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Over
the past few years, my work and career as a graphic artist have
become the topic of many term papers written by university design
students throughout the world. After conducting several "e-mail
interviews", I have decided to post some of those questions
and answers for anyone who might need some information or advice
about the profession. There is also a little bit about the development
of the font, Papyrus.
Special
thanks to grahic designer, Marsha Mohan, a recent graduate of the
Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, whose
questions below typify what many students want to know about a career
as a professional artist.
1. Who are some of your artistic influences? What is it about their
work that inspires you?
Joseph
Clement Coll and Richard M. Powers influence my pen & ink drawings.
I love the way they capture detail and use negative space. I have
always been inspired by artists from the Arts & Crafts Movement
(William Morris) and Art Nouveau (Will Bradley) because of their
references to ancient and medieval work. Another inspiration for
creating contemporary graphic design has been the works of Paul
Rand and Milton Glaser of the New York School. Their designs are
visionary and timeless.
2.
Did any of them directly influence specific pieces of your illustration
or design?
My
architectural renderings, including the lithographs on my website
are directly inspired by Powers. My general graphic design direction
is
influenced by Modernism and The New York School yet I still hope
to discover something in myself that is truly an innovative and
totally original style.
3.
Your dad probably had a big part of you becoming the artist you
are today. How did he help you during your younger years?
I always
wanted to be a professional musician. Although my father, a successful
graphic designer at IBM, did not approve of that decision, he helped
me buy a bass and amplifier so I could play in a band with my high
school buddies. He said it would be easier for me to make a living
being a commercial artist. When I was ready to go to college, his
example of providing for our family silently convinced me to forgo
my ambitions to attend music school and helped me to decide to major
in graphic design. My parents paid for my first two years of school
so I wanted to make them proud of me.
4.
Is there one particular area (lithographs, illustration, graphic
design, website design, typography) of your work that you enjoy
the most and why?
There
is no favorite...I love it all. I am never bored in this field and
I
think it is very exciting that there are so many different ways
to express yourself as a creative person.
5.
What is the most fulfilling aspect of your job? The least?
What
I like most about my job is that I can make a great living at what
I love to do... creating art and design. My father was right. I
lived the
"starving artist" life for quite a while, which was all
right while I was single, but after I grew up (somewhere around
36-the present), I was ready to apply myself to a steady, full-time
job and was able to find several rewarding creative positions. My
freelance assignments have also been very lucrative. The least favorite
thing about this line of work is the late hours that are sometimes
necessary.
6.
What important skills do you feel a designer needs to be successful
today?
Computer
and software skills are obviously a must as well as good sense of
design; either natural or acquired by training. A designer who can
also communicate clearly using verbal as well as visual means will
have a greater advantage. I think the most important skills a designer
needs is to be able to work well with and respect other people (yes,
these are skills). Egos run rampant in this business and, no matter
how "good" they are, I would never hire prima donnas or
recommend them to anyone. They make the business side of graphic
design very ugly.
7.
What would you still like to accomplish in your career?
I want
to design a U.S. Postage stamp. My resume is on file with those
of a million other graphic designers at the U.S. Postal Service,
just waiting to be selected.
8.
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
My
website, the Papyrus font and most recently, my design degree.
9.
Have technical advances affected your work and if so how?
Yes.
Designing websites help me to think in terms of creating in a
multidimensional space and allows me to lead my audience to many
different places in that space. Using Flash lets me design with
motion and time. Today's technology allows me to create with ease
and affordability that was not possible ten years ago.
10.
What was it about this field that made you want to go into it?
Since
I was a kid, I loved to paint and draw. When I found out that I
could actually make a living at it, I decided to pursue art as a
career. I could not fathom working my whole life at I job that I
hated.
11.
How did you come up with the font, Papyrus? How long did it take
to perfect it and how did you name it?
I was
working at an ad agency in Pompano Beach, FL and we had some down
time for about three months, so I took a calligraphy pen and some
textured paper and just started drawing "old" looking
alphabets in many different styles. I was thinking about the ancient
Middle East and I then began writing words, dates and phrases from
the history of that time in all upper case lettering. I soon came
up with what vernacular writing may have looked like if the English
language existed 2000 years ago. It probably would have been written
on papyrus and I thought that would be the perfect name for the
font. I then started drawing letters and numbers (about thirty examples
of each character in the alphabet) until I felt like I had a unified
font set. I added a lower case set because it would make the font
more versatile and have a broader appeal. I selected the best character
from each of the thirty examples, then submitted the final font
set, Papyrus to ten different type foundries and Letraset was the
one that picked it up. They wanted me to make some alterations and
submit 3-inch high hand-lettered masters to duplicate. The whole
process from concept to the submission of the final art took about
seven months.
