For this self-described "former computerphobe" his emergence as a web designer came as a surprise. Although completely self-taught, his BA in art undoubtedly contributed to his eye for design. He also has an MA in history.

A native of Queens, he traveled extensively--spending time in New Hampshire, California and Alaska--before returning to New York several years ago for what was supposed to be a short family visit. Sampling life fully, he has worked in construction, for the forest service, and on a fishing boat in Alaska. At one time, he even sold his own watercolor paintings and sculptures on the streets near the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Gil's work for AIT is primarily helping faculty, academic departments, administrators, and the Library either to create or revamp web pages. Anyone who can use a computer on a very basic level can learn to create an effective web page. He also shows them how to maintain their own pages once they are up and running, a critical and often neglected aspect of web page ownership.

Gil's advice to novice web designers is to look at as many web pages as possible.  Check out what others have done, and adapt what works best. Look at pages critically, "Does that really nifty feature take longer to load than anyone will wait?" "Does the layout lead you where you need to go or did you look at four vaguely labeled pages before finding what you needed?" "How easy is the page to navigate?" Although you may be designing an academic page don't be afraid to look at pages about art, music, and entertainment for appealing design elements. Other aspects you should consider include overall layout, backgrounds, links, and how much scrolling is required.

According to Gil the following pages contain examples of effective web design: CNN http://www.cnn.com for its organization, CITIBANK http://www.citibank.com for its unusual use of shockwave in a commercial site and Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com for its ease of navigation.

When not designing web pages Gil ("I'm not even online at home") teaches history at the School of Visual Arts and enjoys working on his house, hiking and skiing.

Gil Midonnet is available during business hours (9-6) M-Th (9-1) F and can be reached at extension 4635.

Pages that Gil has designed can be found at http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ait/.