MENACHEM KRINSKY

Some folks call Menachem Krinsky a designer he calls himself a visual thinker. Menachem is a print graphic designer who also twiddles around with photography and a tad of photo manipulation.

www.menachemkrinsky.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/krinskymenachem
http://twitter.com/MKrinsky


When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

Must have been when I was around fifteen, I got Photoshop on my home computer, and fell in love with it. Ever since then our love has just blossomed and grown deeper. I used to spend hours fooling around with the programs until I decided that maybe I can make some money doing something I love, and voila! My business was born.




Who or what inspires you?

Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere: Music lyrics, art, photography, movies, and those little designs on the backs of the ladybugs. Actually that last one maybe not as much as the others. Most of the time I walk around with a little light bulb tied to the top of my head and it tends to help me think of ideas.





Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

As of now I'm still all self taught, spent many long night hours trying to achieve certain looks and design techniques, I do think being self taught allows you to steer your creativity in any direction you want without being trained to think in a certain way. Although I do hope to be able to take a couple design courses in the near future.





How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

I try everything. Nothing's off limits. When things are really low, I chat with other designers and try to rekindle the little inspirational sparks.





What are some of your current projects?

Well, I've recently relocated to Los Angeles, working with a really talented designer to open a design shop out here. We will be servicing all print related design, anything from logos/branding to billboards and theatrical posters. And I'm really looking forward to meeting and collaborating with some awesome new designers. Our website will be up and running very soon. You can take a sneak peak at www.visionaryflock.com.





Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

I love 'em all. Nothing really stands out to me above from the others. They each have their own styles and uniqueness and most are targeted to specific audiences, so it's really hard to compare them with each other. If you twisted my arm, I'd have to say I really like some of the new photo manipulations I've done.





Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?

Of course, I can't wait to work on a huge billboard, or one of those giant posters that are like 20 stories high. I don't doubt that one day as I grow in my design skills that I'll get that opportunity.




Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

I feel uncomfortable, considering myself a novice, and I still believe I have long ways to go until I can call myself a really talented designer. But I really think working hard, spending the long hours and simply not giving up until you are happy, will help you grow and become better and better and remember to always stay humble.

Today with the internet if you have any design questions or are looking to achieve a certain effect, there must be thousands of free tutorials online to help you out. Check 'em out.





What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

I think it needs to have been both visually and mentally thought out to bring out its point in a great, creative way.





What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

We all have burn-outs every once in awhile. If something isn't working, I just shut it down for a bit and come back to it later. I always find it easier to work if I take breaks, it sort of gives me a fresh look at it every time I come back. Creativity is something you can't force on someone. An occasional espresso helps a lot, too.




Finish this sentence. "If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a..."

.... Hmm, hard to even imagine. I would definitely have some type of job in a creative field.



And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

Not a big TV watcher, I do enjoy seeing "The Office" every once in awhile.

DAVID PACHE

Out of the box design, Swiss style.

David Pache is a creative consultant, a brand and identity designer in Switzerland that works with clients all over the globe to specially develop logos and more.

www.dache.ch



When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

I realised that I had a great interest in art from an early age but this quickly was overtaken by graphic design and technical drawing. I liked how the application of geometry was so precise and measured. Still in many of my designs today I try to make them geometrically correct. The pivotal point though was when I finished high school and took the natural progression into design school because it was simply what I enjoyed doing. It introduced new technologies to me and this made me realise it was possible to make my living from this if I was dedicated enough. This is when I started entering online galleries and when my entries received positive feedback, I realised I had the audience I needed so I concentrated on developing my skills, increasing my portfolio and continued to build a following and eventually took the plunge to launch the website.




Who or what inspires you?

I mostly take inspiration from my surroundings, I focus on creating designs which are contemporary, innovative and unique, in line with the dache "out of the box thinking" philosophy. My other interests include music, sculpture, the suprematism art movement and the works of painters such as Picasso and Mondriaan from which I am often referring to for use of colour, lines etc. I intend to travel in the near future to increase my inspiration.





Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

A bit of both, whilst at design school, I used my spare time to develop my craft and really get into the online arena of logo design. 4 years in college can only represent a certain amount of acquired skills and one has to keep on learning. When I graduated, I finally took the plunge to create my own design studio increasing my client base and services.




How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

I mainly try to take each concept as an individual. I focus on logo concepts and branding identities and ensure that my designs are simple yet in line with what the clients want. I often think I can take an over-simplified view of a concept but this is not a bad thing. You will notice in logos such as Think Once and Postbox, they are almost a literal translation of the name but this is what will give the designs their unique element. I also try to vary it up and not get stuck in a style. It is good for my thought process to be constantly changing my designs.




Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

AfricanTradition is the logo which gives me the greatest pride, as it was one of my first projects. I feel I achieved a timeless piece which has proved itself by receiving multiple acknowledgements from the design community. It is a project which I am sentimental towards, as I feel it was the turning point of my career which evolved my work to the professional level which I was initially aiming for.




Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?

I have recently been editing some video clips from the camcorder and the editing software was something which I had not used since I was in college. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the process. I never chose to pursue this area; however, I think if I could not be doing what I am doing now, being a film maker would be of great interest.




Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

Really, I would give one important piece of advice which is, if you are a novice and looking to turn professional with your own business, do your homework and be as prepared as possible. Many young designers get into the industry on the back of a small handful of great logos but the business side is very different and it is a completely different thing to design logos for specific briefs and for a whole range of clients. It is tough at first as with any industry but with perseverance and a dedication to producing great designs, you will do very well. You have to love your job to succeed.





What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

In terms of branding, it wholly depends on the client. Some clients will like a lot of control and some will even provide an idea for you to re-work. This is very limiting but necessary in some cases due to them knowing their clients and audience exclusively and can be helpful to give them what they are aiming for. Other clients however give you complete designer discretion and this is fantastic, you can be so creative when given just a few buzzwords and a sketchpad to brainstorm with. Creative freedom within boundaries are my favourite projects.





What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

I rarely get de-motivated however in these times, I remind myself that I am lucky enough to be making a success of my passion and it is this desire to succeed and have my work out their for public display which really keeps the thought process flowing. In short, I absolutely love what I do.





Finish this sentence. "If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a..."

For me, it has been clear since I was in my teens of which direction I was headed but if I had to choose another path, I guess any occupation which involved me exercising my creativity. I could definitely not do an office job. It would be too repetitive for me. I need the stimulation of variety.




And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

Well, I am a huge LOST fan :)

CARLOS ARAUJO

My name is Carlos Araujo. I’m an illustrator currently located in Brazil. I've worked as a freelancer since 2006 and have done work for the editorial market and for the web as well. My work usually takes a whimsical approach, using silhouettes and high contrasted figures.


www.silbachstation.com
www.silbachstation.com/en (in english)


When did you first decide to become a graphic designer/ illustrator? Was there a pivotal moment?

I worked as a graphic and web designer for about eight years and after some time I realized that the kind of projects that I really liked were the ones that required some kind of illustration… I enjoyed creating the illustrations so much that I decided to focus on being an illustrator.




Who or what inspires you?

I get inspiration from almost everywhere. It can be music, poetry, movies, comic-books…





Where does your training come from? Self-taught? College/Art School?

I’m mostly self-taught. (I went to design school but never finished the course...) Before working as a designer I did some comic books and for a brief time worked in the animation field (creating animation for TV ads) and I guess those experiences became a strong influence in my illustrations: A lot of them look like a scene captured from an animated movie. People say to me that my illustrations look like a part of a larger story.





How do you keep "fresh" within your industry?

Magazines and books about illustration are good sources of information. And the internet really helps me a lot. I try to get involved as much as I can, participating in discussion groups for example, and visiting illustration/art/design related web sites. Talking to and taking advice from fellow illustrators are two important things that I do as well.




What are some of your current projects?

Right now I’m working on a paper toy that I hope will be available at my web site before Xmas this year. I've done a paper toy before, it was a simple bookmarker that looked like play money, a currency called “Dollaritos” and the response was very good, people really liked it. This new one will be more of a 3d version of one of my previous drawings.






Which of your projects are you the most proud of? And why?

My favorite project was a big illustration (10 feet by 6,5 feet height) called “Cloud Station” that I did for a local business here in Brazil. Since I had so much space to work on I was able to add a lot of nice details that made the illustration very eye-catching.





Are there any areas, techniques, mediums, projects in your field that you have yet to try?

I always wanted to work with sculptures in resin. I would love to experiment and make a three-dimensional version of one of my crazy vehicles designs, like the carrousel-bus or the mechanical-camel for example…




Any advice to the novice designer/ illustrator?

I thinkwhat's most important is to try to find and develop your personal voice, that thing that makes your work unique.




What makes a designed piece or illustration successful?

A good illustration tells a story. It sells an idea or product.





What do you do to keep yourself motivated and avoid burn-out?

Well, I love doing illustration so that’s keeps me motivated. To avoid burn-out the best thing for me is to stay away for a while from the drawing table. I go for a walk or play with my nephews.




Finish this sentence. "If I weren't a designer/illustrator I would have been a..."

A chef. Or an octopus. Maybe an octopus-chef…!



And finally, what is the best thing on prime-time TV right now?

I don’t watch TV that much… I watched a couple of episodes of “Boston Legal”. It’s a good show.