Jina Bolton – Episode 45

While at the Front End Design Conference in Tampa Florida we were able to talk briefly with Jina Bolton (@jina) of Sushiandrobots.com and crushlovely.com. Giovanni and Jina discussed what it means to be a high profile designer and what that brings to our community.

Jina was giving a talk on CSS Workflow primarily at the Front End Conference, so in the podcast that’s what’s being referenced, if you’re interested the slides are up for you to download, it’s pretty good stuff so be sure and check that out. There was a pretty great quote from her talk that I particularly liked as well:

[On CSS Workflow]: Be psychic; have foresight for changes in content. This way, you won’t have to go back into your code later and make major adjustments. — Jina Bolton

Thanks for the post Melanie!

Here’s the transcript:

Giovanni Defeterici: All right. Hi, this is Giovanni with Unmatched Style, and I’m here talking to Jina Bolton, awesome Jina Bolton. And [laughs] we’re just going to ask her a couple questions about who she is and what she’s been doing. My question to you is: You’ve worked with some incredible clients in the past and, over time, you’ve developed into kind of the Jina Bolton. [laughter] And I just wanted to hear your thoughts about that transition from high profile projects to being kind of a high profile person and having a celebrity identity thing. [laughter] And how that’s informed the talk that you’ve given today.

Jina Bolton: Sure. [laughs] Well, I still find the celebrity thing kind of weird. It’s really interesting because I want to be a teacher. So all these opportunities are kind of leading the way towards that. As to how I got there, if you just do really good work, [laughter] …

Giovanni: Yeah, yeah.

Jina: …people will find you eventually. You know how they always say it’s who you know? Making good connections and networking is a good way. Before I started doing some of the bigger projects I was doing, I was doing a lot of freelance work while going through college. At the same time, also getting into social networking and all that. It’s actually through social networking that I got the job that moved me out to California for a big company. [laughs]

Giovanni: An unnamed big company.

Jina: For a very big company.

Giovanni: [laughs]

Jina: But also I think there’s something to be said about people that like to write articles and things like that. When you do that and then you share the things you’ve learned… Because really that’s the way I look at it. It’s like, “Oh, I’ve learned something cool. I want to share it with people.” People like that because it’s genuine and they want to learn it too. I can’t tell if I’m answering the question or not.

Giovanni: You totally are! You are, you are.

Jina: As to the talk I gave today, it was basically just rehashing things that I learned along the way. And there are some things in my talk that I’m actually still learning and trying to get better at now, especially when it comes to organization and stuff because it’s so subjective. Everyone does things differently. So I’m still figuring out what is the most ideal situation, but it’s not always going to be ideal, if that makes any sense. I was talking about CSS work flow by the way. [laughter]

Giovanni: That’s really interesting. And I find that a lot of higher profile designers, they come to serve this role as an asset and as a source of interesting general inspiration and information for more up-and-coming people.

Jina: Right.

Giovanni: And I wonder if you think of what you do, with these talks and everything, as being that.

Jina: I hope so. [laughs] Most of my talks have been in the realm of CSS. Some of them have been in design. And, in all of them, I try to focus a little more on the inspiration side of things. Of course, some people don’t like that. They prefer for you to just get up there and show them tutorials or kind of a cookbook of “here’s how to build this”, which is fine. I just think there’s already a lot of that out there. So, yeah, I do try to be more in the realm of motivation and inspiration, but still linking it to applying it to what you’re doing.

Giovanni: OK. Well, I think we’ll leave it at that. It’s really great to talk to you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Jina: Oh, yes.

Giovanni: So, this is Giovanni with Unmatched Style and Jina Bolton.

Jina: [laughs]

Giovanni: Yes, thank you so much.

For more information on Jina you can check out her personal website sushiandrobots.com and you can also follow her on twitter @jina.

2 Comments

  1. Niki Brown

    Jina is teh famous! 🙂

    I think learning and sharing is the best thing about the design community! When you take the time to share something via a blog post or giving a talk at a conference you also are learning from others at the same time when you get feedback.

    Reply
  2. Gene Crawford

    Absolutely Niki, giving back and sharing is what makes it all worth it!

    Reply

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