I recently had the pleasure of meeting a skilled freelance designer out of the UK on twitter named Pritesh (everyone calls him Pritz for short). Here is a brief interview I had with him recently.
How did you get into the creative field?
When I was at school, I wasn’t interested in anything other than Art and Design, so that’s all I’ve ever done. As I got older I got more involved with digital arts and that’s how it all started.
Would you recommend education for those that are just starting out, or thinking about getting into the design business?
Education is always important. A good set of qualifications goes a long way, but you also have to make the right choices in courses and institutions. I went with what I thought would be best for me, so I would say go with what you feel seems right, and something you enjoy doing. I’ve learnt that education brushes up on the things you already know. I think my choices in education have helped me improve in my work, and gained my interest in areas I would never think about going in to.
What is one of the most important things you think freelance graphic designers will need to do in order to stay successful?
Staying motivated and inspired. This is why I blog things that I’ve looked at nearly everyday, that’s what keeps me going. I would also recommend printing things off and keeping things you like for example in a sketchbook. You just have to keep at it and work hard, then opportunities will be knocking on your door when you least expect it. Read the rest of this entry »
I really love posting graphic eye candy, almost as much as I love looking at it. We have to look at stuff like this to stay fresh and to keep the ideas flowing. It’s been a little while since the last dose, but this time, I wanted to feature stuff from the wonderful world of web design / user interface design. Here some really incredible examples of both, in addition to some excellent branding and corporate identity mixed right in.
There is a very well written post on Elena Elisseeva’s new blog regarding idea stealing and copying in the stock photography business. This is something I’ve been dealing with myself, more and more. Now I’m not talking about when you find two images of smiling women holding a red umbrella, or two similar background textures with the texture of stainless steel or wood grain, etc. What I mean is when you find super specific images, copied in a way that they very closely resemble 90-100% of the elements in the original image, with shockingly close composition.
Do you ever have a really good idea for something, fail to write it down, and then it’s gone and long forgotten? I can even admit to this happening to me. I get a really cool idea for a design or photo of some sort, and then it slips my mind indefinitely. As creative types we always are thinking and brain storming. Sometimes we go through periods of creative block, similar to writer’s block. Those are the times we refer back to our notepads and sketch books to get the creative juices flowing once again.
A few days ago I had the privilege to catch an advance pre-screening sneak preview of Seth Rogan’s new superhero movie The Green Hornet. For a quick review, the movie was amazing. I liked it just as much as I love the Ironman series. First word that comes to mind is “hilariousness”. There was some purposeful corniness at some parts (if that makes any sense), crazy action sequences, lots of Inspector gadgetry, and even Cameron Diaz aging gracefully, actually starting to look like she isn’t 23 anymore. You’ve got to see it when it hits your local theaters on January 14th, 2011. Here’s the official Green Hornet trailer from youtube.
Seeing the trailer alone, you might think it’s the same typical plot of the Batman series movies, or Ironman. Rich parents die, leaving a spoiled rich kid all this money and a gadget slinging sidekick that happens to be one of the members of the estate “help”. Even so, this movie was slightly more quirky and funnier than even Ironman. Even the main villain Chudnovsky (played by Christoph Waltz) seemed a little sensitive for a bad guy. I got a kick out of the fact that I have an Israeli style photo prop gas mask that is the same as the one he uses in the movie – the only difference is the canister on his is painted blood red, after he decides to change his name to “Bloodnovsky”, seeking to increase the scariness of his super villain image. Does this look familiar?
The movie has something for everyone: comedy, cars, even a double barrel desert eagle. This is definitely the kind of action movie you will want to see on the big screen, in IMAX 3D if you can.
This isn’t a movie review blog, but Kato’s sketch book in the movie reminded me of the fact that we all need to remember to draw out or write down our ideas. Kato, (played by Jay Chou) had page upon page of sketched in his notebook, as is briefly seen in the movie. He even had sketches of Bruce Lee on one of the pages of his sketchbook. Obviously that was a cameo of sorts, seeing that Bruce Lee played the part of “Kato” in the original Green Hornet TV series. Seeing that Kato was a creative genius, he could whip up just about anything his mind could think up. Everything from gadgets for the Black Beauty (funny, we used to call my dad’s old Buick that) to a custom cappuccino machine. My point is, he had a sketchbook full of his concepts and ideas, and didn’t just go straight to creation. I find that especially with logo design, you can get very lost in the process of designing if you start from your head and just go straight to the computer. It helps to sketch your ideas out first, and then take it to the computer once you have narrowed a few of your best ideas down.
Even keeping a notepad and pencil on your night stand for a quick scribble in the dark, in the middle of the night, is better than losing your thoughts. I’ve had some nights where my brain was working full steam just before I fell asleep, coming up with all sorts of ideas for new images I wanted to create. I failed to write them down, being so tired and wanted to get to sleep. As you might expect, those ideas were just about 90% gone by the time I woke up the next morning. Don’t forget to doodle what pops in your noodle when you get that sudden creative inspiration!
The creative mind needs to feed on other creativocity in order to keep those juices flowing. Here’s some cool stuff I’ve peeped that needed to be shared. Click the thumbs for details on each, and to enlarge.
![Novartis "Reflections" Campaign](http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles3/96416/projects/329834/0964161255974988.jpg "Novartis "Reflections" Campaign")
