About All of This

Hello, friendly web visitor. I am wondering, why are you here? Nick Cawthon is a Bay Area native who spent his formative years doodling on paper in between spells of sugar-fueled hyperactivity. Reinforced that these drawings of a triangular house with a yellow sun were vastly superior than little Johnny's from down the block, he drank the Kool Aid and continued his artistic development throughout his formative years. The first day of his collegiate career, he weasled his way into an upper-level design course and, after nailing his first formal design project, solidfied some semblance of a career path.

Back then, these skills were labeled as 'graphic design'; evidence from a pre-cambrian internet era. Since then, his job titles and throw-away business cards have evolved to describe his professional life as being that of a 'Web Designer', 'Visual Designer', 'Interactive Designer' or 'Information Architect'. Seems to change along with the seasons, but one has to stay current. A decade or so later and with three design degrees under his belt - its still working. These days, 'User-Experiential-Techno-Savant-Usability-Consultant' is the name of his game - relying on a strong background in design and development to provide proper context of use to the massess.

On and off since the turn of the century, Gauge Design has embodied Nick's services - along with a network of contract designers, programmers and developers who believe in rapid, open source development which embodies a user-centered design experience - not to mention careful insertion of buzz-word laden sentences. If you have a problem - if no one else can help - and if you can find him - then maybe you can hire: Gauge Design.