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Editor’s note: Today is Tuesday so that must mean another installment of the “Ten Questions With” interview series. If you missed the first five installments in this series you might also find my interviews with Leo Babauta, Cameron Low, Skellie, Yaro Starak, and Darren Rowse of  interest.

Today my guest is the extremely talented and creative website designer Michael Martin, from Pro Blog Design.

Even though I am design challenged I have been reading Michael’s blog for quite some time and he is rather unique because his blog is his portfolio. Additionally, Michael is one of the few designers listed in Smashing Magazine blogroll. So if you think that 2008 is your year to get a hand crafted custom blog, then you should get in contact with him.

1. How did you get involved with site design and what are your formal qualifications?

2. I am always curious to find out what websites designers and creative people frequent, so what are 5 online resources that you use for inspiration, motivation, and guidance?

3. What is the one design project that you are most proud of? Conversely, what has been your biggest disappointment as a designer or entrepreneur?

4. Freelancers have a tremendous amount responsibility and many details that they have to look after such as, billing customers, client relations, marketing, and hopefully designing websites. Has it been difficult for you to cohesively join the creative and design aspect of your business alongside your entrepreneurial aspirations?

5.With a name like Pro Blog Design you had better have a solid blog to backup the name. Do you feel that personal blogs are an after thought for most designers, or in this day and age, is a blog a mandatory component to a designer’s successful branding campaign?

6. From both a content and design point of view, do you feel that there are any blogs out there that have effectively and consistently assimilated the use of video into their sites?

7. What are five things that we all should be doing to help push blogging design forward?

8. What is more important when thinking about successful website and blog branding, is it the content or the design? Why?

9. Do you think Google is the new McDonalds/Walmart/Microsoft? What is it going to take for another company to compete with them effectively?

10. Within the next few years what will be a more significant component in the site design process, Search Engine Optimization or Social Media Optimization?

Question 1: How did you get involved with site design and what are your formal qualifications?

Michael’s answer: As simple as it seems; I just stumbled across it online. I started in various forums with little banners and such in Photoshop. Over time I progressed onto web sites, and then to blogs. It was all self-taught from listening to others and experimenting.

 I don’t have any formal qualifications in design, and I don’t have any intention of getting any either. A piece of paper proving that you passed an exam a few years back means very little to me. Web design is far too fast-paced for that. The technology and trends today are so different to what they were just 5 years ago.

Constant learning is the key for any web designer, and that means keeping up with all of the latest styles and ideas. An Art degree is a great thing; no doubt about it, but the real goldmine I think lies in studying other’s works, reading their thoughts and then experimenting with your own. A designer’s portfolio is their most important credential.

Question 2: I am always curious to find out what websites designers and creative people frequent, so what are 5 online resources that you use for inspiration, motivation, and guidance?

Michael’s answer:
A List Apart – Without doubt, my favorite design magazine.
Use It – A usability blog with some great ideas. I don’t agree with everything he writes, but there is always a sound logic in there.
456 Berea Street – Articles on accessibility and usability.
Modern Life – General design / internet blog. Not published to overly often, but when he does, he usually makes up for it.
CSS Mania – A design gallery. Keeping up with current styles and new ideas is a necessity for any designer.

Question 3: What is the one design project that you are most proud of? Conversely, what has been your biggest disappointment as a designer or entrepreneur?

Michael’s answer: The first site that I ever pushed for online was a hobby fan site for the Artemis Fowl books. My most recent redesign for it was definitely my favorite design ever. I had worked so closely on the site for so long that I knew it inside out.

 I knew the problems, the strengths, the types of visitors, the goals etc. far better than any client would be able to put down into words. When I finished that design, I knew I had nailed it.

 As for my biggest disappointment; I’m not sure really. If I wasn’t happy with a site, it wouldn’t have been published. I’ve definitely had bad days, but I’m never disappointed by them. Getting things right usually requires getting them wrong first.

Question 4: Freelancers have a tremendous amount responsibility and many details that they have to look after such as, billing customers, client relations, marketing, and hopefully designing websites. Has it been difficult for you to cohesively join the creative and design aspect of your business alongside your entrepreneurial aspirations?

Michael’s answer: That has actually been one of my most enjoyable experiences. I’m quite an organized person and can set my mind to accomplishing something. Freelancing and all the associated necessities are another thing to learn and to perfect. Skills like proper time-management are endlessly valuable; not just in freelancing, but in the rest of life.

I still haven’t gotten the combination quite right, but someday…

Question 5: With a name like Pro Blog Design you had better have a solid blog to backup the name. Do you feel that personal blogs are an after thought for most designers, or in this day and age, is a blog a mandatory component to a designer’s successful branding campaign?

Michael’s answer: That question is a yes and no answer I think.

All designers need to sell themselves. In a simplified way that involves two steps; getting noticed and then making the sale. If making money is what you’re after, then you can see a blog as a tool.

