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Welcome to PSDFAN. Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Would you mind telling our readers a little bit about yourself and your websites?

Hi Tom, thank you so much for asking. I’m Angie Bowen a 31 year old freelance web designer and co-owner and creator of the Arbenting Design Blog, Dead Wings Designs and the Social Media Directory for Designers. Arbenting is our design blog which has a large focus on web design and wordpress as well as freelancing. Dead Wings started as a print design blog but is about to get a redesign and will be turned into a place to get premium vectors and other design elements. The directory was an idea we had a while back that would allow designers to easily find each other among the vast sea of social media sites and design blogs.

Is design something that you’ve always been interested in? How did you get into the field?

Actually it’s not, I just became interested in design a few years ago. I’ve been an artist for years then a while ago decided to start learning html & css. That was my first introduction into the design community and I quickly became fascinated with it. So I spent a few years on the sidelines, studying and learning. I’m completely self taught (which a lot of people may find obvious lol) and have learned so much from the online design community that I wanted to give back. That’s when I decided to start Arbenting.

Your gallery shows some very diverse work. Do you have a favorite type of design?

Web design would have to be my favorite because I love to build as much as I love to design. There’s a logic to it that I’m a huge fan of, combining usability and aesthetics is like solving a problem. I’ve recently also gotten into snowboard design which I’m having a lot of fun with. It’s getting me back to the open, no-rules art that I started with which has been a nice change.

What does creativity mean for you?

Creativity means never having to say you’re sorry. No, wait. That’s love. For me, creativity is like air, it’s a life force that some people require for survival and I’m one of those people. I find it impossible not to create, it’s something that just comes naturally to me.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

So many places. I subscribe to about 250 design blogs which provide endless amounts of inspiration every day. I also live in what I think is one of the most beautiful places in the world (Manitou Springs, CO). I’ve never taken a walk here and not come out with new ideas. I also frequently visit local art galleries and online galleries such as deviant art, behance, css galleries, etc.

Do you have any favorite designers or websites that you follow?

Wow, this is an extremely hard question to answer. I love design blogs and have so many that I find helpful. If I had to pick a couple that excite me most to see updated they would be Janko at Warp Speed which is a wonderful web development blog that I’ve learned so much from and Just Creative Design where Jacob Cass offers his great perspective on graphic design.

Could you let us know about your future plans online?

I just got back from a 2 month hiatus and have a lot of plans. My number one priority right now is getting Arbenting back on a regular schedule. I’m also working on a redesign of the Social Media Directory for Designers as well as adding some features to make the site easier to use. I think it still has tons of untapped potential. And as I mentioned above, Dead Wings is about to undergo a huge transformation, but it’s still a ways down the road.

Thanks again for doing this interview, is there any closing advice that you’d give to aspiring designers?

Don’t let anyone discourage you. There are so many people, especially that you will run across online, that will do everything they can to quash your potential. Learn to listen to constructive critisism and accept it gracefully while tuning the negative people out.