OUROBOROS by Billie Jean

Ever since I was child, design was been a huge influence in my life. I remember very specific aesthetics that I was drawn to from an early age – low-budget horror films, Japanese anime, Kaiju monster movies, comicbooks... the more schlocky and lo-fi, the better. Growing up, as silly as it sounds, I didn’t realise that design was an actual career choice – I had no idea how to go about pursuing it, so I didn’t. It’s something that I tinkered with as a hobby for years.. I got my start as a teenager, making Myspace and Bebo skins for my classmates. I’m an avid reader, and after I’d finish a new novel, I’d create fake movie posters and trailers based on it – just for kicks. Everything I did was pre-Youtube, my internet at home was so terrible that I couldn’t even lookup tutorials to inform what I was doing. I had to teach myself through instinct, trial and error. OUROBOROS was born out of a necessity – a need to showcase and signal boost the amazing talent that this country has to offer, from a vast array of disciplines and mediums. It’s genesis came from the resurgance of zine culture. A zine is a small-circulation, self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images – usually reproduced via photocopier. Positioned as an ‘elevated zine’ – OUROBOROS strives to amplify the work of the amazing creative community and the personalities behind them by exploring their background and process.

CURATED PLAYLIST ESSENTIAL VIEWING //

ESSENTIAL LISTENING //

HALLOWEEN (1978) AKIRA (1988) TAMPOPO (1985) MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003) CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994) SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997) ONIBABA (1964) DON’T LOOK NOW (1973) HAUSU (1977)

TYPE O NEGATIVE – LOVE YOU TO DEATH ORBITAL – HALCYON & ON & ON GARY NUMAN – MY NAME IS RUIN BAUHAUS – BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD THE CURE – A FOREST SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES – SPELLBOUND COCTEAU TWINS – BLOOD BITCH COLD CAVE – CONFETTI RAMMSTEIN – ICH WILL SMASHING PUMPKINS – TONIGHT, TONIGHT

PHOTO CREDIT / JOSH MULHOLLAND ©

BEN HENNESSY / ILLUSTRATOR ANDI MCGARRY / ARTIST PADRAIG HOLMES / GRAPHIC DESIGNER HOLLY PEREIRA / MURALIST KIM MACKENZIE-DOYLE / INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER YVONNE RATH / GRAPHIC DESIGNER ADAM MCGUIRE / MASTERS DESIGN STUDENT LEE CRONIN / WRITER + DIRECTOR RICHARD SEABROOKE / DESIGN LEADER

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BEN HENNESSY

BEN HENNESSY is a Wexford-based professional STORYBOARDER, CHARACTER DESIGNER and ILLUSTRATOR. @BENNESSY Could you tell us about your background? Where your interest in illustration began and how you got your start?

My background is primarily based in the animation industry. I’ve enjoyed stints as a character-designer, background artist but primarily as a storyboard artist. As a storyboard artist it is my job to illustrate a script in such a manner that a team of animators and an art department can clearly create an episode based on my panels and the instruction of a director. Besides my work in animation I have worked in other forms of illustration such as children’s books and comics. I have always wanted to be an illustrator, before I knew it could actually be a job I knew it was what I wanted to do. I would imagine my interest began like many others, watching cartoons and reading comics. Comics especially,

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before I knew it could actually be a job.

@BENNESSYSART The Beano, Super Mario Bros, Sonic The Comics, Astonishing Spider-man, Wolverine Unleashed, Avengers, Batman, whatever I could get my hands on. My parents were great, they always supported my interest and introduced me to new titles and even started my first pull list in my local book shop. When I was leaving school and was starting to really think about illustration as a career, I had to get serious about my approach. There were no illustration courses of any kind, in any college, colleges of further education or even an internship . But I was informed of BCFE and the animation course there, it seemed like the closest thing I could get to in terms of a college for comics. So I applied and luckily got in to BCFE. I studied animation there for 5 years, it was a tough animation course requiring long hours of study, 3 interview stages and folio reviews along with the usual continuous assessment of an art syllabus. When I began there were 77 or 76 people in the year, when I graduated, there were only 5 of us left. So when I had my B.A. Hons in animation I went looking for work during the recession of 2008. I took whatever job I could, at that time all the graduates were really stuck for work as studios were only hiring artists with 3 plus years of experience,

