Todd Roeth (greenappleslingshot.com)

# Posted Dec 14, 3:14pm

Todd's been a good friend of mine since we met at a previous job (he's moved on to greener pastures as an instructor at the Brooks Institute of Photography). Todd designed the Ideanode logo (twice!). I couldn't think of a better person to start off with to feature our customers.

What do you love about the web?

Two things: Self-expression and interactivity. I love the idea that anyone in the modern world can immediately see and hear what I have to say at any given time- and vice-versa. Also, the path I take through the web is entirely unique to me. the associations I make and the knowledge base I build when surfing the net is all my own. It is like one big custom made choose your own adventure every time I sit down.

What do you dislike about it?

Spam and incompatibility. Like most ideas, the web has potential to be liberating or disastrous. I wish more people would respect the medium and not take so many cheap shots. Regarding incompatibility, too many decisions are made for commercial gain, regarding browsers, software, plug-ins, and versioning of each. The result is people are forced to adopt systems that intentionally exclude them from seeing the entire www.

What's the most visually uncool thing that you love?

You mean, besides my own website?...My favorites are fast food condiment packaging, and Times New Roman Italic.

Has anything surprised you about your site?

I was eating diner at a party once and someone across the table I had never met before mentioned my website.

If you had to choose between your camera and your Mac, which would you choose? Why?

My camera. A computer is a great tool, but without good material to work with, a computer is just a computer for its own sake.

You've got both a blog and image gallery on your site—do you find that those tools change how you work or how you approach things?

I take a pretty holistic approach to design, meaning—I try pull from every experience in life and incorporate it into my work. I use my blog as production notes for life/design. It helps me to keep a record of my train of thought, and i often refer to it when creating visual work. The photo gallery has been a great asset to me. Professionally, the gallery is great, super-easy way to share images with clients for review and editing. Personally, it is a great way remember where I have been.

Make sure to check out Todd's site at greenappleslingshot.com