12.
How and when did you start creating fonts?
Creating
fonts was always a hobby that I enjoyed whenever there was nothing
to do at work. I created Blackstone and Mirage while I was working
at an ad agency in Boston, and I created Letterpress Text and Virus
while I was working at another job. It is a very constructive and
somewhat lucrative way to kill time.
13.
What are some bad habits that graphic designers need to avoid in
order to be successful? Do you have any bad habits that you need
to work on?
Thinking
that you are too good to get input on a design is one bad habit.
Never let a piece of work go to the printer without other people's
opinion of it and look at critique as a form of inspiration rather
than a put down. One bad habit that I have is being lazy. There
are so many easy solutions to some design problems that I just take
to quick, easy and cheap way out. It's also a tendency not to fight
a clients bad ideas, but just give them what they want. But, I'm
workin' on it.
14.
What was the most difficult part of getting to where you are today?
Deciding
what I wanted to do. I always wanted to be a professional bass player
when I was single, so I quit my agency job at 29 to pursue a music
career. I spent six years as a performer while freelancing as an
illustrator. At times I made good money and had a great time, but
other times I was quite destitute and depressed... it was very disillusioning.
At 39 and married with a child, I realized that I did not want to
be a professional musician anymore so I started back on the graphic
design career track, but was behind almost 10 years. During my "mid-life
crisis" (those things actually happen), I decided wanted to
be a Design Director and went back to finish art school. Now, I
am playing catch up really fast and was just promoted to Creative
Director at my job few months ago.
15.
You've done both freelance and held company positions, is there
one that you prefer or enjoy more than the other?
At this point in my life, I like working for a company. I know there
are
some drawbacks (I have to wear a tie), but higher level positions
are the most rewarding. As a creative director, there is more creative
control over projects as well as attractive compensation. Boston
is an expensive place to live but, as a struggling artist friend
of mine once said after he got a real job, "I am finally making
adult money."
16.
When starting a project, is there a particular process or path you
follow to get to the end result?
This
may sound funny, but I tell this to all of my designers... When
I start a project, I feel a real pain inside. In the beginning,
there is white space. I add content and there is chaos. It hurts,
so I keep working on the piece, changing fonts, colors, layout until
the pain goes away. Then I continue to work on it until I feel good
to great... then it's done.
17.
Are there any particular trade publications you subscribe to for
updates in the field or use for inspiration?
Communication
Arts, Print and HOW Magazine are my favorites.
18.
In your opinion, how has the field of graphic design changed since
you started?
I began
working as a paste-up artist/designer in 1979. Back then, you need
to be able to draw in order to design anything. All ideas need to
be sketched out in pencil first, then "comps" of the best
ideas were meticulously rendered in colored marker before being
presented to the client. Most of the production work, layout and
photo-retouching was done by hand and took many hours. Computer
graphics were introduced in the mid 1980's but the output was very
poor in quality and was shunned by many designers, including myself.
But by 1994, the quality had greatly increased and I started using
computers as well. Today, designers do not necessarily need to draw
in order to design, but it helps. The advent of graphics software
and inexpensive computers opened the door for many untrained "designers"
to enter the field which lead to a profusion of bad work. But there
has also been an increase of truly exceptional work as skilled designers
are afforded more avenues to explore and execute their ideas.
19.
We all hit road blocks when working on a project. What do you usually
do to clear your head and get back to a productive state of mind?
I don't
know why, but eating helps. If I am stuck on a project, I just leave
it alone and come back the next day. Some of my best inspiration
comes when I am lying in bed at night just before I go to sleep.
Checking out the design annuals always helps.
20.
What advice can you give to a graduate who is just starting out
in the field of graphic design?
Don't
give up. It is a very tough environment right now with the economy
the way is is. Jobs are scarce and it may get worse, but if this
is your dream then persevere. I went to school for graphic design
with intentions of working in graphic design. I had no other skill
(except in music, but that's kinda the same thing). Working at some
other job was not an option for me. I did however work at restaurants
after I got out of school for some quick cash and free food so that
was cool, but it was only temporary. In a great economy, companies
will hire anybody and may overlook true talent. In a bad economy,
if companies are hiring at all, they seek only the best. The competition
is much tougher now, but again, if this is really what you want,
don't let anything stand in your way.
©2007
Chris Costello. All rights reserved.
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