BENNESSY.COM but for everyone graduating there was no way to attain that experience. So some of my classmates from college and I took it upon ourselves to bridge the gap between student and professional somewhat. We formed Pegbar a social networking event for those looking for work in animation, which I’m proud to say I still see getting credited for helping the now thriving animation sector in Ireland. Our plan was to screen our showreels and showreels of other graduates from around the country and from the UK on tv’s in a pub in Dublin city centre, where we invited studios to come and join us. It worked, it really snowballed too, we ended up elevating Pegbar to an event that hosted individuals who have won and been nominated for the highest achievements in animation and comics to give lectures in the Science Gallery in Trinity. The bigger Pegbar got the more the studios in Ireland took it and us (the group behind Pegbar) seriously, the more eyes we had on our work the more likely it was that we might get a job and thankfully that was the case. We all slowly started to get work, in drips at first but steadily those drips turned into something you could call a career. My first actual job, was with a studio in Dublin called Kavaleer, doing inbetweens on a short film. I learned a lot from them, they took a chance

on me further down the line and let me take a stab at some storyboards and I’ve been boarding since. It came about because a friend of mine from BCFE, put my name forward. She did me a great service granting me the opportunity to get my foot in the door. I’ve done something similar for others since. It’s worth your while being nice to and keeping in touch with everyone you’re studying with, it’s a small industry you’re going to bump into them again. If you’re a difficult person, if you’re hard to work with or always missing your deadlines, people will remember and word will get around about you and you’ll miss opportunities like this.

a super hero or comic book flavour tend to reach out to me. Carrie & Rufus has been a longtime labour of love for you – how did it come about, and what have you learned throughout its creation? I wish I could spend more time on Carrie and Rufus, it really is a labour of love, but as a freelancer who thankfully is pretty booked up with work most of the time, finding time to work on it is VERY hard to find. As I said it came about as I

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I emerged with a style that was safely

What were your first significant projects? How did they come about? My first significant project has to be Carrie and Rufus. Carrie and Rufus is a post-apocalyptic comic I created based in my hometown of Wexford. Elevator pitch for it is Turner and Hooch meets Shaun of the Dead, while running away from the zombie horde Carrie bumps into Rufus a fox and together they traverse the shambling cannibal corpse infested landscape. It’s significant to me as I took a real risk working on it, I left a job to pursue my own I.P. It was something I created to get work with comics publishers in the U.S. but alas that was not to be. It has however landed me a score of other work, I get a lot of illustration and character design jobs from the fallout of Carrie and Rufus. I have a reputation of a comics guy who works in animation in Ireland, so studios working on a cartoon with

wanted to secure work with U.S. comics publishers and it was also something I wanted to do for quite some time. What I learned during its creation was, well a number of things. I can in fact produce a 22 page issue in a month, pro standard, something a lot of pros struggle with, something I was worried I would struggle with, but thankfully that was little to no problem. Being a freelancer has really brought about a strict discipline with regards to completing work so that was something of a relief. I paid other artists to letter, colour and flatten. I paid them a professional rate and the result I got back was a professional quality product. Pay people appropriately and you’ll find yourself with a better end product from them. Self-publishing is A LOT of work. Make sure that if

you’re working on something you plan to self-publish, that it’s something you really love or it will take a toll on you to a point where you might confuse your dislike of the product for a dislike of the job. Although you might set out to accomplish a certain goal, you might end up achieving something else altogether. Stay open minded, make sure you don’t miss these opportunities because you’re so focussed on what you initially set out to get. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? I’ve had lots of great advice over the years, It would be crazy to list them all out. But a lot of that advice is stuff aspiring artists hear all the time, “Sit back so you can see the full drawing”, “Draw from your shoulder” etc. So I’ll offer what I think has been the single best piece of advice I got when I started out looking for work. My Dad said to me one day while I was applying for a job, to mention in passing that I was available to start that job today if they needed. He said to do this knowing full well that USUALLY the employer is nowhere near ready to hire you, when they’re at the point of reviewing CV’s and folios, but say it to them anyways because they tend to remember that sort of reply. If the employer is up against a tight deadline and they have to hire someone soon, then you’ve just confirmed your availability. The odd time they actually will give you the job on the spot, then you have to be true to your word and show up for work, but most of the time, they’ll contact you with ample time to prepare for the next gig. This worked,

I used this a lot and only twice in 10 years have I had to start on the day. Following on from that – What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Ah I don’t think I remember any. I think most of the time you can tell what’s good and what’s bad advice. I was able to filter out the bad stuff quickly enough and if I ever doubted myself I had the right people around me to bounce ideas off and they just consolidated my stance on the advice. Surround yourself with people who are better than you, they’ll keep you on the right track. In your own words – describe your style? Any particular influences or eureka moments that helped inform it? I don’t think I’ve ever been asked to do this. I’ve often talked about my process behind particular pieces or my process in general but not describe my style. I guess I’d fall somewhere into the American Manga genre. Cartooned designs based in “reality’, with pretty tight lines. Lots of artists, too many to list have helped inform my style either directly or indirectly and I’m some kind of amalgamation of all of them. A big influence to me early on was Humberto Ramos. But it was getting past the point of inspiration for me and started to feel closer to plagiarism. So I made it a point not to reference him or any other artist for a year. I would only reference from real life. I emerged with a style that was safely my own creation and is now something that does not resemble Ramos at all.

