Interview: Rose Fu

Personal website: http://rosefu.net/

For start of this interview - can you tell us more about yourself - career, life, news, other stuff?…

I have been making websites since I was 13 years old, in 1996. I am currently working for “Rotary International”, a great non-profit organization that has over a million members across the world. This organization has contributed a great deal to the global polio eradication effort, and I just finished working on the redesign of their website.

What is the most interesting thing that you work on, in this moment?

Right now I have two social networking site design projects. These are challenging projects because unlike static websites, these websites must support a constantly changing and evolving content as well as a community of people that have vastly different opinions and design tastes.

Which part of your career or project would you call “the best of me”?

Since I am constantly trying to improve my design skills, I hesitate to call anything my “best.” My favorite project so far is probably the entry “Dark Rose” I made for CSS Zen Garden, which became an official design.

What do you think about women in web design in general?

At my last job with a major Chicago design agency, all of the web designers were female. They were extremely talented, but they aren’t well-known despite having worked on websites for Motorola, Bluetooth, and Oprah. I think there are many amazingly talented female web designers whose talents far outshine their fame.

Do you have your favorite female colleague or a designer whose work you admire?

There are simply tons of female web designers out there that I love! If I had to name just one, it would probably be Veerle Pieters, because vector illustration is my weak spot, and she is so amazing and talented at it.

When did you launched your website/blog and what is the most important thing that you accomplished with it?

My current website was launched in 2005. It mainly serves as a portfolio of my past works. I deliberately kept the amount of personal information on my website to a minimum. When I was younger I kept an online journal that got me in quite a bit of trouble, so I no longer write about my personal life online.

What are your daily reads and favorite bookmarks?

I read the news daily at www.reddit.com, the BBC, and The New York Times. I also frequently visit design showcase sites like CSS Remix, CSS Mania, CSS Import, and Web Creme.

What is your main inspiration?

My main inspiration are the websites that people use frequently but do not pay so much attention to their designs - the kind of design that helps people access information easily and quickly, but stays out of the user’s way most of the time. Websites that seem so natural and effortless to navigate can actually take the longest time to design, and I really admire the designers that pull it off.

Is there anything that you don’t like about your job?

I love designing and coding websites, and I like playing around in the back-end with databases and content management systems. However, because I freelance in my spare time, sometimes I find it frustrating to work with clients who are not very knowledgeable about the web or do not specify their needs up front, leaving a lot of guesswork.

Can you tell us something about your hobbies and things that you do in you spare time?

Admittedly, I’m a complete computer geek. I used to chat on IRC back in the days of dial-up Internet, and I’ve been playing PC games since I was a little girl. I play role-playing and strategy games often, and I have an extensive list of MMORPGs that I’ve played. I also like to watch anime, read manga, and dig into science fiction and fantasy novels.

What kind of music do you prefer?

I listen to music when I design websites and play games. It’s often different depending on my mood, but most of the time I listen to alternative rock, punk rock, and trance. I’m a sucker for anything with piano, violin or guitar sounds, especially acoustic guitar.

Do you have any message for people at the beginning of their career in designing?

Web design is not just about the visual beauty of a website, although that can be a large part of it. Usability, information architecture, clean code and speed are as important as the design itself. Always be user-centric, and never let your design get in the user’s way. Approach the art of making websites with a craftsman’s mindset, and don’t be afraid to put your own flair and style into it.

What do you think about cssprincess.com?

I think it’s a wonderful way to showcase all the great female web designers out there, and there is no other site quite like it.