questions. If you are interested you can post some comments with questions, and i will ask him a third set of questions. And now some interesting answers about the changes in the industry from our favorite designer.

1. In your opinion which one of the following three web development technologies are having the greatest impact on our work, also what is you input on each and how do you see them evolving in the future. First HTML5, the video tag and all the other greatness that comes with it, second CSS3 all the pretty rounded corners and gradients, third but not last all the amazing developments in the use of JavaScript.

Well, none of the one technologies on its own can produce a great user experience, but if I had to pick, I’d say Javascript. The widespread adoption of JS and the push by browser developers to optimize it, have really allowed for web applications to exist and thrive. Without Javascript there would be no real interactivity, and we’d be stuck with brochure sites circa 1999.

2. Browser… which one do you use as your main browsing companion and why.

Safari 4. The interface and the way it works just feel very natural to me as a Mac user, and the seamless syncing of bookmarks and preferences across my home and work computer, as well as my phone, makes it very hard to give up. For development though, Firefox with Firebug and Yslow are essential, there’s still not a great equivalent for any other browser.

3. How do you believe design has changed since 2007, I’ve noticed that in the redesign of Mint.com you really lightened up the place any particular reason?

I did feel that the first palette I created for Mint was a little dark, and that I really needed to lighten it up a lot to make it friendly, approachable, and make people feel that Mint is a brand you can trust to make your money easy to understand. A lot of it also is simply the evolution of my aesthetic and my skillset. Every designer is influenced by everything he sees out there in the world, and it will reflect in the work.

As far as changes 2007, I think you’ll notice that the web is continuing to move further towards simplicity and ease-of-use over busy designs. The UI of the new Zune HD is a great example of a product that has really been influenced by this trend, looking at its first iteration, and now. We have a lot of industry pioneers to thank for this, because it’s great for the consumer.

4. Any thoughts on Windows 7? (you don’t have to answer this question)

It looks like it might be pretty good, but I’m really invested into the Mac platform, and I can’t see leaving it anytime soon. My phone, laptop, desktop, and even my TV are running some variety of Apple OS. Everything just works the way I expect.

5. What kind of phone do you have and why?

iPhone, because it’s incredibly versatile, and syncs with my desktop machines very easily. It’s the perfect device for a Mac user, and it’s really changed my life in terms of what I can do on the go. It has however made me a little bit addicted to email and social networking, as I feared it might. What can you do?