Choose your weapon: Mac or PC? Any reason why? What tools do you use on the daily? Mac! Reason why, it’s far more intuitive for me, everything about it is just a joy to work with. I used to use windows and unless mac do something very strange I don’t think I’ll ever go back.

they’re in studio is just an easier way to go about business. I used to think I was more creative at night, but to be honest since I started keeping business hours I have found myself to be just as productive. I’m a pro now so I don’t get to pick what time of the day I get to be creative, I just have to sit down and create because that’s the job.

Tools on the daily It can be some of or sometimes all of the following: Wacom tablet, Animation Disc, iPad Pro, Col Erase pencils, Mars lumograph pencils HB & 2B, Tombows, Graph Its, Pentel Brush Pens, bristol board, ink and brush, white vinyl eraser, Faber Castell putty eraser, Sketchbook Pro, Storyboard Pro, Procreate and Photoshop.

I feel like I’m most in the zone if I can get a block of about 4 hours together. In that time I can accomplish a lot, getting interrupted every 20/30 mins can really slow me down but that inevitably can and will happen but if I can put 4 hours together I can manage the interruptions and accomplish my daily quota.

Are you a morning person or a night owl? When do you feel like you’re most in the zone work wise and is there a reason why? I used to be a night owl, but I found that keeping business hours and replying to the people I work for while

I set out to achieve a daily quota every day, this daily quota changes from job to job, but hitting that daily quota means I hit my deadlines. Making sure I produce a product of a certain quality and always hitting my deadlines is what I believe to be a major factor in securing work.

‘WOLVERINE’ / BEN HENNESSY ©

What are your recommended books to read that you have found to helpful, career-wise? Quite a lot but the one I probably refer to the most is Anatomy for the Artist by Jenó Barcsay. If I get stuck on a pose for whatever reason this book puts me back on the straight and narrow pretty quickly. Have you any recommended podcasts or Youtube channels that you use as a resource? David Colman’s work is one that’s always helped in relation to informing, teaching or just plain inspiring. Aaron Blaise is another but I’ve only been looking at his stuff recently. With regards to podcasts as a resource, wow I don’t have one. I listen to a lot of podcasts, but none actually help me as an artist, they just serve a point of entertainment while I work. Have you always loved comics, or is it an interest you developed later in life? Who are your favourite comic creators and why?

Chaves – stellar designer, he made a few books that I would have little to no interest in extremely interesting.

opposed to what you’ve been thinking about maybe working on at some point in time.

What would your best advice be for aspiring creatives?

And lastly, if you could go back in time, what would you say to your younger self knowing what you know now?

Always have a something that you’re working on. Not just an idea, EVERYONE has an idea. Make it a point to be actively working on some idea of yours. You’ll be taken a lot more seriously when you can show people what you’re doing as

I’ve always loved comics. Ah I feel like I’ve said this a few times now but too many to mention. I won’t go into all of them so here’s five Chris Samnee – master story teller and inker. I feel like every time I look at one of his pages I learn something. Jorge Jimenez – lots of fun, loads of squash and stretch in his posing. It’s really interesting to see how he approaches inking completely digitally. Gerardo Zaffino – just incredible designs and inks. Will Eisner – the Godfather of modern comics. Dan Mora

‘CARRIE AND RUFUS’ / BEN HENNESSY ©

Easy I would say “relax, getting good at this isn’t something you can force or make happen faster. You just have to sit down and do the work and it’ll come to you.” that might be annoying to hear but it’s the truth of it.

‘THE SCHIMITAR BOYS’ / BEN HENNESSY ©

ANDI ANDI MCGARRY MCGARRY

ANDI MCGARRY is a VISUAL ARTIST – Geordie by birth, living in Ireland for the past 25 years, creating and curating Artist Books exhibitions. McGarry is heavily involved in community work, having founded the Geordie Gallery in Yola Farmstead. @ANDI.MCGARRY

Could you tell us about your background? Where your interest in art began and how you got your start? My early interest came via my mother who liked arts/music and encouraged all of us kids to be creative and also my grandmother who also actively encouraged us, this nurturing and encouragement at an early age was vital and very important. I went to a secondary school that had two good art teachers who also encouraged and then I went on to do foundation course in Art at Gateshead tech College - this gave a grounding in printmaking and then a BA in fine Art at Brighton Uni – which was an unstructured course suited me down to the ground. Since then went back to learning recently completing Post grad At NCAD in Art Community and Education – followed by a grad cert at UCD in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise. If I was to say where I got my start – several points really – being selected for New Contemporaries 1984 prestige event. Organizing at an early stage like the punk venue I ran for a year the Garage. First one man show at Wexford Art Centre – helped by Denis Collins that was a biggie, And I guess being published by Stephanie Brown in Artists

