Speaker Spotlight: Tracy Apps

tracy-appsTracy (or @tapps) is a Visual/UX Designer for Cornershop Creative and loves solving problems creatively. Her overlap of skills in design, user experience, strategy, front-end development, photography, video, and traditional art help her not only think outside the box, but to stay miles away from the box altogether! With over 20 years of web development experience, and over 15 years of client work under her belt, Tracy approaches design very strategically, thinking from all angles to ensure a consistent and effective creative solution… not just something that “looks pretty.” She also could probably deadlift you.

Tracy Apps will be presenting “Designers != Pixel Pushers” on Saturday, October 15 at 1:55pm in the West Conference Room.

Why do use WordPress?

Because all the cool kids are doing it. Well, and how user-friendly and powerful it is when creating web solutions for clients. There’s that as well.

When and how did you start using WordPress?

I actually started on WordPress before it was WordPress. back in the veeeerrry early 2000’s my first blog was on b2, which was the codebase that was forked to create WordPress. I took a few detours in that time and worked with a few other CMS’s, (blogger, movable type, etc) but ended up coming back to WordPress exclusively around 2004-2005

What would you tell someone to convince them to attend a WordCamp?

if coming to hear amazing speakers and meet amazing people wasn’t enough.. just come to see which bowtie i will wear. (feel free to take bets on which color it will be… I’ve got them all 🙂 )

Tell us about something awesome you’ve experienced at a WordCamp in the past.

I’ve had a ton of amazing experiences at WordCamps. but the thing that sticks out from every single WordCamp is the connections with people I’ve made… both new and old. plus it gives me a good excuse to travel and get free t-shirts from all over. 🙂

Give an example of a cool WordPress project you have worked on recently.

At Cornershop Creative we design and develop WordPress sites for nonprofits of all sizes. Everything from live prototyping a site about trains, created a super flexible–and dynamic–site for Michigan League of Conservation Voters and even made a circular menu … all in WordPress.

What is your favorite part of WordCamps?

The “hallway track” is just really the best way to meet like-minded people and have great conversation.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?

Network, network, network! (in other words, go to WordCamps.)

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related.

As per the rules of crossfit, I need to mention that I do crossfit. ;P I also have a cat named moe (@moethecat on twitter), who also wears bowties like her mamma. I’m also a drummer, an artist and I love to travel.

What has been your biggest WordPress related accomplishment to date?

Just every day growing and learning, and bending WordPress to do my will, no matter what crazy things I think up 🙂

Fill in the blank for other attendees: “If you ___________ then you should come talk to me at WordCamp.”

want

🙂

What should someone learn before attending your talk at WordCamp Ann Arbor?

Just experience and appreciate life, design and the world-wide web. then hopefully attending my talk will inspire you to do more of this in the future. 🙂

Where can we find you online?

I’m “tapps” on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, flickr, behance and most of the internet… “tray” on wordpress.org forurms and last.fm… “therealtapps” on Snapchat… “tracyapps” on GitHub. or really.. just Google me.