Is the entire thing just a Photoshop Save for Web document with some jQuery attached?
Also the "LET MY DREAM COME TRUE" image's hover state not being preloaded made me sad.
Okay to actually be constructive:
It's a good time to be trying this because it's the beginning of a new year so H-1B visas are available.
As another self taught young developer who's extremely eager to leave his full-time job and go to school next semester, I can't say I agree with his goals. But if that's what you want to do, it's a good attempt at getting out there.
Most companies I would know that would be willing to set up a visa for a person who wants to drop out of college in Europe would be start-ups, however I don't know if a pure Graphic Designer is in demand with start-ups. I would expect them to rather have someone who's very good at graphic design and can code the basics of the designs themselves rather than have someone who's fantastic at graphic design but is just a one-trick pony.
When I worked in a start-up one of the biggest deciding factors we had when interviewing designers (right after their taste) was how much of the design they could implement themselves. It made little sense to pay someone to design a Photoshop document and send to a developer to turn into HTML or a layout file where we could pay someone else to design it AND make the HTML file themselves. Most of the time that person didn't ask for 200% of the pay of someone just doing Photoshop work either.
this is about design, forget the code.. i've originally designed this for one startup from Palo Alto, which's been looking for pure Graphic designer, i couln't image this up on HackerNews.. i can finish college anytime, but offers from Silicon Valley are not coming everyday :)
I would say the opposite. College is awesome. You could do it anytime but the best time to go through university or a college is now, while you are young. On the other hand Silicon Valley is not going anywhere. If you are talented, there is a place for you in the valley anytime you want.
The Economy is cyclical. The best time to grow is during a bubble. In a couple of years when all those me too incubators have burned themselves up there will be fewer people willing to tunnel him into the US... He could do his Graduation during a bust.
Have you actively contacted companies you're interested in and asked for interviews? It's much harder to wait for someone to contact you than it is to send a personalized e-mail / resume to each company you're interested in.
I'm also a tad worried that you skipped the portion of my post regarding looking for pure graphic designers. It may just be my experience from companies I've been in but the last two graphic designers I helped hire were combo packages.
It's nice to see another 19 year old excited about startups and technology though :)
He says for half a year. It was most likely a study-abroad program else he should've definitely stated that. I'm an eleven-year permanent resident currently waiting on my citizenship paperwork so I'd be sad if he was already a US citizen and I wasn't ;)
* "I am Filip Santa, 19 years old designer from Slovakia" sounds a little strange. Maybe something like "I am Filip Santa, a 19 year old designer from Slovakia"
* In your timeline, instead of "Learning what is layer", maybe "Learning about layers"
* Also in the timeline: "Trying first webs & posters", maybe "Designing first web sites & posters"
And, here's my OCD peeking through, the images seem to have a colour profile associated with them, which clashes with mine producing: http://i.imgur.com/6BV6o.png (try making the background transparent)
Yep, I was just thinking the same thing. A lot of the "hot" startups are actually in San Francisco itself so may want to take that into account. Beyond Silicon Valley proper there are companies scattered throughout the Bay Area region also.
I'd second that. You want to say in the Bay Area. Also as a young person SF would be a lot better for him than Palo Alto. Palo Alto and the South Bay is a suburb where developers go to start their families.
this site was originally designed for one startup from Palo Alto.. but since it's here on HN, I'm really opened for everything in Bay Area :).. i've got some first offers already which is awesome :)
For what it's worth, and there's a lot of feedback here relating to technical issues/lifestyle choices etc, but considering you're applying to be a designer I thought the site looked and felt awesome. Totally engaging, easy to read and follow, and I read right to the end.
Absolutely agree. The only faux pa i've seen is that the call to action button on the bottom only starts loading when hovering over it, becoming invisible for a short moment.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I was wondering if the person was making a play on words with 'silicon,' but considering his grasp of English, that might be giving too much credit.
yes it was like like a wordplay with "silicon" & "valley" that why u see silicon boobs in the header :).. i was thinking about putting Pamela Anderson there sayin' "I know a lot about silicon & I think Filip would definitely fit there" but i didn't have time to put it in, couse I had to start studyin' for exam (which I screwed of course, because I spend most of time between christmas & new years eve working on this :)
Haha me too… After being told there's cleavage, I went back to take a look at it again – and noticed the 2 massive balls (circle) right below it. This is too much!
Has anyone else noticed that everyone who calls his/herself a "designer" uses very similar fonts (and font structures/patterns)? It always seems to be a taller-than-normal, skinny, bold, with < 0 letter-spacing kind of font, in all caps.
I mean I guess it looks good. I just wish "designers" would try something else for a change. It gets kind of old. Trying something else and making it look good (and function well), in my eyes, is what separates a great designer from the good.
As someone who's dropped out of college (three months ago) to start a company in Silicon Valley, I would urge you to think a lot about this decision. I know I have. It's a very serious decision and one that a lot of people take hastily, not knowing what it will really entail until much later.
College is important. I plan on going back before I die. You can get involved with startups, work with them and learn from them, without leaving college. Our world is all about networking, and just like I had an amazing network in SV from my dorm room in Ohio, so can you in Eastern Europe.
I'm not trying to convince you of anything. I've made my decision and I feel convinced it was the right one. I just think some people make it too hastily. Feel free to ping me if you have any questions.
I'd urge him to consider carefully not only because dropping out of university might not be wise, but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa.
An H-1B visa isn't a big deal, but it prevents you from working for a few weeks on contract to try things out, and it makes it quite a bit harder to change companies or quit.
Valley companies tend to overwork and under-compensate, and an H-1B makes it -that much- harder to get out of a terrible situation if you find yourself in one. An American designer in the Valley can say "no thanks" and change careers or move elsewhere with a minimum of effort compared to the issues associated with leaving with an H1B.
EDIT: It turns out I don't know much about visas and it's hard to get an H1B without a degree (thanks HN - learning a lot!). See replies for a wide variety of speculation as to which visa type would work in this situation, and feel free to sub in your choice of visa where I initially said H1B, because I think the danger of a poor working situation is either similar or even more pronounced with another type of visa.
but because he'll probably end up in the US on an H-1B visa.
Actually, getting an H1B visa without a college education is near-to-impossible. I have a college education that isn't in computing, and I've had to provide evidence of six years of work experience as an alternative. I doubt our 19 year old friend will be able to do that.
Plus he can't "work for food for two months"- in fact, just that being on his site would probably be a giant red flag for immigration. You have to be paid a prevailing wage.
The easy answer here is to do internships. I'm not sure what the visa situation around them is exactly, but I'm sure it's easier than getting an H1B.
I agree that an internship would probably be easier overall, but the organization would need to be approved as an "Internship Program" first. I think there's a limited incentive to do all the lawyering necessary to get only one person in for less than 12 months, which is why we don't see many J1 interns in the valley.
Plus, my word of warning about painful working conditions applies doubly to a J1 internship visa, which as far as I know doesn't allow a transfer between companies (or quitting) at all.
The VISA situation for internship would be F1, specifically F1-CPT. It would be much easier if Filip is studying in the US, but it is still easier compared to getting H1B.
Getting a silicon valley company to give him an offer would be a per-requisite.
Great design, however having your text as images makes me want to cry.
In terms of design, very attractive (minus the cleavage. that's considered trashy over here) and engaging. I read from top to bottom. Copy is nice despite being broken english.
Only gripe really is you should use some kind of @font-face (check fontsquirrel.com to make your own) so that 1. your text is well, actually text 2. highlight-able, click-able & copyable 3. your load time will increase dramatically 4. SEO!
Great idea. Great execution as a designer. Wishing you the best of luck.
ALSO: Even if you don't get recruited, you still have a bright future ahead of you. Don't get discouraged and keep trying. =)
He will require a H1-B visa to move and work in US. But unfortunately, you require a 4 year degree to be eligible for H1-B or 12 years work experience. So, H1-B is out of question.
The only viable option is to join a University in Silicon Valley and work part time in a start up.
There's a lot of sentiment in the HN comments that he should not leave university. For a community that is fairly bent on restructuring the education system, I have to ask: what gives? Is going to college worth it or not?