SUNMOONANDSTARSPRESS.WORDPRESS.COM Newsletter because she took my work seriously I redoubled my efforts. The cool review by Aiden Dunne on my joint show at Thomas Town with John Bently that would cover most of those landmark moments. Sales are great but I like reviews – money gets spent but you can go a long way on critical review from the right quarter. Was there a turning point or moment of clarity in your life when you knew you have to pursue art as a career? No turning point aside from picking Art over English at Tech college amongst other things cos I liked the look of the woodenbuildings where the art people were housed. More mile stones included, New Contemporaries 1984, Stephanie’s Reviews in Artists Newsletter, Making my first film etc. Discovering my talent for organizing things and learning to collaborate and discovering teaching. My practice as a mixed economy. What were your first significant projects? How did they come about?

ANDI MCGARRY ©

The Garage – a punk project in the late 70s early 80s. I was in a punk band and I conceived and co organised a punk festival and later turned the space into an actual venue for a year, necessity bred the invention on that one. Artists Books making them after being on a fishing boat, making a catch of poems, making marketing and selling them setting up sun moon and stars press to circulate organic ideas. Getting my first book sale to the Tate in Nigel GreenWood Gallery – that was I remember also significant. Give us an example of one of your favourite projects that you've ever worked on and why? Can be personal or professional? One of my favorite projects would be “the kipper “a homemade boat with

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I think with just the smallest droplets of encouragement you can water the seedlings of

creativity a bunch of young people in Tyneside in 2000. It was Arts Council Year of the Artist funded in collaboration with Waterville Detached Youth Project and also the Globe Gallery North Shields. We made a boat in North Shields in the old Tyne Brand building – the whole project photographed by the youth project using black and white film which Steve Conlan, a photographer printed out as 2 meter by meter prints which they printed up themselves using huge homemade developing trays, and homemade dark room. The big prints were showcased along with the boat and in association with the globe gallery - after we'd paddled it down the Tyne from Newcastle – 12 miles in one tide. The whole thing also captured on Tynetees television. A lot of the kids who made and paddled the boat were having difficulty at school –this project really worked wonders for their confidence and collaborative skills. What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given? I was advised to join DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society) and did – also join IVARO (Irish Visual ArtiSts Rights Organisation) which I also did – been collecting royalties every year since.

Following on from that – What's the worst piece of advice you've ever been given? I am very poor at taking other people’s advice – Anthony Gormley once told me to reduce my means when I was at Brighton. I don’t think I ever did! Okay, now choose your weapon: Pencil, Paintbrush or other? And why? What's your favorite medium to work with? I do love drawing alright – I like the raw power it connects you with and to, especially charcoal and pencil ... but also I like painting, and have moved to big mural sized pieces recently, but film making also when its working is so good and there are so many possibilities with the soundtrack and song writing would be up there too. Can you tell us a little bit about your creation process? How do you tackle projects? Any number of permutations – coffee, walk the dog, procrastinate coffee, wash dishes, set something up, sweep floor, burst into studio, make something happen, walk dogs, review work, maybe drink beer, jog, play guitar, make the family a nice dinner, watch a film,

computer e mails etc. If I’m doing a collaboration, a different part of my process is called on – I can become quite professional and can get things done. The Creative process itself is very fractured, I am always on look – out for new ways to trick myself into doing the business. Creative process almost always begins with an IDEA. I need to ensure the idea has legs. Often get obsessed with a thing. In your own words,describe your style? Any particular influences or eureka moments that helped inform it? My paintings? Landscapes with figures, muses, seascapes, mono–prints, the female form, books, figures, organic ideas, nature and free thinking. Editing a film in Super 8, working with Windows Movie Maker producing new films. The Brancussi Studio Collections, La Fee Electricitie English Fields by Anthony Gormley, London Artists Book Fairs, David Nash, Studio Blaneau, Marc Chagal exhibition London, the Rothko Rooms in Tate London and the Piccasso Gurnica in Madrid. Tell us about the creation and evolution of the Geordie Gallery – how did you get involved with Yola Farm? Met Paul at an Art Fair, he was looking for interested people to help in a community project in Yola – I offered my services as an artist who could do collaborative community projects to enable groups to bond and grow and develop. This one particular successful project the boat project works really well in group dynamics and I’ve run this over 40 times now. Sowe built a

