December 1998: Gilbert Cosme

December 10, 1998

"With a strong vision in place, ideas will just come…"

Gilbert Cosme, Internet design consultant for Systems Technology Group, Inc. (STG), says he started playing around with the Web before the Web was cool -- all the way back in 1992. Having been involved in desktop publishing, he feels the transition to the Web was a natural one. Cosme studied at Pan Am University in Texas and the Phoenix Institute of Technology, but says a lot of his education was trial by fire. "I learned vast amounts on the job," he told Microsoft's Site Builder Network (SBN).

Cosme's design background started at Typography Unlimited, Inc. There, he worked with people who were able to point him to the right instructors and nurture his view of design, which he sums up as "clean, crisp, and visceral." One of the highlights of Cosme's career, as a contractor, he developed a new logo for a consulting company. That company, Systems Technology Group of Phoenix, Arizona then hired Cosme to head their Web development department. Cosme says, "Everyday seems like a highlight because I am doing something that I love to do." To get an idea of the work he has done, check out the sites he created for Ugly Duckling Car Sales, The Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Public Service,and STG.

SBN: What advice do you have about testing Web site usability?

Gilbert Cosme: The only real way to test a site is to use it. Put on a pair of "new eyes," get out your 28.8 modem, and get to work. If at all possible, go to the site from two different Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Using Netscape Navigator 2.0 and later -- yes, Netscape Navigator -- and our beloved Internet Explorer 2.0 and later. We always gather customer feedback. For example, we work with Arizona Public Service, Arizona's principal energy supplier, which has more than 738,000 customers. They told us that a large percentage of their customer base reported using America Online (AOL). We were able to adjust their site design around being viewed by people using Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, or AOL's browser.

SBN: What creative tools do you use, and which is your favorite?

Gilbert Cosme: Adobe PhotoShop 5.0, QuarkXpress 3.32, Adobe Illustrator 7.0, Microsoft Visual Studio, including Visual InterDev™, and Visual Basic®, and Microsoft FrontPage 98®. Actually, I have two favorite design tools: Adobe PhotoShop and Microsoft Visual InterDev. Visual InterDev allows me to construct dynamic, data-driven Web sites and applications. Then, PhotoShop allows me to put the face on the Web site or application. The feature of Visual InterDev that I find most useful is the data-bound design-time controls. The controls make it easy for me to incorporate script in my Web pages that will interact with a database. In my opinion, no other tool compares to Visual InterDev.

SBN: What current technical innovations are you most excited about?

Gilbert Cosme: There is a lot there that completely captivates me. The new growth that e-commerce is experiencing has my attention, and I am wondering what I will be able to do with the new XML developments.

SBN: Where do you find inspiration?

Gilbert Cosme: The biggest aids to my creativity are other Web designers who are pushing the technologies to their very limits -- and also my family. My family knows I love what I do, and this means my daughters will model my behavior and find something they love to do. This is very inspirational.

SBN: How do you define great Web design?

Gilbert Cosme: Clean, crisp, well organized development of a vision. I also say a part of what makes great Web design is that the site has function. I don't just make things look pretty; I make sure the sites I build have a function -- a function that serves our customers, as well as it serves their clients. The cardinal rules I go by are: Always listen to the client, keep the site clean, make it easy to navigate, and have something people will want to return to the site for.

SBN: What can designers do to entice people to come back to a Web site repeatedly?

Gilbert Cosme: Assuming the Web site already has a function and is compelling, the next thing to focus on would be updating the site often. Have it occur for people like a moving, living thing -- like something that needs to be watched.

SBN: How does designing for the Web differ from other types of design?

Gilbert Cosme: You must pay attention to screen resolution and the audience's ability to see the work. Do they have a 28.8 modem? Do they have the latest plug-ins? Anyone looking at a magazine sees basically the same thing. You can't guarantee that with Web design. People who surf the Web see more of everything, and they see it faster. My designs must be original, because at the click of a mouse they can view another designer's work.

SBN: What adjustments would a traditional graphic designer need to make in order to enter this field?

Gilbert Cosme: They would need to take a step backward. You can't design for the Web the same way you design for offset printing. CMYK becomes RGB, and screen resolutions become your canvas. You are still working with pixels -- a lot less pixels -- and a limited color palette. The Web is not QuarkXpress and inks. The general public can't go to the local supermarket and pick up your Web site. Your work has to be good enough to motivate the viewer to sit down and log on.

SBN: Describe your creative process. What do you do during a typical workday?

Gilbert Cosme: I begin by really listening to the customer. I am the Web expert, but the customer has the initial vision. After we set the vision, I am off and running. With a strong vision in place, ideas will just come to me. I like to get in at 6:30 in morning and leave around 6:00 P.M. I drink lots of coffee, prioritize my projects, and get to work. Some days, it is constructing Web pages; other days it is researching and experimenting with different methods of Web design. Part of my time includes drafting proposals, technical phone-support, supporting sales staff, and one-on-one offsite Web-training in PhotoShop or Microsoft FrontPage.

SBN: What do you think will be the biggest change in the way we use the Web 20 years from now?

Gilbert Cosme: With download times decreasing, technology making itself smarter every three months, and chips getting faster, I think the Web will become more alive. The Web will live in a real time environment and react to the viewer, the way we react to a person when that person comes into our "space." The Web will become more and more friendly.

Michael Moore/Microsoft Corporate Photographer