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Drue Miller

She played on the net in college. At the time, the net was fun, snobby, collegiate. She had no idea that what had been a collegiate net distraction would ultimately lead her down the fibrous optic path to making a living off the Internet. Drue Miller, webmistress of vivid studios, has always had one foot in the creative side, one in hackerdom. As an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon, she studied Graphic Design and English. Unable to separate the content of a document from the form in which it is presented, she became an information designer (ed's note: for an illuminating explanation of information design, read "Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of Design").
It was as an information designer and writer, that Drue went to work for vivid studios in 1993. Known for designing and publishing multimedia cd roms as well as books like "Multimedia Demystified", vivid is currently one of the hottest web shops in town. Any in many respects, the web seems like the inevitable convergence of Drue's interests, skills, and education. In June of 1994, when the web was but a wee node on the academic-military internet, she drew blank stares and a few raised brows when Drue volunteered to create a website for vivid. Not too long after, however, when Sony approached vivid to produce one of the first large corporate sites, for Sony Electronic Publishing, Drue donned the title "webmistress". And the rest is, if not history, then the beginning of the future. As webmistress for vivid, Drue is responsible for the engaging tone and compelling content that greets each visitor to the vivid presence in webland, at http://www.vivid.com. She has also had a writerly yet webbish hand in such projects as the launch site for Microsoft's Windows Ô95, websites for Ketchum Communications, 3COM, J. Walter Thompson and the Computer Curriculum Corporation, as well as Net-based adventure games like Silicon Graphic's "The Rift" and Sony's promotional Johnny Mneumonic net.hunt.
But the project in which Drue takes most pride is the AIDS Memorial Quilt website, which vivid is in the process of producing for pro-bono client, The Names Project. The scope of the Aids Memorial Quilt website is so large as to require being completed in phases; phase one was completed in December 1995 Phase 2, which which vivid and NAMES are currently raising funds for, will feature a relational database designed to help people find the panel of a loved one, and learn how to create and submit a panel. People are invited to share the thoughts, reflections and remembrances in what will eventually become a global community memorial. In contrast to the lack of socially significant content endemic in most corporate communications, the social imperative which is the driving mission of the Names Project adds a special resonance for those at vivid studios who have had the opportunity to contribute to the cause. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is not simply another promotional web site with limited appeal and clever gimmickry to attract visitors; the site is a historical document of the time which will continue to have relevance for people who visit the site a hundred years from now. For Drue, the AIDS Memorial Quilt Web Site illustrates the capacity for cooperative communities which she feels is among the most compelling and important features the web has to offer. The web, explains Drue, is not simply about selling product; the web is about community.
San Francisco's Cyborganic Gardens embodies one of those abstract web-based communities Drue is talking about. Cyborganic, in its various manifestations--an online chat area called the space bar, a weekly Thursday Night Theme Dinner in real time, or the web site which features member's home pages, as well as a weekly recap describing the antics observed at the weekly Dinner, is one of the first experiments in combining virtual social spaces with a location-based real live community. Instances of online community also occur in other, less likely places. As game administer for both The Rift and the Johnny Mneumonic net.hunt, Drue observed the formation of game communities. Embedded in the design of each of these games were discussion areas in which players would meet, cheat, form alliances, even fall in love, long-distance.
The communities of people working and playing on the net have changed since Drue's nostalgic usenet days of the past. And yet, although the web has become a much more diverse place, this wired web thing is a young medium, a recent phenomenon. As the de facto cutting edge pioneers, young people are often the most active in exploring a new medium, and Drue feels that young nature of the web is an encouraging indication that more women are likely to be a part of that up and coming population of web writers, producers and designers.
The distinct "corporate", or rather, anti-corporate culture of vivid studios -- an environment which has no walls ("Death before cubicles!" is Drue's motto), one dog, one stereo, and vividians who work in comfortable clothes for 12-14 hours a day, creates a context conducive to unique and compelling web sites. What are the basic ingredients for one of Drue's web sites at vivid? Prior to the production phase, multiple specs are designed and written -- functional spec, interactive design spec, a visual design spec, as well as old standards like proposals and contracts which establish the design and scope of the project. Utilizing the most basic and powerful capability of the web, universal accessibility for any computer with a modem, a ppp connection and a browser, vivid builds sites that are browser and platform independent. As a writer, Drue stresses the importance of understanding the intended audience of a project, and adding that special value-added twist: give your audience more than what they came to expect.
To Drue, the distinguishing mark which sets certain sites above the rest is a strong voice, a unique tone and perspective which is engaging and draws the casual browser in. Often she finds, the most interesting sites on the web are those of college students: those with the leisure time, net access, and freedom to create unhindered by corporate interest, and willing to take risks. As long as the web is viewed as a sales tool, rues Drue, generic staid text will reign as the norm; she is searching for the hidden nodes of the unprecedented, the clever, the controversial. The seamless interface of the web means that graphics and images don't always distinguish web sites from each other.
In her advice to writers and websters alike, Drue urges letting the tone distinguish the site. "Write in a modular way, with very specific language, and use your text" to support the images and theme of the site. As the main writer at vivid, Drue hires freelance writers for specific projects. When looking for writers for projects, she says an extensive online portfolio is not mandatory. But she is looking for someone who can demonstrate some online experience, as well as a sense of writing, understanding, and creating experiences across a variety of media. Writers, Drue warns, trail designers in the technology curve. Perhaps because computers have become so instrumental in the modern design and production process, designers have had little choice but to integrate technology into their studios, whereas writers can continue to create texts with a typical typewriter. Aspiring webmistresses, artists, and writers must be net-saavy to secure a space in web shops like vivid. I won't even look at a resume that doesn't have an email address, states Drue.
How does one demonstrate net saavy? Drue, who also teaches a course in advanced HTML authoring at San Francisco State University (SFSU) Extension Program, suggests creating portfolio pieces. The final stages of the certificate program at the SFSU Extension Program are designed to help students create their first portfolios. Although students are at liberty to chose the scope of their projects, faculty like Drue provide real world guidelines and guidance, in an effort to educate students in the process not only of making multimedia, but of making multimedia in the professional context. Extra-curricular activities like conferences continue to be a rich source of information and offer excellent opportunities for exposure to the latest innovations and great minds in the biz. Upcoming conferences in the bay area include Web 96 at the end of March, Visscom in June, and Mactivity Web, in San Jose, also in June. For a more comprehensive listing of upcoming trade shows, nudge your browser towards www.kweb.com.
When asked whether she will tire of being a webmistress, Drue responds unequivocally, "No." The ability to maintain a personal media space as accessible as that produced by corporate interests like Time Warner, the ability to share information, and to expose people to a broader variety of ideas will never cease to be exciting. To Drue, the presence of people going online for personal enrichment continues to compel her to think, write, and design for the web.

Drue Miller

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