Smartphone App Developer Recalls Rocky Road to Success

App developer Albert Song was better known as "swollen Song" when he was attending art school. "My eyes were always swollen because of a lack of sleep", he said. Now a well-established developer of smartphone apps, Song says his nickname remains endearing as it reminds him of the passion and commitment he had during his 20s.

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Song spoke with the Chosun Ilbo at his apartment in Seoul dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans -- reminiscent of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. But he said he admired Renaissance-era inventor Leonardo Da Vinci the most. "I want to emulate his creativity", said Song, who did not stop playing with his tablet PC, notebook computer and Kindle throughout the interview.

He was hired as the director of user experience design at Yahoo's headquarters in June of last year and quickly gained recognition for his innovative apps. User experience design refers to the analysis of consumers' experiences, preferences and patterns. This data is then applied to the development of apps, with the aim of producing easy-to-use programs.

Song's "IntoNow" ranked No.1 in Time magazine's 10 most popular apps of 2011. During the first month of its release in November, more than 10 million people downloaded the app, which was also named the best networking iPad app of the year by Apple's App Store.

Song was born in Canada and attended school in Korea from sixth grade until his freshman year in high school. He returned to Canada and studied Computer Engineering at the University of Alberta. He switched to the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design when he was in his third year at Alberta. What prompted the shift was an art class he took for a change of scene.

"I was drawn by the beauty of creating something new through art", he said. "I was also confident that this was what I wanted to do".

A two-minute, 3D animated feature Song created as his graduation project in 2003 drew rave reviews from critics and was aired on Canada's CBC. He returned to Korea in 2004 and worked as a character designer at a small software developer for W1.5 million a month, despite job offers he received from key players in the industry.

"I really wanted to take part in a game that the company was developing at the time", Song said. "What can be more important than that?"

A year later, he moved to the design team at software developer Innotive and oversaw the launch of YouTube in Korea. He also designed a 100-inch touch-screen monitor inside the VIP room of the Louis Vuitton store in Korea.

In 2008, he was invited to a conference hosted by Microsoft and gave a 20-minute lecture to 500 software developers on his design knowhow.

"I think that the human imagination is limitless", he said. "Just wait. I will surprise the world next year with an entirely new app".