About Site Dynamics
My name is Michael Duerr. Site Dynamics is my web design firm.
History
I have been doing web design since 2003; you can click "Portfolio" above to see some of my work. Long before I started doing websites, I started writing software. Much of this experience applies to web design ... not some given language you can learn in a weekend and become proficient with in a month or so, rather how to design software, write and debug code, and manage software development.
Education
I started programming computers in 6th grade, more than 30 years ago. (Wow, how did all that time fly by!)
I wanted to know more about how they worked, so I went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and got a degree in Electrical Engineering.
Work Experience
Most of my engineering work centered around embedded microprocessors and microcontrollers. I designing processor hardware, wrote embedded software, and integrating the two. I learned several computer languages: C, C++, various assemblers, and Digital Signal Processing.
I also learned how to read and debug other people's designs and code, especially as a "Field Application Engineer" - a sort of cross between a salesmen and tech support. I meet customers, talked about their applications, and presented suitable products. Then ,the best part was that I got to roll up my sleeves and help customers with technical problems. At Hitachi I wrote an application note covering the "features" of their C++ compiler that kept tripping up their customers; I also isolated and reported a number of compiler bugs. I learned about many different businesses that use embedded microcontrollers, and wrote/debugged hardware and software for many of them: products like thermostadts, car seats, furnace igniters, aircraft heater controls, dishwashers and stoves, hot tubs, earth movers, power tools, irrigation controls, battery chargers, telephone switches, programmable controllers, uninterruptable power supplies, engine controllers, toys, earth moving equipment ... the list goes on and on. It was great fun. I also saw a lot of what did and didn't work in project management at various companies.
A Field Application Engineer is half salesman (actually, by the time I finished, I was more like a regional sales manager). I saw the business considerations and strategies that apply to various markets and developed an interest in business itself. Branding, inventory management, pricing, product positioning, managing allocation in times of backlog and surviving the brutal competition of slow times ... this was trully a "Street MBA."
Web Design
After leaving applications engineering I took some time off. I volunteered to redesign the website of the Nuclear Energy Information Service, an anti-nuclear nonprofit I belong to. I took a job that opened at my Shambhala Meditation center, while trying to choose a new career; soon I was doing their website too. I found my web technology bookshelf growing ... this stuff really is pretty cool, and I enjoyed learning how to do it.
Graphic Design
I also began designing Shambhala's brochures and event flyers, learning basic principles of graphic design in the process. Eventually, it was obvious that I really enjoy the combination of technology, communication, graphic design and business logic that is ... web site design.
