We had the good fortune to sit down for a discussion with Kevin Burg & Fred Yates over Skype for a little behind the scenes on what went into the designing and building of thoughtbot.com which we did a screen review of earlier this month. Some of the connection was a bit hairy for the interview but it’s pretty good for the most part and I think you’ll gain some great insight from these two.

Kevin & Fred work in different cities (Boston and New York). They initially worked separately then brought the work together to form a cohesive design. They seem to thrive in the back and forth type process. I think this is largely due to the fact that they work well together and share a healthy respect for each others work, they both seem to share the same beliefs when it comes to design and their approach. I asked them about the use of Tumblr.com for their blog, turns out they are largely personally Tumblr users and generally fans of the platform and chose it due to their love of using it. Which I think is great and often an overlooked concept, that is choosing a platform that you feel good about using aside from just reviewing a feature set.

All in all, I really like the idea that their collaborative design process worked out organically by just sending ideas back and fourth. I’m sure distance makes them focus on communicating with each other and that has to make the work they produce better for it in the end. The Thoughtbot.com site is a shining example of how their process is successful.

Oh yeah, Fred says that if you’re planning to attend Interaction 10 in Savannah, GA this February, to look them up! Watch for the blinking robot eyes too.