10 questions for my creative report

 10 questions for my creative report

1. Where do you take your inspiration from?
2. What is your stance on gatekeeping within the design industry? 
3. What is your design process?
4. How do you create a consistent and strong visual/ brand identity? 
5. What was your experience like starting out as a freelancer?
6. How do you get good connections within the industry?
7. Do you feel like social media platforms such as Instagram are more beneficial to designers now? If so, what advice do you have for presenting yourself online as a creative?
8. Would you say that having a strong defining style is more important than having a versatile portfolio? 
9. How do you find collaborative projects and how has your experience been collaborating with others?
10. Do you think that the design industry has become too 'trend' based; are designers becoming reliant on heavily stylised and 'trendy' designs? If so, do you agree with designing based on trends? 
11. 'Create a starter pack for graphic designers in ...'

Questions on advice

1. How do create a strong visual identity? 
2. How do you set yourself apart from others when graduating?
3. Are you selective with your commission work?
4. How do you gain more connections in such a competitive industry?
5. How do you find a balance between personal projects and more commercial work? 

My three selected designers

Joel Kirschenbaum

Joel Kirschenbaum is an illustrator and business owner that runs HONEY TV; a small clothing company 'run out of the garage' based in Oakland, US. The business is run by a collection of friends who 'share an interest in art, spreading love and redistributing wealth into communities locally'. 

FISK

Fisk is a studio based in Portland consisting of 4 team members; Bijan Berahimi, James Fink, Cole Johnson and Leah Malonado. They have had clients such as Nike, Google and Stones Throw, and have worked on a multitude of projects such as website design, album cover design and publication design. They have a varied range of services consisting of graphic design, print, layout, packaging, motion graphics, web design, apparel design, 3D, type design and copywriting. The studio was founded at CallArts in 2009, moving from LA to Portland. Fisk primarily operates as a graphic design studio, but it also functions as a community hub and a contemporary art gallery. For the last 6 years, FISK operated as a combination of a design studio and art gallery with a 'focus on product collaboration'. The studio is now currently reshaping its business model, as they realised they want to blend all of their elements together. 

Maria Vorobjova 

Recently graduated from Brighton University, Maria Vorobjova is an illustrator using a multidisciplinary approach to her work. Maria works with 'interactive processes' that explore the fast paced and sporadic momentum of 'running with ideas'. She uses a variety of mediums, using unconventional collages. Her compositions are 'rich with symbolism and metaphors', capturing the essence of the subject matter through 'playfulness and experimentation'. She takes a lot of inspiration from her Russian heritage, using black and white juxtapositions with bold colours, emphasising unity through contrast. Vorobjova has discussed how she loves to use 'personification and anthropomorphism, playing with what makes objects human'. 

Bobby Engvall 

Robert Engvall is a designer and art director based in New York. Previously he was the art director at Lucky Peach, overseeing the art and design team, the quarterly print issues, website and events. He's worked on projects for Nike, created apparel designs for Golf,  and art directed for Glossier. He studied Graphic Design at the School of Visual Arts in NY and graduated in 2014 and is now working as a freelance designer.