boat in Yola with a group of teens, and then took it on a paddle down the River Slane. We gave it a testing first in the local safe in Rosslare. This project kicked off a dynamic that continues to this day, and I have found my services as an artist regularly called upon with yola projects. Geordie Gallery was a new project designed to create an art /exhibition space in an unused building in yola. The idea was to show local works and to plug the local school into the timetable and have the gallery as a resource for them to use. To date the Gallery has had 6 exhibitions mainly of local Artists. It is envisioned a a kind of community gallery. Can you give us examples of some of your favourite artists and why you chose them? Painters would be Modigliani – love his nudes and his treatment of the canvas. I love Ferdinand Leger, love his female forms with big noses and his human figures in landscape. Henri Mattisse Love some of his females also his colours and decoration also his acute sense of timing. Raul Duffy – his semi-abstract, but clinging to figurative form, his essential timing and Gerhard Richter’s Blurred Nudes. Branccussi for sculpture, his simplicity of form.

itself is very fractured. I am always on the lookout for new ways to trick myself into

DOING BUSINESS. What would be your best advice for aspiring creatives? Did you ever think about Banking?! No, only joking! My daughter, for example whom I’ve tried to put off – now also wants to walk on the road less travelled and study art – artists often spend their whole lives in poverty I said to her, and whilst when your young money mightn’t matter – later it can get tricky. I think with just the smallest droplets of encouragement you can water the seedlings of creativity; it doesn't matter what the medium is – and even whether it’s a collaboration or not –

people love getting creative. I rarely give people advice – but I do give people encouragement. And lastly, if you could go back in time, what would you say to your younger self knowing what you know now? I love looking through my old sketch books at a younger me, the ideas and the interests don’t change that much – my phrases were more flowery , I wouldn’t change a lot – no regrets – loved every minute. So I might say keep on keeping on brother....

Music wise – I love a lot of the punk music made in the late 70s, early 80s Magazine, XTC, the Buzzcocks, the Stranglers, the Clash, the Feelies and Pattie Smith. Also like soul, more recently Blues. ANDI MCGARRY ©

PADRAIG HOLMES PADRAIG HOLMES is a GRAPHIC DESIGNER, based in Wexford and is the head honcho at Counterpart – Graphic Design & Digital Design Agency. @THISISCOUNTERPART

@CNTRPRT

COUNTERPART.IE

Could you tell us about your background? Where your interest in design began and how you got your start?

successful. I’m still quite proud of that one. I also did a full visual suite for an eSports company which has now expanded into the UK and Europe.

beans etc. It actually came together quite quickly. I love getting to work on products that need to look slick and loud.

Way back in school, I was a doodler – loved doing band logos, I was one of the kids whose bags were covered in grunge band logos.

I had full control of both products so it was a steep learning curve, but really valuable.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

After the crash in 08, with nothing to lose, I went back to college to do Visual Communications – aka Graphic Design.

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Take of the job you’re given.

What were your first significant projects? How did they come about? After college, I got a job assisting startup SMEs which needed branding and visual identity in order to be brought to market and attract funding. In my first few weeks, I designed branding and packaging for a sports nutrition product which ended up on Dragon’s Den, and is now really

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I had ideas of being a signwriter for a while. It never materialised, and I ended up working in the construction industry.

Take ownership of the job you’re given. Often you’ll need to guide a client and explain that what they want is not always what they need. And always make eye contact!

Following on from that – What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Give us an example of one of your favourite projects that you’ve ever worked on and why? Can be personal or professional?

“Say yes to everything, and figure out how to do it later.” I’ve turned down jobs in the past for various reasons, usually because I couldn’t deliver my best work within the given timeframe.

A couple of years ago, I finally got to brand a coffee house which does hand roasting etc. - something I’d always wanted to do. The client really trusted what I wanted to present, and we ended up with a really cool feel for the premises and their packaged coffee

Okay, now choose your weapon: Mac or PC? Any reason why? What tools do you use on the daily? Always Mac. I’ve used a Mac since day one, and I just think they’re beautifully

You’ll ﬁgure it out eventually. Don’t take it designed objects – doing creative work, I think it’s easier to get inspired when you have a beautiful object to look at and work on. Tools – this could be a long answer! Full Adobe Creative Suite goes without saying, first of all. I have an iMac, plus a second monitor which is my main setup – I like to use 2 monitors, especially for web/ coding HTML etc. so I can have an input/output type workflow. A Macbook Pro for when I’m offsite. I use mainly Adobe XD for wireframing and prototyping websites, as a kind of digital sketchbook. I also use an iPad for sketching and mocking up as well as illustration, and I have a number of apps on that like Adobe Draw and Procreate, which can smoothly share files with my desktop/phone etc. I’ll also use that tablet for testing responsive web. Other than that, analog tools are and will always be important to me – just lots of layout paper and pencils.

