SheMakesArt is the online portfolio for Maureen Swiertz. That's me. I have always loved both design and fine art. I am lucky enough, though, to not be 100% right-brained, so I have had a great deal of opportunity to hone my production design (aka hard-core CSS/HTML/XHTML coding and Flash Actionscripting) skills over the years as well. Though, admittedly, my heart and love lies more in conceptual design and illustration.This site is where you can see a culmination of my 14+ years of experience in primarily the web industry but also get a peek into my slightly more whimsical "illustrator side" which I enjoy dabbling in during my (limited) freetime.
SheMakesArt started as a way to show off my web design skills but I have recently decided to show the full spectrum of my talents and interests by also posting some of my illustration work as well.
I have worked in the web industry since 1996 when dot-coms were starting up and beginning to hire graphic designers to make websites more appealing than programmers or developers were doing previously. (This was to avoid users from saying, "Oh yay. Another site with the default gray background. Lovely.") Though my degree is in fashion design, my curiosity got the better of me and while taking a job that I thought would be "temporary", the challenge of teaching myself web design and the challenges of a constantly changing field and industry ended up consuming me for the past decade plus change.
I have worked in the web industry since 1996 when dot-coms were starting up and beginning to hire graphic designers to make websites more appealing than programmers or developers were doing previously. (This was to avoid users from saying, "Oh yay. Another site with the default gray background. Lovely.") Though my degree is in fashion design, my curiosity got the better of me and while taking a job that I thought would be "temporary", the challenge of teaching myself web design and the challenges of a constantly changing field and industry ended up consuming me for the past decade plus change.
Balance. It surprises me that so many web designers don't understand the technical structure of websites. I have been fortunate enough to have worked in positions where I was able to balance the conceptual work with the production design work so that I have a thorough understanding of the structure of websites and also know a heck-of-a-lot about cross-browser testing, designing HTML emails for multiple clients, structuring websites for dynamic content, etc.
I have always vowed not to just build "pretty sites."
My approach is to design with a sensitivity to and understanding of: aesthetics, technical structure and usability in balance with one another. A well-designed site can build confidence in the product/service by the user. A well-designed site can build relationships between businesses; between businesses and consumers; between consumers. A well-designed site can save the world. Okay. Maybe that's going too far. But it can at least balance out the poorly-designed sites of the world, like how eating a piece of celery after eating chocolate makes the chocolate not count.
I have always vowed not to just build "pretty sites."
My approach is to design with a sensitivity to and understanding of: aesthetics, technical structure and usability in balance with one another. A well-designed site can build confidence in the product/service by the user. A well-designed site can build relationships between businesses; between businesses and consumers; between consumers. A well-designed site can save the world. Okay. Maybe that's going too far. But it can at least balance out the poorly-designed sites of the world, like how eating a piece of celery after eating chocolate makes the chocolate not count.
You can contact me at maureen(at)shemakesart.com.
Step to the Light" by The Push Puppets.
A music video that I directed, shot (on my Canon XL2) & edited (using Final Cut Pro).
A music video that I directed, shot (on my Canon XL2) & edited (using Final Cut Pro).
- SOME OF MY FAVORITE BANDS:
Fever Ray, The Standard, Jamie Cullum, Editors, Radiohead, Boards Of Canada, Interpol, Peter Gabriel, Keane, She Wants Revenge, Bjork, Sigur Ros, Jeff Buckley, Echo and the Bunnymen, Skinny Puppy, Royksopp, ABC, Thom Yorke, Blonde Redhead, Cold War Kids, Sun Kil Moon, Bell Hollow, The Departure, Thom Yorke, English Beat, Jack Peņate, David Bowie, Hank Williams, Imogen Heap, Jonsi. I also enjoy rockabilly, western swing, bluegrass, chamber music and big band.
- SOME OF MY FAVORITE FILMS:
Let The Right One In, The Machinist, The Jacket, Memento, Insomnia, The Thin Man, It Happened One Night, Out of the Past, The Princess and the Warrior, Dancer in the Dark, One Hour Photo, Twin Falls Idaho, Winter's Bone, The Colors Trilogy, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Millions, No Country for Old Men, Eternal Sunshine, The Station Agent, Talk to Her, The City of Lost Children, The Last Wave, Down by Law, The Quay Bros. Shorts, There Will Be Blood, The Red Riding Trilogy, The King's Speech, True Grit, What Dreams May Come, anything Criterion.