The extent to which having a four-year US degree equivalent will assist this young man in getting an H1-B visa cannot be exaggerated. It's possible without it, but, AFAIK, it then becomes a non-standard process which will require quite a bit of effort/explanation on the part of the sponsor - i.e. the immigrant will need to be quite a special person. Professional work experience can be substituted for study (I think at a 3:1 ratio, i.e 12 years of professional work experience = 4 year degree), but for obvious reasons that doesn't seem like a good option in this case.
I'm not an expert on this topic by any means, but I do speak from personal experience.
Great marketing for yourself. Unless you are 100% sold on Cali (I've lived here for 5 years and I'm 50/50), I'd use this to get a contracting job and live with family and friends. Then come out here and start something when you feel comfortable/saved up. Preferably this company involves bubbles (you seem to like them in various forms and are good with them).
More than anything this shows how people all across the world look up to Silicon Valley. Well ok, nerds and designers (web), tech entrepreneurs and the type. But still, for this group of people Silicon Valley is like a dream.
I am myself planning to stay, work and learn from the valley sometime soon. And I am sure there are hundreds like me.
I love this! I'm a 16-year-old entrepreneur of http://viatask.com. Hope you get accepted, feel free to ping me I can possibly hook you up with an opportunity in Silicon Valley. I have plenty of friends out there!
You do, unless the company happens to be pretty well connected (think Google, Apple). Then they can get you a visa which might not be H1-B but you get the same "benefits".
H1-B requires 4 year bachelor or 3 years of professional experience in the relevant field for each missing academic year. The only other working visa I can think of is the O-1, which is given to "outstanding individuals", which basically means high profile researchers, world renown designers etc.
Stay classy HN. What the hell were you all doing during christmas and new years when he was doing this? Give the kid some credit - he has more drive than most people I know...and by the way, what does your resume look like?
Very cool, but please don't drop out of university. For the vast majority of students, this is a decision that will come back and bite you in the ass when whatever you quit Uni for comes to an end.
> this is a decision that will come back and bite you in the ass when whatever you quit Uni for comes to an end.
I know you're trying to help, but these kinds of absolute statements can really mess with people. I got pretty much the same speech when I decided to leave school more than a decade ago.
Logically, I still cannot figure out what they were talking about. I have never met anyone who cared about what school you went, how well you did there, or if you went at all. Irrationally, however, I wonder how many days I have left until it hits and all the regret sets in.
Anyway, don't let me stop you. I just wanted to point out that getting so involved in other people's lives, people you don't even know especially, can be quite damaging.
"* My school gives me the opportunity to postpone my studies for as long as I need to, so I actually don't need to drop out (my mom will sleep better)"
Because this kid obviously has drive, ambition, and talent. Caring enough about his dream to put together a site and posting it to HN demonstrates that he's paying attention and he wants to connect with other driven people. Also that he spent 4 days on it when he could have been out partying shows a good deal more vision than a lot of 19-year olds.
He also is willing to make sacrifices and go halfway across the globe to join a team. Doubt you'll see his manager worrying if he's spending too much time on reddit.
It's also a big deal to leave your country and go somewhere where you have little base.
So in a nutshell, because he has the classic immigrants ambition, and won't rest on his laurels like perhaps someone who was born here would.
Talent and effort should have more value than a degree. Sure it takes some effort to get a degree, but with designers the portfolio should be far more important.
Also the "LET MY DREAM COME TRUE" image's hover state not being preloaded made me sad.
Okay to actually be constructive:
It's a good time to be trying this because it's the beginning of a new year so H-1B visas are available.
As another self taught young developer who's extremely eager to leave his full-time job and go to school next semester, I can't say I agree with his goals. But if that's what you want to do, it's a good attempt at getting out there.
Most companies I would know that would be willing to set up a visa for a person who wants to drop out of college in Europe would be start-ups, however I don't know if a pure Graphic Designer is in demand with start-ups. I would expect them to rather have someone who's very good at graphic design and can code the basics of the designs themselves rather than have someone who's fantastic at graphic design but is just a one-trick pony.
When I worked in a start-up one of the biggest deciding factors we had when interviewing designers (right after their taste) was how much of the design they could implement themselves. It made little sense to pay someone to design a Photoshop document and send to a developer to turn into HTML or a layout file where we could pay someone else to design it AND make the HTML file themselves. Most of the time that person didn't ask for 200% of the pay of someone just doing Photoshop work either.