Can you tell us a little bit about your design process? How do you tackle projects? I think it’s important to look at

competitors first of all, and then find ways to differentiate from them. Usually projects involve a logo, so I’ll

your style? Any particular influences or eureka moments that helped inform it? I try to make everything strong and simple. The first logo design that really informed that for me was Cisco – it was saying so much about who they were, what they did, and where they were from in a really concise mark. I think that’s still my favourite logo.

What’s it like having your own studio? Can you tell us a little bit about what it’s like to be a business owner? It’s quite a balancing act sometimes – I work alone and have to take responsibility for everything, PADRAIG HOLMES © so the actual creative output is often the tip of an iceberg of admin, travel, sourcing work etc. I have start from there with pencil and paper. Like a lot of people, I’ll mock up three my studio in my house which is in a concepts to begin, and develop the pretty remote location, so it’s important to get off site as much as I can. But the best one. morning commute is easy. You’re effectively telling a story, so the challenge is to tell that story in a Work / Life balance seems to be single symbol with no words. That’s my the eternal battle for creatives. approach. Do you have any tips or tricks

In your own words – describe

for keeping it relatively 50/50?

Personally I’m pretty strict on my working hours – where possible, I make a point of closing the office door at dinner time and not going back in til the next morning. That said, for designers and others working across the creative sector, what we do is more than just a job so we do end up tinkering at something after hours. As long as you’re still enjoying it, it’s OK. If it stops being enjoyable, take a break. But the reality is that deadlines are deadlines!

Who’s your favourite designer and why? If we’re talking about an individual, I’d probably say Paula Scher. She’s a genius with type, and everything she does is always so strong and loud. She’s had a long and varied career – I saw her presenting in Dublin a few years back she just exudes authority on everything she talks about. I love Studio Neue, based in Oslo. They’re incredibly versatile and their work is always so elegant. Closer to home, I would say the same thing about Red Dog.

What are your recommended books to read that you have found to helpful, career-wise?

On a technical level, Josef Muller Brockmann’s grid systems book is invaluable for anyone working with typography – it shows how much invisible work is happening in good type design. Other than that, I have a beautiful book about Dieter Rams called As Little

PADRAIG HOLMES ©

Design As Possible – obviously more product design than graphic, but it really explores his process, and teaches how important it is to consider the end user. And it’s a beautifully minimal, cleanly designed book.

Have you any recommended podcasts or Youtube channels that you use as a resource?

I actually don’t listen to them much, but I’d suggest Debbie Millman’s podcast Design Matters, or 99% Invisible. Personally I prefer visual resources – websites like It’s Nice That.

What would be your best advice for aspiring creatives?

Learn as much as you can from your classmates, but always look outward into what’s happening in industry. It’s impossible to learn everything in class (actually, you never stop learning). Design is literally everywhere, so look at it and critique it. Stay curious, and hold yourself to high standards.

And lastly, if you could go back in time, what would you say to your younger self knowing what you know now? You’ll figure it out eventually. Don’t take it so seriously. Actually, I’m still telling myself that.

o L

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HOLLY PEREIRA is a renowned MURALIST, SIGNPAINTER and ILLUSTRATOR based in Dublin. Pereira is a part of the Minaw Collective. @HOLLYPEREIRA_ILLUSTRATION Could you tell us about your background and how you came to do the work you do now? I studied Fine Art (Sculpture) in the National College of Art and Design, starting in 2000. I practiced as a painter for about sevenyears after leaving NCAD in 2004. I had a bunch of shows and residencies in Dublin, London, Singapore and Berlin. I was making work that was about feminism, body politics, and gender and racial identities. The work was an expression of my concerns (both then and now), but I realised that it was going to be difficult to make a living out of obscure menstrual and vagina drawings. In 2011, I took a night course in illustration, which is when I first learned about illustrated typography. The world shook! In 2013, I went to Pictoplasma – a character design festival in Berlin, and I fell in love with animation. The minute I arrived home, I applied to the Animation course in Ballyfermot College, and started at BCFE later that year. After leaving BCFE with a diploma in animation in 2015, I couldn’t get work in animation studios, as I had no showreel to speak of, and no studio experience. In my wisdom/desperation, I decided to start freelancing, because I didn’t want to be a waitress anymore,

and I figured that I might as well give commercial illustration a try. Setting up a business was all-consuming, and a steep learning curve. I took any work that I could get. A lot of the time, a client would ask for something which I had no idea how to do. I would agree to do it, though, and figure the rest out later. So the first few years I spent literally learning on the job. What were your first significant projects in your career? One of my first clients was Designist, the shop on Georges St in Dublin. They asked me to design a birthday card, and it went well, so I did more. That project was amazing in terms of building my experience in professional practice, and also with regards to considering what is marketable. I’m really grateful to Designist for taking a chance on me. In 2015 a friend of mine who managed a restaurant asked me to draw on some bathroom walls. I had never done murals, or anything like that before, but I thought that if I can draw on paper, then the leap to drawing larger wasn’t that big. Since then, painting murals has become 50% of my business. I think it was great to be able to diversify in this way. There are a lot of illustrators in Ireland; it is difficult

