Email/ questions for Alexis Jamet

 Email/ questions for Alexis Jamet

Hey Alexis,

Thanks so much for being open to answer a few questions for my creative report. As a design student, I feel like it's a great opportunity for me to learn new perspectives from within the industry, so I'm very grateful to have you take part. 

Here are my questions:

1. You have described your work as 'poetic, abstract and narrative, soft and bold'. How did you come to develop your style as a creative, and how has it evolved throughout your experiences within the industry? 
2. You've spoken about how you branched into the design industry through skateboarding, creating zines, videos and board designs for local skate shops. Do you feel like this element of community influenced the way in which you approach your design? Is collaboration something you value as a designer? 
3. I really admire how your portfolio balances a combination of consistency and versatility; in conversation with It's Nice That, you discussed how you become 'bored very quickly' which influences how your work constantly evolves. In regards to this, how do you approach your clients in a way that welcomes new ideas and experimentation? Have you found it difficult that you are creatively restricted with your commission or more commercial work? 
4. What have your experiences been like working in studios and agencies? Do you prefer these environments in comparison to working alone with freelance work/ personal projects? 
5. What advice would you give to a designer starting out in the industry? Are there any hurdles you have had to overcome throughout your career so far? 
6. Over the past few years, you've had the amazing opportunity to work for agencies based in France, Spain, North America and England. I'm interested in how you got to the position where you were able to do so; how were you able to branch out your contacts globally? Would you credit the internet for this, or was it a case of contacts and connections within the industry? 
7. Your work consists of a 50/50 split between digital and analog design, with a lot of your designs and illustrations using nostalgic textures and elements of printed matter. Do you think that in todays' heavily digitally orientated environment that this element of physical design is crucial within the design process? In light of this, would you say that you begin your creative process digitally or physically first-hand? 
8. You have previously mentioned how you take a lot of inspiration from the internet, skateboarding, magazines and animated movies. Before starting out as a designer, you initially wanted to study film; I'm a big film-lover myself and want to know how much film influences your work and in what way? Outside of the design world, what films have impacted you as a creative or struck a chord with you personally? 
9. Now more than ever, Instagram and social media is a massive influence in the design world, yourself even discussing how when you hit a creative wall, you look online for inspiration. Despite this, 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? 
10. Finally, heres just a fun quick task for you: create a 'starter pack' meme of yourself. This can be a collection of images associated with you and yourself as a creative (definitely expecting a lot of grain, haha).

Once again, thank you for taking a moment of your time to answer these questions - I really appreciate it. Another thing I'd like to ask is if you have any photos of your working environment/ studio space, or any images that communicate your design process; this would help me visually communicate my create report, but it's completely understandable if you wish not to. 

Wishing you all the best in these weird times! Very excited to see the next projects you're working on :)