Who is
this diva?
Kelly Goto is an author and a sought-after teacher on the subject of Web development and design. As a Web designer in her own company, she works together with other creative people to create award-winning Web sites for technology and I.T. clients such as Verizon Wireless, IBM, Genentech, Macromedia and others. Her company has won numerous awards including the International Web Page Award for Creative Excellence, Macromedia's Flash Site of the Day, About.com's Best of the Net award and Yahoo's Pick of the Week. Kelly's book helps people understand the best way to redesign their Web pages.
What
do you do at work?
I live and work in a loft in the Mission District of San Francisco. It is part of an artist’s community called the Box Factory (it used to be a literal box factory) and is a very creative, inviting space.
I like to have a bit of time in the morning to catch up with personal tasks, email and workout at the climbing gym down the street. The staff rolls in around 10:00 a.m., and I start to have meetings, meetings, meetings. Sometimes my meetings are with the staff for a creative brainstorm, and sometimes with clients to discuss the status of their projects.
Generally, I need to wait until the end of the day to get any ‘real’ work done, as my day is usually filled with meetings and urgent requests. I usually put in about 10 to 12 hours a day and try to take the weekends off whenever possible.
How does your job help other people?
Gotomedia is a company that was created during an economic downturn--partially to create a safe haven and positive work environment during very difficult times. Designing corporate Web sites alone does not hugely benefit the planet, but I find having a creative, positive workspace and the ability to work with non-profits, educational corporations, participate in community activities and inform effectively through design is a great reward.
Do you work alone or with
a team?
One of the most important things you can do when working with people or teams is empower them and trust in their abilities. People can do amazing things when given a chance.
Empowering someone means that you allow them to take responsibility for their work and their deadlines, and they have belief in themselves. Finding the right mix of talent, flexibility and responsibility is probably the most difficult thing about running a company.
What's
the best part of your job?
We have an amazing team, and we are lucky to be working in our chosen field.
Being a creative, innovative company gives us the ability to participate in national design conferences, to participate in local design and research organizations and to go to the museum for fun.
We love the brainstorming process. Sometimes the entire staff goes for a long lunch (shhhhh) to Japantown or some other inspiring place to look at books on design, think about different approaches to the creative process and just get out in the local environment and get inspired.
What's
the worst part of your job?
The most difficult part of my job is working with clients who don’t understand the creative process and are penny-pinching all the way.
We have had the luck of working with incredible companies and clients, but every once in a while there is a very unfortunate situation where we end up working with an organization that demands everything but is willing to pay for nothing. They take advantage, are not team players and point fingers and place blame instead of working in a collaborative manner.
Where
do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I would like to continue to teach and lecture and write--but on topics such as global communication, cultural anthropology applied to design and theory. gotomedia will transition into a global consultancy, working on projects that inspire and influence communication, design and culture.
Personally, I hope to have a family and new priorities to focus on, with continued travel, education and new experiences.
What
do you do when you're not at work?
Our company motto is “exceed expectations and take vacations.” I strive to maintain balance in my life. It is sometimes difficult, but you always need to try and have perspective on the things that really matter: friends, family and health.
When I’m not at work, I’m with friends or family, spending time doing something new such as traveling, reading or learning. I do not have kids right now but hope to in the next 4 to 5 years.
What advice would you give
a girl about the I.T. field?
I would say that technology is a part of our lives and a field that should not be daunting in any way. I am not actually in the I.T. field, but technology is pervasive in every project I work on.
The trick is to develop the ability to see how technology enhances communication, and how we can simplify it and understand the possibilities instead of being overwhelmed. Technology is constantly changing, so you will never get bored.
What
were your hobbies when you were 11-14?
I started learning calligraphy out of a book by Byron Black when I was 11. I turned that into a career in seventh grade and created my first business card: “Calligraphy and Graphic Design.”
This was an affirmation as well as a new business. I had my first client at age 12 and ongoing work through junior high and high school. I also played violin and piano and enjoyed basketball, photography and super-8 filmmaking (before video cameras).
Describe technology you
wish was available now.
I would like a better way to take notes using a voice recorder that could also transcribe instantly and provide output in different formats from e-mail to a text document.
I would like the ability to have an ergonomic laptop that separates into pieces for healthier head and hand positioning, yet collapses down to one pound for easy travel, and I would like a universal power charger.
Clearly, it would be fantastic to have communication devices that cross cultures and provide access, communication and education to the masses.
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