HOLLYPEREIRA.COM to stand out. By translating what I did to a larger scale and platform, it immediately opened up another source of income. I had played in bands since 2008, so when I started illustrating, I drew a lot of gig posters and record covers for friends’ music (mostly for free). This led to making an illustrated map for the festival Knockanstockan in 2015 and 2016, and one of Whelans, which, again, made me bring my work to a much more professional level than it had been previously. Could you give us an example of one of your personal favourite projects you’ve worked on – professional or personal? In 2018 myself and my two friends, Emma Cafferky and Rory Mulligan, painted a “Yes for Repeal” mural in Dun Laoghaire, in association with Together for Yes. It was one of my favourite projects, as the Repeal Movement was so close to my and my friends’ hearts. We were desperate for it to pass. It was a great feeling to be able to contribute to the cause in our own way. In 2019, I organised an exhibition called Letterbomb, about type and lettering design in the Copperhouse Gallery in Dublin 2. Due to the quite diverse nature of my work, I meet a

lot of different practitioners. Graffiti writers, designers, illustrators, art directors, typographers, printers, sign painters. I was in awe of how varied the use of type and lettering was in the visual culture, and I wanted to bring all of those practitioners together in the same room, and get their work talking to each other on the gallery walls. In the end, the show consisted of eighteen people’s work, and it was an amazing experience. It gave me really practical experience in terms of publicising, exhibiting, and selling artwork. I had wanted to celebrate type and lettering design in Ireland, to highlight it in the public’s minds a bit more, and I think we achieved that. Was there turning point or eureka momentin your life when you decided to become a creative and how did you proceed? I was lucky in that I always knew I wanted to make art, or music, of some sort. The trick was finding out how to financially support myself solely through that career. If younger artists ask me what that trick is, I tell them that you have to accept the fact that you will be doublejobbing for as long as it takes (this is probably more true of illustration and art, not design). You will have a job that pays bills, and you also have your real job (making artwork). Sometimes the stars/themarket/circumstances align early, and you land a big commission straight out of college. Sometimes you’re nearly fifty when it happens, or it doesn’t happen at all. A lot of the time, this isn’t a reflection of your work, but your understanding of what can be sold. I was about 35 before I could make a solid living from illustration.

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How did you become involved in street art – was it always an interest or is it a passion you discovered later on?

commercial sense). I had absolutely no idea how to use spray paint, but I assumed (very naively) that it couldn’t be that difficult.

I would not call myself a street artist - I say I’m a muralist. I have nothing against street art or grafitti at all - I think they’re wonderful disciplines; muralist is just a more accurate descriptor of what I do. I had taken part in a street art battle called Lifestyles just after I had started drawing on walls (in the

My learning curve arrived in front of about 100 people, as myself and a street artist called Novice were presented with a large wall, and invited to paint it in 90 minutes. My end piece was fuzzy and fairly disastrous, but I definitely fell in love with spray paint. It’s vibrant, immediate, and the scale

you can work at quickly is very enticing. I committed to learning how to use spray paint properly, and working on a large scale. I found it really difficult to use at the start, and I’m still learning. But I was lucky, in that I connected with people like The Minaw Collective, and other graffiti artists, who were really supportive, and generous with their knowledge and skills. Illustrated type is your bread and butter – what drew you to it as a medium? So many things! Type and lettering are endlessly fascinating to me. When I first did a night course in illustration in 2011, type and lettering were the things I was drawn to most. Illustrated type functions on two levels. There is the meaning of the word, and there is how it’s drawn or depicted. Sometimes those two things complement each other, and sometimes they subvert. You can skew the meaning, or enhance it. It’s like music, or cooking. You’re constantly fiddling with flavours, or tone, to produce a finely-tuned, and deeper, understanding, of what you are trying to convey. It’s about communication: of concepts, emotions, and context. There is also the formal aspect of lettering design. I came from a fine art background. I studied sculpture, and in the early noughties, that included performance and video art, a lot of conceptual work, installation. I didn’t feel aesthetics were overly-considered. For me, becoming engrossed in the nuts and bolts of the construction and aesthetics of lettering is a form of rebellion from that ess-restrictive discipline. I love that there are rules in drawing lettering - go too abstract,

