As a part of the MacStories Apps Tree event (where you’ll find a huge giveaway worth $10.000 of 450 Mac and iPhone apps licenses), I had the chance to interview Tom Osborne, web-designer at Viget Labs.

This is the 6th of many interviews and guest posts I’ll publish on MacStories during this week.

Enjoy!

Hi! Can you please introduce yourself to MacStories readers?

Sure, I’m a web designer at Viget Labs just outside of Washington, DC. I lead a design team of super-talented visual designers and ux designers/strategists. We’ve been doing web design and development since 1999.

Can you please tell us something more about Viget Labs?

At Viget, we work in four primary areas which we call the Four Labs (UX, Design, Development & Marketing). Ruby on Rails is our development framework of choice.

What can you tell us about the design scene in your country?

The design scene in the US is maturing rapidly. I like to think that this is largely due to the web providing a wider awareness of good design as well as easier access to the tools of the trade.

Have you ever tried other apps besides Photoshop / Illustrator? For example, Pixelmator?

We’ve experimented with applications like Pixelmator, Acorn, Photoline, Pixel Studio Pro, Photoshop Elements, The Gimp, Gimpshop, Iris, and Fireworks. Photoshop is still king for us due to our strong uses of layer groups, layer masks, adjustment layers, and smart objects.

Do you use a specific software to organize all your work stuff like Yojimbo or Evernote, or do you still prefer a well organized Finder?

I’ve been using Google Desktop to help me locate files quickly and LittleSnapper is my cataloging application of choice at the moment. I think Evernote is brilliant. There are several similar apps out there that do similar things. I wrote a blog post not too long ago comparing a few: http://www.viget.com/inspire/snap-apps-for-mac/ The competition in the snap app space is inspiring.

Which are your favourite Mac apps?

The apps I use on a daily basis are: iCal, Mail.app, Firefox, Adium, Tweetie, Photoshop, Illustrator, TextMate, CSSEdit, and iTunes. A few that have really impressed me in the past year are 1Password, LittleSnapper, and Tweetie.

Let’s talk about the Adobe CS suite for Mac.Do you think it’s just a simple conversion of the Windows cuite?

Having not used the Windows version of the Creative Suite in a while I can’t do an accurate comparison. That said, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, software design for the Mac has come a long way since Leopard was released. On the other, I’m so accustomed to the user interfaces that Adobe has created that I might be change averse to any dramatic changes. Welcomed upgrades for me would be lighter and faster while picking up some of the latest chrome updates from the Mac OS. I don’t suggest a lot of UI changes.

Is there something of Mac OS X interface you’d change? Or do you think it’s already perfect as it is?

Nothing is ever perfect. Different things are useful to different people. For me, speed and customization are key. Apple seems to release interface upgrades at a good, healthy rate. It’s like they’re able to anticipate my needs.

Do you think the Mac platform is more suitable for designers? Is it possible to acheive good results on Windows too?

Sure it’s possible to achieve good results in Windows. The tools do not make the designer. I do, however, think that Apple has a better grasp of the needs and sensibilities of designer. Windows has some catching up to do.

Do you have / have you ever tried a Magic Mouse? Is it good for designers?

The Magic Mouse is brilliant. I’d love one. I haven’t used one extensively but I think it would be good for anybody with a passion for tools that are both useful and well designed.

As a designer / blogger, what would you like to receive for Christmas?

Well, now that the Magic Mouse is top of mind I’ll start there but I’d rather have one of those fancy 30” displays if given the choice.

Thanks for chatting with us! And keep up the great work!

Thanks for the opportunity.