PE C U L I AR B LISS ISSU E ON E
SYNONYM • CHRIS PIASCIK
PEC U LIA RB LISS ISSU E O N E PeculiarBliss.com is a stream o f doodles and images, featuring creative, original works from sketchbooks and other mediums into one location, with the hope to inspire continued creative thinking . PeculiarBliss Magazine is the quar terly continuation o f this effor t .
VAU GH N FEN DE R
This issues theme: “Synonym� Cover design: Chris Piascik
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SMI LI NG C H E E SE - J OS H L AFAYET TE
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SYNonym - Racheal An i lyse
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ROB OT & N E R D - Rand R enfrow
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ma keshi ft mo ndria n - john rudolph
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Pavement li fe, Sidewa lk lov e - Sabreen Aziz
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SYNONYM - R u k munal Hak im
P HOTOS BY: TONY LU ON G .COM
20 QUESTIONS
introducing
CHRIS PIASCIK
He’s a graphic designer & ar tist residing in New England. He has spent the last five years working at two award-winning design studios and has taught design courses at Har tford Ar t Sch ool (University o f Har tford ). He is currently working as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. QU ESTIONS BY : SHAN NON DUGGAN
Alphabet • Hand Drawn, Digital Color, 2010
S. W hat do you define as your current ar t community(-ies)? C. H mm, this is a tough one! I am between many places both in my work and my location. I spent the last 5 years working at a couple small design studios. Graphic design in my foundation though I find myself more aligned with the fine ar t community these days. At this ver y moment, I am packing up my apar tment in Boston to move to my home state o f CT. There I ’ll be star ting my career over as a full-time freelance designer and illustrator and continuing to fur ther my “ fine ar t ” based work. S. How are designers fairing in this downtrodden economy? C. T hings are tough! I have had many friends get laid o ff— including myself ! I am optimistic though, I think that this is a good time for independent designers that can market themselves across a variety o f platforms. S. Y ou’ ve done work for companies across the U.S. Do you feel that your work is well received by the Constitution State? Or do other states seem to attrac t to your aesthetics more strongly? C. I did well for myse lf when I was in CT earlier in my career and I hope to continue to do so when I return next week. I n terms o f aesthetics and my personal style, I don’t think it ’s really a state-based thing .
Designers today are forced to be multi-disciplined and take on many rolls that are not seen as traditional Graphic Designer rolls.
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S. I s there a design capital o f the world? If so, where? C. I don’t think so. The internet has made it possible for amazing designers and ar tists to be located in obscure places. S. W here is the current interest in design? Are there interesting intersec tion stimulating discussion and experimentation? C. I think that design is all over the place these days, but mostly in a good way. Designers today are forced to be multi- disciplined and take on many rolls that are not seen as traditional “Graphic Designer” rolls. Design is ultimately a way o f thinking so a designer’s approach to any projec t is going to be interesting and different in that aspec t . S. H ow has “design” taken on new meanings in the past five years? Has is expanded to encompass more or, perhaps, formed more specialized roles? C. D esign has expanded into a more diverse field while at the same time ver y specialized niches have sur faced. For example, on any given day I can be working on a corporate identity, book layout, lettering treatment, paintings for an upcoming show or charac ter illustrations. S. W here is design headed? C. I think design will continue to embrace the crossover between fine ar t and design.
P r intBr i g ade T-Shir t Desig n s • H a nd D ra wn, Scre e n P r i nt e d , 2 0 0 9
D ai l y D rawi ngs • Han d Draw n , M ol es ki n 2009
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Var i ou s Logo Designs • 20 08-2009
Log o D e si gn • 20 10
T-S hi r t D esi gn • Han d Draw n , Di g i tal Col or 2009
M a j o r Tayl o r Zi ne • Han d Draw n , Di g i tal Col or 201 0
S. D o you follow cer tain blogs that give you insight into what other designers are creating and learning? C. T oo many! It ’s Nice That, LetterCult, My Love for You is a Stampede o f Horses, The Post Family, B O O O O O O OM!, Share Some Candy, a million others! S. M ost influential person you met in and what you learned from them.
2009
C. H ah wow, that ’s a tough one! I met Jesse Ledoux at Cut&Paste Boston (he was a judge). I later saw him at SXSW and began following his work closer online ( I’ ve always been a fan). He’s all over the place and working on a lot o f different things. Seeing that hustle cemented my ideas about being able to do my own thing . S. W here do you gain inspiration? C. E ver ywhere . The media, music, my friends, other ar tists, designers, even just sitting down and doodling gives me ideas. S. W hen did text become a formal theme in your work? (or do you disagree that it is?) C. I have always loved drawing words and letter forms. At a young age I would disassemble album packaging and draw my own. My favorite par t was illustrating the band’s name . S. C an you clarif y the difference between lettering and typography for us laymen? C. L ettering is the ar t o f hand drawing / painting letter forms whereas typography has to do with setting a pre- existing typeface . S. Y our designed quotes seem to give more than just fancy lettering , but a conceptual consideration and a visual response to how you understand them. Due to your font design s, the quotes that I may have read or heard before take on new meanings. Do you consider the implications o f how your text is read while illustrating the letters?
t a young age I would A disassemble album packaging and draw my own. S. D o you have a “go-to” charac ter? C. A s in a typographic charac ter? I really like “Y’s” mainly because they can be completely over the top. In non-typo-terms, I enjoy drawing cyclops charac ters. S. D o you ever not want to draw a drawing for the daily drawing? C. S ometimes I am definitely way too tired or busy, but I convince myself to do one . At this point, I am well over 500 daily drawings without missing any—so there better be a damn good reason for me to drop the ball. S. T hree materials/mediums you cannot live without . C. S harpie, paper, Mac S. T hree pieces o f advice to newly graduating designers. C. 1 . Hustle 2. D o your research. Don’t star t a letter inquiring about a job or position with “To Whom it may concern.” 3. Did I mention “H USTLE?” S. B est par t about being a designer? C. B eing able to draw and create new things all the time . S. W hat makes for a great client? C. O pen-mindedness, trust, good communication, on-time payments! S. I f you weren’t in the ar ts... where would you be? C. Tr ying to be a rockstar.
C. D efinitely. The feeling I want to invoke is the driving force behind my illustration.
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F or more of C hrIs’s wor k visit h is website (updated da i ly ) www.chr isp iasc i k .com.
BAD, LI KE GOOD - RAN D R EN FROW
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VI E TNAM - TONY LUONG
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LIGH T SWITC H E S - J OS H L AFAYET TE
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Synonymica lly-An o nymo u s - Sabreen Aziz
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wo o d - k en hoc k er
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three dump tr u c ks - john rudolph
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PE C U L I A R B L I S S ISS U E O N E PeculiarBliss Magazine is a quar terly publication. To contribute to the magazine or website, email us: pbsubmissions@gmail.com
Editor / Designer
Contributors
Associate Editor
Sabreen Aziz w w w. sabreenaziz.posterous.com
Writer
Ru kmunal Hakim w w w.society6.com/Hakim
Music Curator
Ken hoc ker w w w.kenhocker.com
Vaughn Fender w w w.vaughnfender.com
Hannah fichandler
Shannon Duggan
Alice grandoit w w w.homebasenyc .net
Rachel An i lyse w w w.rachealanilyse .com
Josh L afayette w w w.joshlafayette .com Tony Luong w w w.tonyluong .com C hr is Piasc i k w w w.chrispiascik.com Rand R enfrow w w w.r-quad.com john Rudolph w w w.wecantstop.com
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