What's with the lizard?

You might ask, "Why would a graphic artist use a lizard as a symbol to represent his graphic design skills?"

This is a fair question, and one that deserves a fair answer. Bear with me for a minute, and I will give you a complete one.

One reason that you might think that I would use a lizard as my icon would be the concept of the chameleon - the idea that, as a website designer, it is my job to determine the needs of my clients and use my skills in design to emulate the environment in which their customers would feel comfortable, thereby "changing my color" to match the needs of my clients.

A fair guess, but that's not the reason.

Another reason that you might think would be that lizards are quick and nimble, and able to change directions quickly. If you've ever tried to catch a lizard (like my sons like to do), you know what I mean. It seems like they can anticipate your next move and speed away, always one step ahead of those that follow them so that they are always in control. While it's important for a website designer to be on top of the trends of the industry, that's not why I chose a lizard either.

Finally, you might think that I've placed a lizard on my website because it represents a love of the outdoors and of the beauty of nature in general. While this is true about me (and unusual for someone who spends so much time attached to a computer), that's not why I've brought you here at all.

In fact, the main reason why I've brought you here with this story of the lizard (and all of his website designer-like skills), was to prove to you that it is not difficult to engage your customers with your website. All you need to do is engage them (i.e., "What's with the lizard?") and take them places that make them think about themselves and what their own potential is.

And, if you can sprinkle in a few details about yourself along the way, then they've learned something about your company and its values without even realizing it. Wasn't that your original goal all along?

If you're offended that I've brought you this far just to teach a lesson, then I am truly sorry. But if you're amazed that I could hold your attention so long with such a simple question, then let's get started.