How to Become a Pro Designer in 2024 [Interview with Gary Simon Podcast #123]

On this week’s episode of the podcast, I interview Gary Simon, a developer and designer who started DesignCourse and has published several courses on freeCodeCamp.org over the years.

We talk about:

• Growing up in rural Ohio, marrying young, and staying out there despite his success as a developer and entrepreneur

• Early client work, and how he designed thousands of logos for clients before becoming an all-out web developer

• Using his skills to help his wife start her own lactation consultant business online

• Gary’s guitar shredding chops

I recorded this podcast live and I haven’t edited it at all. I want to capture the feel of a real live conversation, with all the human quirks that entails.

Can you guess what song I’m playing on my bass during the intro? It’s from a 1995s Nintendo game.

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You can watch the interview on YouTube:

Or you can listen to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. You can also listen to the podcast below, right in your browser:

Also, I want to thank the 9,331 kind people who support our charity each month, and who make this podcast possible. You can join them and support our mission at: https://www.freecodecamp.org/donate

Links we talk about during the interview: