The Geek Talk

Who is Mitch Canter?

Me! No seriously, Mitch Canter is a WordPress Theme Designer from Nashville TN.  He loves photography, long walks on the beach, and shorthand CSS.

Do you have a personal Brand?

I do – I go under the username “studionashvegas” pretty much everywhere on the Internet.  It’s a pet-name the locals give Nashville because there’s a honky-tonk open somewhere no matter what time it is, and there’s always a live band playing – it’s the city that never tips its 10-gallon hat!

How do you find design inspiration and colours for a new project?,

I typically surf welovewp.com and creattica.com – lots of cool projects there from the best designers around.  I love to see new ways to lay out a site or new uses for a technique – makes for a challenge trying to replicate them.

What does your typical day look like?

I get up with my son early in the morning, he goes to day-care and my wife and I (she does my books) get work done.  I do meetings, head to a coffee shop to work, or just hang out at my home-office until 3 when we run back to the daycare.  After that I work for a little more, do dinner, hang out with the family, and work at night once everyone else is in bed.  Free time comes mostly on the weekends – I try to keep them as free as possible.

What do you do in your free time?

Hang out with my family, blog, take photographs, and just wander aimlessly around places – remember: not everyone who wanders is lost!

Current favorite apps?

Photoshop and Dreamweaver are my dynamic design duo – WordPress is the first thing that goes on any website that I do (even if they don’t really NEED a content management system, they’ll need it someday; might as well put it on now.  I also use TweetDeck, Trillain, and Netvibes for keeping track of everything. Oh, and when I started freelancing, FreshBooks changed my life.

What OS do you prefer?

Windows, but if Apple ever comes out with a slate a little more powerful than the iPad, i may jump ship.  Maybe.

Small picture for your Workplace?

Favorite: Color, Font, Language, JS Framework?

Color: Dark Red (#95201F), Font has to be Avenir or SketchBlock, PHP since WordPress wouldn’t be WordPress without it, and jQuery – because it’s by far the easiest framework to use.

Name something that has inspired you recently?

I just finished a site design a few minutes ago that looks really asian inspired.  It’s a paper texture with lots of grunge elements and very brush-like calligraphy lettering for the headlines (via Cufon).  Way cool, if I do say so myself

What do you prefer (and why)? Freelance work or full time employment?

Freelance – by far.  I tried corporate life (even tried subcontracting in other people’s offices) but there’s nothing like having full control of your schedule and destiny.

What are your personnel projects and goals for 2010?

Right now, i’m just living day to day.  If I can keep doing what I’m doing, and not lose the passion for the job, then i’ll be doing OK.  It’s hard sometimes, honestly, but in the end it’s always worth it to see a site go live.