The growth of the Internet has given us new expectations in terms of usability and design when surfing our favorite web pages – and Full Sail graduate Dustin Mershon is helping keep the medium evolving as a Digital Media Developer at ichameleon/group/. You’ve probably even clicked through some of the pages he’s helped create, with his work seen on innovative sites for companies like Coca-Cola, Guinness, Snicker’s, Mentos, and Beck’s.

With Internet advertising becoming more sophisticated, it’s been Dustin’s job to promote these companies using the latest philosophies in web content delivery. Speaking with him about these trends, Dustin explained the careful job designers have to balance technology with a more organic and natural interactive experience for today’s web-savvy users.

“All the eye candy helps, but what it really comes down to is the idea,” he says. “The more successful [websites] might not be the most intricate or on the cutting edge, but they have an idea that people are going to tell their friends about – like, ‘I saw this site today and it was so funny and cool!’ That’s the thing that attracts people to go somewhere new, and gets more exposure to a brand.”

This approach has allowed the team at ichameleon/group/ to inject some humor and creativity into the sites they develop. This includes some innovative 3D animation work for Beck’s beer, as well as a recent campaign for Wrigley’s. “The Wrigley’s gum project was one of my favorites,” Dustin shares. “The style was all illustrated, and it kind of reminded me of Monty Python, where they did a lot of cutout animation. It was kind of goofy and crazy, and pretty much anything went as far as what we could deliver for style and animation. I really love that kind of freedom to just roll with something.”

This blend of art and advertising is one of the ways the web is distinguishing itself as a unique delivery method for companies wanting to reach new customers. And while you might think some of the more iconic products would have strict guidelines on their branding, Dustin has been surprised by the amount of freedom his team has been given.

“We do a lot of microsites for new advertising plans, so it’s not so much based on the image of that brand, rather than it is about that particular campaign,” Dustin explains. “So from that aspect they’re open to trying new things online more so than with print or television. I think what they’re trying to do is to gain as much interest and as much traffic as they can, so they want something that’s going to garner a lot of attention by showing people something they haven’t seen before. That’s really exciting for us.”

As he gears up for his latest round of projects, Dustin is also excited about the possibility of pushing your online experience even further in the future. Upcoming features like increased personalization, member profiles, and applications that allow home pages to adapt to your interests will be the key to really taking advantage of what the web can offer.

“I think the idea of having deeper online applications is really the future,” he explains. “Instead of just going to a site and seeing some information, it’s really going to be about using a site for your own needs – with it keeping track of all your settings and then evolving with your interests so it becomes the kind of place that you want to visit every day.”

As ingrained in our lives as the Internet has become, designers are only beginning to scratch the surface of what they can offer online. That potential is one of the things that drew Dustin to the industry, and each week at ichameleon/group/ has brought him new challenges as they find fresh ways to approach his work.

“I must say that this is my dream job, working with like-minded people striving to create the best possible sites for our clients,” he shares. “When I came here it was immediately an atmosphere where they nurtured anything and everything you had to contribute. The Internet’s really hitting its stride, and this is a perfect fit for me.”