Good posts gain attention and showing that you know your area well enough to write on it is a great way of convincing a client that you’re worth your salt. Some people realize this, and make a blog because of it.

Of course, a good portfolio and word-of-mouth referrals can do both those things as well. Blogs aren’t for everyone.

For me, I think it was the other way around though. I wanted to blog and to share what I knew. The selling came afterwards.

Question 6: From both a content and design point of view, do you feel that there are any blogs out there that have effectively and consistently assimilated the use of video into their sites?

Michael’s answer: Yes. In terms of content, the ones that I find use it best are the ones that use it to complement the rest of their site (Instead of just using pure video). I’m thinking of sites like Seomoz with its “Whiteboard Friday.” Or of the news blogs which use video to show the latest stories and gadgets etc.

In terms of design, video isn’t too hard to work with. Ample spacing around the embedded video is usually crucial so that viewers aren’t distracted, but beyond that, there isn’t much to worry about. One tip that I would give is to use a popular video player, like YouTube. If a visitor recognizes the player, they’ll find things a lot simpler and more familiar (And the player doesn’t need all the bells and whistles that some custom players have!)

Question 7: What are five things that we all should be doing to help push blogging design forward?

Michael’s answer: Good question. In no order, my 5 things would be:

• New media. Blogs are no longer just textual. Working with video and podcasts is great for us all.
• More personal designs. It’s no longer enough to download a free template and stick 5 widgets in the sidebar. Every blogger should be adding their own little touch to their site, no matter how small that touch may seem.
• Usability as a top priority. In the past, flashy designs were the top priority for a lot of people. Thankfully, the blogosphere is well on its way to achieving this goal (Even if the rest of the internet isn’t!)
• Blogging without constrictions. Too many people worry about everything they do with their blog. They think too much about what their peers might say, if they’re being too different, or worst of all, what Google will think. As a blogger, your readers should be the only ones that you worry about.
• For the money-making bloggers; try alternative money sources. Adsense and banner ads are pretty ugly, and they’re getting old. There’s a new ad agency formed every other week. One of them is bound to have a great idea, so give them the chance.

Question 8: What is more important when thinking about successful website and blog branding, is it the content or the design? Why?

Michael’s answer: Haha, is that a trick question? It’s design of course!

Naa, it’s both. If your content is rubbish, then no design on the planet is going to save you. On the other hand, if your design is rubbish, your content is never going to get a chance.

Good design influences people much more than they care to admit. I don’t want to quote any examples of badly designed blogs here, but we can use shopping sites as an example.

 I buy all of my DVDs from Play.com, purely out of habit now. When I first decided to buy a DVD on the internet, I chose between Play.com and Amazon.co.uk. Both had comparable selections and prices, but the sole reason I chose Play is that their website is gorgeous (Ads included!). It’s friendly, lively and welcoming. Amazon’s site is usable enough, but it doesn’t look great. As a result, they’ve lost a good few hundred pounds of business from me alone…

Question 9: Do you think Google is the new McDonalds/Walmart/Microsoft? What is it going to take for another company to compete with them effectively?

Michael’s answer: No, I don’t think Google is the new McDonalds. I think Google is something different altogether.

 They’re a whole new type of company. Those 3 companies are all huge corporations, and it’s very easy for people to dislike something about them (Causing them to go to a competitor).

Google on the other hand; they’re near impossible to dislike! Google is the perfect place to work, most of its services are completely free, they promote great practices, they’re eco-friendly etc. The list goes on and on! A part of me knows that Google are getting ridiculously large, but a bigger part of me just doesn’t care. They deserve it.

 They also have one other little advantage; when a McDonalds competitor starts up, McDonalds just have to be good at what they do and to hope that not too many people go on down the street to that take-away. Same idea with Walmart. When a startup challenges Google, Google just buys them. End of startup. The only companies that have a chance of standing up to them are the already-established ones (Yahoo, Microsoft, Adobe) that even Google can’t buyout.

Question 10: Within the next few years what will be a more significant component in the site design process, Search Engine Optimization or Social Media Optimization?

Michael’s answer: In the next few years, I hope it will be neither. Rather, it will be both. Search engine algorithms are very efficient at the minute. What’s the next step for them? Enhancing it all with social media data I’d say (Which is why I think that Yahoo buying Del.icio.us was one of their best moves ever. Can’t wait to see what comes of it!).

I would like to sincerely THANK Michael for his time! Make sure you check out his blog as he has some GREAT information.

Some housekeeping items: Next week I have an interview with a tremendous individual, Mr. Scott Rigsby. Scott is the first physically challenged double amputee athlete to enter and successfully complete the Hawaii IronMan Triathlon (2 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a full marathon). If you need to be inspired then you will not want to miss this installment of the interview series. You might also want to sign up for my RSS feed.

As a final note, Tina Su from Think Simple Now was one of the winners of a small contest I held a few weeks ago and her prize was a link. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.