We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Zabala. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.
Sam, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
It helps when you have other hobbies and interests. It’s easy to feel stumped from your passion every now and then. Engaging in other activities or hobbies gives you a break and sometimes even a new perspective that could free you from your art block. From my experience, aside from art and illustration, I also love coding and music, every now and then if I do too much of one, I feel somewhat burnt out. It’s nice to take a break every now and then, it’s like a breath of fresh air for me. Sometimes I like to explore other hobbies as well. For me, creative inspiration can come from many ways.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m Sam, born and raised in the Philippines and based in San Diego CA. I’m a Web Designer / Developer, and an Illustrator. What’s special about my work is creating unique experiences for the web. Currently I’m a full time Web Developer, but outside of my desk job, have been exploring creative front end projects and solutions as well. I’ve also been expanding my musical skillsets and recently have been experimenting on bringing that skillset to my code projects too.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three skills and or qualities most impactful for my journey was my creativity, hunger for knowledge, and passion. the web industry is an always changing discipline so you always have to be up to date with the technologies available out there. A creative sense also helps you think of solutions from different angles. Having love for what you do also helps you dedicate your heart to the craft too.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I learned so much in web development this year. I got into WebGL, Three.JS, and finally React, although by surprise (heh). Right now I’m also learning WebGPU too. I’ve also been exploring libraries pertaining to music such as Tone.JS and SonicPi. In a sense, I found so many tools that could bring front end experiences I build up to the next level.
Related to that, I’ve been getting into 3D modeling too. My goal is to eventually level up my Graphic and Web Design skillset with it as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://design.samzabala.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samapitongzabala/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samzabala/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/samapitongzabala
- Other: https://codepen.io/samzabala https://dribbble.com/samzabala https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FMK0OeHpp23QxoRzfgvYt?si=Pka9_Ca-Tl29OTTWoHf2DQ
Image Credits
Profile Photo by Dave Downes