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.