Jeff Mendoza
www.jeffmendoza.com JM: My real name is Jeffrey Richard M. Mendoza. It's a very long name that's why I preferred Jeff Mendoza instead. I'm 20 years old, works as an Interactive Producer / Web & Multimedia artist at day, and studies web development at night.
Where are you from?I'm from Laguna, where I spent most of my childhood days. It's quite a very nice place I must say, well, it.s full of hot springs, resorts and stuff. It's a good for a designer to be at. But now that I have jobs, I now spend most of my time here in Makati city where most of my clients and offices are.
Design education:Unfortunately, I don't have any design education yet. Maybe someday after I finish my current course.
How did you start out as a Flash Artist and Graphic Designer?I started making personal static websites since 1998. Realizing that hard coding HTML pages isn't for me, I wanted to work using Flash as another method of doing websites. Then, sometime in the year 2000, after knowing what the Timeline in Flash is for, I made my first experimental flash-based website called" The Terminus". In short, I didn't know how to make HTML pages by hand so I tried flash.
What inspired you to go with the antique look for your website?The antique look was suggested by the overall theme of the project. The Typographik's story was written based on the time of subliminal advertising, serif versus sans serif and of course, an unadulterated, fine-and-dandy time. Well, I have a passion for innocence.
I love the fact that Filipino designers are making their mark in the industry. What are your thoughts on the Filipino talent throughout the design circuit? The principles that preside over a Filipino designer mean much to his talent in design. His traits of goodwill, joy, patriotism, angst and sarcasm define how he takes up any given design challenge. I believe that more and more Filipino designers will be known out there given enough time.
How has Flash benefited you and your company? When I design a project, I'm always more into user experience and when the user exits the site, the project will still be remembered. Flash has never failed on me to produce this kind of effect.
What was the most difficult project you ever encountered?The most difficult project that I ever encountered was the Crying Ladies website (http://www.cryingladies.com). But now, I am facing an even greater challenge, an online project for a local graphic novel. In every project that I do, the hardest thing that I always encounter is translating the feel of the project's concept and message into digital design. You have to be one with the project itself.
Do you prefer technologically advanced sites or sites with simple but good design?Well it depends on the objective of the project. Personally speaking, I would prefer having both styles mixed. I do love seeing new things in design but seeing it done over and over and over and over again tends to make it pass.
What do you do besides graphic design?I'm a huge gamer. After I bought a PlayStation 2, I filed a vacation leave for 1 whole week just so I can play at home. I also like playing my guitar - but just to relieve stress.
Do you have any cool design tips for our novice viewers?Don't let that age bracket thing let you down. Believe me, I get that all the time. Just be humble, do your best, and let the work speak for itself.
How do you find working with clients as opposed to personal work?Working with clients is much easier than doing personal work. Clients give you the project contents, objectives and of course, they pay you. Doing personal work, like your personal homepage for instance is like doing long-term work wherein you are translating your soul into message and concept to the final design output.
What are your bad personal and design habits?I procrastinate. My portfolio looks good but my resume is written badly.
Design styles you dislike:It isn't design styles that I dislike but rather how designs are executed and presented. But again, personally speaking, I don't like it when everybody wants to have the 2advanced look on his or her site. No offense
2A.
How would you like to be remembered?Will I be remembered? I want to be remembered as the boy who challenged and won account over big companies. Yey! Seriously, I want to be remembered as the person who showed others that we could do more than what we've always done by pushing our designs to greater heights.
Which designer you feel has most influenced your work?Herbert Bayer
Do you have any new projects coming up that you can tell us about? I'm doing a website for a local graphic novel and for now, that's all I can tell you.
Thank you for taking time out to do this interview. Are there any last comments you would like to add?You're welcome! But I gotta go, I have a meeting in 20 minutes.
Thank you Jeff! 
