ALTPICK.COM

What is the story behind the company?
Todd Purgason: "My partner Steve Wages and myself left an architecture practice in late 1995 to help a previous employer start a web shop. I had been doing freelance graphic and multi-media design for several years, and Steve, who had done some multi-media design himself, was a gifted project manager and communicator that had come through the ranks of design. After building a solid business plan, we left that company to start Juxt Interactive, the premise being that we would do great work (risk taking design and solid management) or die trying. Our first site out of the gate, lundstromARCH.com, was done back in the days of Flash 2 and was a very large success. That was two years ago, and we haven't looked back since."

See a promotional Flash animation from Juxt. Requires Flash-plug-in.

How do you describe your style?
Structural and intelligent. Coming from the world of architecture where there is a great degree of analytical thought behind things as simple as the placement of the door in both the theoretical and technical realm, it is hard to be loose or whimsical. I see so much work on the web that is just 'gee whiz, motion effects,' but I like to have our designs rooted in meaning that is full of metaphors, irony and often, foreshadowing. I also like people to see new things in our work that they didn't notice before.

Who are some of your clients?
Right now we're working with several clients: Skechers, Macromedia, Billabong-USA, J.F. Shea Companies, Omnisky, Prudential Lighting and a very cool zine startup in New York called Shorn. We have also done work for Toshiba, Fujitsu, Tektronix (now Xerox), Lundstrom and Associates, and others. I just recently finished designing a book for Hillman Curtis and New Riders publishing titled 'Flash Web Design' (http://hillmancurtis.com/book ). I wrote a chapter for the book as well.

Where else have we seen your work?
We've won about eight Macromedia Sites of the Day. We're also in several galleries: http://www.macromedia.com. Communication Arts, Lynda.com's inspirations, Born Magazine, High five, Shift, the Design Project, Creative Sight, and a handful of others. In the meat space, we've been in HOW magazine, PDN's PIX, Australia's Design Graphics Resource magazine and Spain's largest news paper, El Pais (go figure). In addition we have been featured in numerous web design books around the world. The web is quite an amazing vehicle for spreading a reputation. We have been very fortunate.

What are your tools of the trade?
In regard to software, we use and love all Macromedia's products: Freehand, Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Director, Generator, and Sound Edit 16. We also use Adobe Photoshop and Premiere, as well as Cold Fusion Studio, ASP, SQL and some others. As far as hardware is concerned, we work on a bunch of G3 and G4's, G3 powerbooks (which I actually design on mostly in the air), and a bunch of Win NT and 98 boxes. For funware, we use a Nikon Coolpix 950 Digital Camera, a Sony Pc-100 DV Camera, and a Kross Desktop Stereo (specific enough).

Tell us about a career-defining moment
"When we created http://lundstromarch.com back in '98, I felt we had achieved something that was very good--not just in comparison to the other work being done on the web at the time--but also for myself. I learned to trust my instincts and be confident with my work. This was more than just a good site--I worked very hard to create a total experience on the web that was almost tactile in nature and transcended the design and technology. I started the project in '97, back in the days of Flash 2 before sound was viable, before html, and before many people were doing sites entirely in Flash."

What do the images you create say about you?
That I like to communicate in a fresh and explorative way. Many designers struggle with wrestling between functionality and design. I see them both as tools that are used to create experience, along with motion, interactivity, sound and technology. I think my work says I care about the whole piece, not just the typography or the imagery.

What's the most satisfying part of the job?
I love getting feedback from people around the world on the work that we have done. It is a great pleasure to see the other designers in the office go off on projects as well. I love to see other people grow and succeed around me. I also enjoy speaking at design conferences and seminars, helping people grow any way that I can.

What do you do for inspiration?
I love rapidly skimming magazines to wash my brain with visual stimuli. I love film titles, especially the work of imaginary forces. I am also greatly inspired by many of my peers on the web that are great designers and storytellers: Hillman Curtis, Josh Ulm, Jimmy Chin, Brad Johnson, Amy Franceschini, Matt Owens, Joshua Davis, and many more. I love to see other people's creative thinking realized into things.

What's next for them?
We've been honored to be selected as finalists in the first ever Flash Film Festival. Two of our projects, http://lundstromARCH.com (best Corporate) and http://juxtinteractive.com/theprocess (best sound), join other outstanding Flash works in several categories. This is a people's choice award and the amount of response to the awards will help validate this event in the years to come.

What's the most unforgettable advice you've ever received?
When I left college, my father told me you're only a failure when you quit trying. This gave me an attitude that if I did fail, it was not the end of the world--I would just succeed the next time. I am extremely competitive and hate to lose, so the combination of ambition and confidence has helped me in my design. I believe this has helped Juxt as well--we are committed to taking projects that let us grow and learn new things and take risks.