Meet Barbora Ruzickova

Barbora Ruzickova’s path into web design is a fun one. She started out as a translator before dusting off the HTML skills she first picked up on Neopets (which I know will unlock some memories for a few of you). That eventually led to frontend development and, later, launching her own freelance web design business.

One thing I really enjoyed in Barbora’s interview was her passion for the craft of design. While she’s happy to experiment with AI in some areas, designing websites is something she still wants to do herself. That love of creating — and her willingness to stick to the processes she’s learned the hard way — comes through in every answer.

What kind of work did you do before your current business and what did you bring with you into this career?

I started out as a translator, working between English and Czech. After a few years in the industry, though, I realized that I only really liked the creative part of translating – books, subtitles, plays – and technical and legal translations were wearing me down. So I resurrected my HTML skills, learned on Neopets in 1999 (yikes!), and built a tiny portfolio of websites that helped me land an internship at a tech company. I worked there as a frontend developer for two years and absolutely loved it.

Then I got myself a couple of kids and soon found out that I wasn’t able to manage even part-time work at my old job. The brain fog was BAD! I took some time off and slowly pivoted into freelance web design, which allowed me to take on only as much work as I could handle and make use of the skills learned in my previous roles.

What part of the website creation process is your favorite to work on and why?

Definitely the design part! From interviewing the client about their design preferences and gathering visual materials and inspiration to pushing pixels in Figma. I do logo design, lettering and other forms of design as a hobby, so web design feels like a natural part of what keeps me running.   

Experimenting with AI, I found out that design is one of the things I want to keep doing manually (another is, curiously enough, writing). Prompting a design left me feeling burned out and took much of the joy away. I can’t see AI as simply another tool – a new Photoshop, a new Figma – because telling someone to do something is different than creating it with your own hands. I once briefly worked as a project manager and felt frustrated that I was only handing out the work rather than doing it myself – this feels very much the same.

What’s a hard lesson you learned running your business that’s changed the way you operate?

If a lead has an issue with my processes, it’s a red flag. Some things I’m happy to accommodate (hate Zoom and want to use Jitsi? Sure, why not), but others are in place for a reason.

My most disastrous project so far started out with the client refusing to sign off on wireframes, a step I implement specifically to protect myself from scope creep. The project dragged on for a year and, yes, there was lots of scope creep. So, not making that mistake again! 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten and how has it affected your business?

You can charge whatever your clients are willing to pay.

After a year of working as a freelance translator and building up a small client base, I was accepted into an MA in translation. When discussing our rates in class, others were shocked at the amount I was charging my clients – since I was ‘just a student.’ I wavered, felt like an impostor, and lowered my rates. Whenever I look back to this moment, I feel like bashing my head against the wall 🙂.

Fast forward to a web design course I took when transitioning from developer to web designer. At one point we were discussing rates, and I said I wouldn’t accept a 500-dollar project. Once again, shocked looks all around – after all, weren’t we all ‘just starting out’ and happy for whatever came our way?

This time, I didn’t let it get to my head and kept my prices.

So – if you can negotiate a price for a project that your client is willing to pay, please don’t let anything sway you.