Magnus Jepson is a co-founder of WooThemes, a brilliant designer whose distinct style have become immensely popular. His design skills have helped push the aesthetics and functionality of WordPress themes to a whole new level.
Name: Magnus Jepson
Location: Norway
Age: 30
Site(s): Jepson.no, WooThemes
Twitter: @mJepson
Brian: Hi Magnus, thanks for agreeing to this interview. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background on the internet.
Magnus: Worked as programmer in IT business for 7 years before going freelance in 2008 to do web design.
Brian: I find it interesting that on Jepson.no, over half of the site is focused on your Twitter feed. What does Twitter mean to you? How do you use it on a daily basis?
Magnus: I use Twitter on daily basis to keep updated with co-workers and fellow web designers and WordPress fanatics, and I hardly ever blog, so I thought it was best to just display my twitter activity on my website so it just doesn’t become a static website.
Brian: Your themes at WooThemes have a very distinct style. Where does your style come from? What online and offline sources do you use to find inspiration?
Magnus: From the start I was always inspired by sites that used bevels, pixel lines and subtle shadows in the design, like many of the Envato websites. I always appreciated this design style and that has been my main source of inspiration for what my style is now.
Brian: What communication and collaboration tools do you use to work with a company that is spread out across the globe? Has the lack of face-to-face business impacted you at all?
Magnus: I think the lack of face-to-face has impacted me in a good way, as I work best alone without being disturbed. We started WooThemes and built the business the first year without ever meeting or talking on the phone with each other. That just proves that in many cases face-to-face contact is overrated. We use Skype, P2 (WordPress) and Basecamp to communicate on a day to day basis.
Brian: What advice would you offer to young entrepreneurs looking to establish themselves in the online world?
Magnus: Same advice I found online from sources like freelanceswitch.com: Start your business on the side and build up a 6 month economic buffer so you have cash if you hit hard times before making the switch.
Brian: Any secret theme projects you are working on that you’d like to share with Elite By Design readers?
Magnus: I just released Canvas theme, which has been extremely popular, and was also quite a secret until I released it. Plan on improving that theme now, so no secret projects I’m afraid.
Thanks again to Magnus Jepson for this insightful interview. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!
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