Name:
Toke Nygaard

Age:
26

Location:
Copenhagen, Denmark

Mac or PC:
Have been working with both. I now have a Powerbook, and I love working on macs. Never going back on a PC platform.

Site(s):
* KALIBER10000,
* Lots of people in boxes
+ a host of comercial sites and other projects.

The Boss:
Definately Alexander Aghassipour and Martin Gronbaek, directors at Araneum, where I used to work. Never met any bosses that were so laid back and smooooth as them. Always up for a game of FIFA.

Design education:
2 years of traditional graphic design training specializing in multimedia at Kolding Kunsthaandvaerkerskole, got transfered to The Danish College of Design where I studied Visual Communication for a year and then I dropped out to start my own freelance company, Lots of people in boxes. The level of education in Denmark regarding new media is awful, to say the least. Most of the teachers I had couldn't even check their own e-mails (and they were teaching us how to design for the web!). We had to do our own thing most of the time.. Had some good experiences, though, when we went to visit the Antirom/Tomato/Underworld complex in Soho, London, and we got Thomas Roope over doing the CRAAAAZY director lingo madness.

Hunk, spunk or flunk:
spunk, in the semen sense of the word.

Disgusting personal habits:
I am a bit of a Peeping Tom. A dirty voyeur.

Nice personal habits:
Don't get into fights, so friendly and open-minded.

Hobbies off the net:
Getting to learn my JP8000 synth, work a lot with music and samplers. Really like that. Play FIFA (the only playstation game I play) Watching Arsenal games.

Favourite quote:
"Donald Trump delivers my newspapers in the morning - and I don't even tip him"
[From E.L.E./Busta Rhymes]

What do you know about Australian web designers:
Absolutely Nothing, except they are bald and old and wear heavy glasses.

How did you first learn of the internet:
At school they had a 28 modem on a machine (that we weren't allowed to use) and I tried to mess around on that. I think the first site I visited was the Emigre site, and the modem was too slow to display it properly (wouldn't make any difference, though).

What do you like/hate about the net:
I like fact that you can update instantaneus, which is not really possible in other media. This is also the curse of the web, stuff never seems to get finished.
I also like that you actually meet new people through the web, it is really quite strange... met mschmidt, very good friend and co-pilot of KALIBER10000, by mistake on the net, + had some other crazy online experiences. I once organized an online chat about the state of webdesign on the net (that was when Miika Saksi was only 15) and I even invited David Carson and Bill Gates. Only 5 people showed up, but we were all so excited about this whole mini-community thing, it was quite sweet, actually.

What drew you to web design:
Used to work as an au pair in London, doing a lot of drawing with the kids. Figured I might go and do that for a living. Sat down and made a masterplan, which didn't involve web stuff at all, but it seemed quite natural after some time of traditional illustrating and stuff, to direct my skills to the computer. I started off doing much CD work for some multimedia software called medi8or; did a CD-demo called "Eight ways to kill yourself using medi8or", which was banned in the US. Then I built my own online portfolio that got me a job at Araneum, Denmark's favourite web bureau.

What is your working style (Photoshop, etc):
Do most of my graphics in PS5, also stuff you might have done a lot quicker in Illustrator.. I have developed some quick'n dirty techniques for doing immitated vector-style stuff. Never liked working in illustrator or freehand. I might grap some goodies from digicam or scanner, or do some 1-pixel drawings. Use Imageready for compressing, and assemble my sites in Freeway, which is a BRILLIANT and very under-rated piece of software. The stuff that Freeway doesn't do I either handcode, or I get someone else to do (thanks mschmidt..)

Do you think that Flash is cool or overused:
There is good flash and bad flash. Haven't seen any good flash. Well, maybe a little. emme, John Yee and Vicki Wong are in control. It seems most people developing flash stuff just havent got any experience in working with motion-graphics, designing stuff over time. I guess it's all a question of timing.I think the Flash interface stinks, I can't believe that somebody actually sat down at Macromedia and OK'd it!

Do you prefer technologically advanced sites or sites with simple but good design:
I would like to think that new technology is just great, but the truth is I CAN NEVER GET IT TO WORK!
* Flash - never works on IE4/mac (+ redirect code is fucked)
* Real audio - needs to be re-installed every month,
* Shockwave - works occasionally (on a good day)
* DHTML + CSS - forget it (everything completely messed up, never optimized for IE4/mac)
* Java - NONONO

Do you have any cool design tips?
yes.

Cool Design Tip 001:

1: Sit down.
2: Get a brilliant idea
3: Start figuring out how to get this idea to work. Don't touch a thing before you got it sorted out.
4: Start messing about. You will learn that your initial idea was a bunch of crap, and start working on a new one.
5: Repeat step 4 untill you're too tired to continue.
6: Show your stuff to your friends and ignore if they tell you it looks like shit, because you know it is great.

Favourite sites:
Haven't got any. Used to preach Digital Thread, but it has been dead for so long. I use sublimedirectory.com a lot, and I am very fond of KALIBER10000.

Favourite designers: (Web or otherwise)
Haven't got any. Love the stuff that illustrators Nicolas De Crécy and Edward Gorey does. Also quite inspired by Goose from Goose16 and Hank from pissPERFECT. I admire the stuff from Hype Williams and Jonas Aakerlund.

Design styles you hate:
I think that when you first get your specific design to work within a specific context, then you don't worry about 'styles'.

Do you think web designers will become the design elite:
Certainly hope so. When all the old farts doing boring print are dead and gone.

Do you see yourself as an influential web designer:
I have seen my stuff ripped, snatched and downright stolen all over the place, but, no, I don't regard myself as an influential web designer. In my opinion, the guy who just went in and fucked peoples heads up is.... [here he is, give him a big round of applause] Miika Saksi, I think he has had SO much graphic impact on the net, no Miika - no web. The guy is a living legend, he's the new Messiah. Praise the lord.

How would you like to be remembered:
I'd like to be remembered as the 6´ tall funky negro bumpin'n pulling switches down Sunset Boulevard, gold rings, Versace suit, two catsuit-clad ho's doing the moves to the funky Tribe on the Panasonic, 3 bottles of Dom Perignon in the back.

Any final comments:
Looking forward to Playstation2 and FIFA2000. So I can challenge ALL you wankers on the www.

Thanks Toke!