and it’s illegible. How do we infuse our letterforms with personality, and meaning, and tone, while still maintaining them as viable tools of communication? There are also the bells and whistles of lettering design. This is where sign painters have the most fun. Drop shadows, inline shadows, outlines, inlines, shines, bevelling, decorated drop caps, cast shadows. You get to play with colour and shape and a sense of space, all in a 2D arena, which is so much fun. The amazing thing about lettering design is that it is an artform almost all cultures use. We (nearly) all have a written culture that stretches back millenia. Humans, as highly visual creatures, understand letterforms, and their meanings and connotations, without even being cognisant of them. Think of the word “powerdrill” written in a blocky, sans serif typeface, like Impact. Now think about the same word in a flowing, script typeface. The associated connotations, and the feeling, we garner from each typeface is totally different. The meaning changes with the depiction. That is the power of lettering design. You were involved with Why Design 2020 as one of their highlighted creatives. What was that like and how did it come about? I first worked with Kim MackenzieDoyle and WhyDesign in the summer of 2019. Richard Seabrooke had asked myself, Signs of Power and Mack Signs to do a sign paint/spray paint workshop at Kaleidoscope Festival in Wicklow. Kim was running a WhyDesign stage at the festival, and asked me to do another workshop about Unconscious Bias and lettering design. It was

quite a task finding a way to explain unconscious bias to a young audience, through the lens of typography. But the preparation of the workshop was a great experience. Having to dissect unconscious bias into basic terms, and impart it in a practical, non-academic way, forced me to gain a far deeper understanding of the topic. The workshop was a wonderful experience, and I absolutely agree with WhyDesign’s mandate. I would love to see more women using spray paint, as sometimes the scene can appear quite male. I had never thought about using spray paint or painting large pieces before. Not because there was a clear message that women did not do that, but I just hadn’t seen that many women do it. I just didn’t think of it. Things are becoming more even now, and I’m really excited to see the new crop of younger female artists tackle big walls. I think the work that Epoch (a design collectivedo is fantastic. Whatis the best piece of advice you have ever been given? There is a life drawing tutor at BCFE called Paula Jane Shuter. She is one of the best art teachers I’ve ever had. The way she described drawing, and seeing, was so comprehensive. She understood the subject inside out, and was able to relay it in perfectly explicit terms. She encouraged methodical, logistical foundations for drawing, which was quite foreign to me, coming from the very expressive, fine art sensibility that had governed my practice before. When I started to learn how to sign paint, I contacted Syd Bluett, who is a traditional sign painter, one of the best. Syd was incredibly generous with his time and knowledge. He advised

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For me, becoming engrossed in the nuts and bolts of the construction and aesthetics of lettering is a form of

that when it comes to lettering, if it looks right to your eye, then it is right. We were talking about kerning in particular, but I think that advice holds up for most work. The gist behind it is not to get encumbered with theory; to trust your eye, your hand, your instincts. Could you give us some examples of your favourite creatives and why you chose them? There are loads of people working in Ireland at the moment who are doing stellar work. My favourites change day to day, depending on what I’m currently doing. At the moment, I’m thinkinga lot about animation and murals, so here’s a couple of my favourites (with Instagram links) – I love the work of Anna Ginsburg (@annaginsburg), because it is experimental, yet approachable, animation. She also explores a lot of topics that maybe haven’t been given as much weight in the cultural canon previously. I love a Korean illustrator called Hubuluck (@ hubuluck_illustration) whose gifs and animation are clever and witty, and seem deceivingly simple. Camilla Falsini (@ camillafalsini) makes illustrations and

murals that are absolute eye candy. One of my favourite short animations of the past couple of years was An Island. It was made by And Maps and Plans (@andmapsandplans) and directed by Rory Byrne. It’s beautiful, and an inspiring glimpse into nextlevel Irish animation. Lastly, a shout out to Aran Quinn (@aranquinn), who has a really lovely design sensibility, and Jonathan Djob Nkondo’s animation work (@futursauvage) is incredible. What are the key inspirations for your work? I think about movement a lot, whether the piece is a hand drawn animated gif, a lettering piece, or an illustration. How I can convey a sense of vibrancy, dynamism, and life through a couple of lines is, for me, the ultimate challenge. The importance of palette is something that grew with my freelance career. I realised that when I was painting murals, no matter how detailed or complicated the design was, mostly people just talk about the colour. Colour is the thing that draws a viewer into the piece, the rest comes after.

This understanding has changed my process. Now I will start a piece with a sketch and a palette, and build the design around how best to showcase the colours. I think about the tensions or compatibilities that the palette can create to best effect. Choose your weapons – what materials do you use on the daily and why? I use an iMac everyday, and a Wacom Cintiq. The Cintiq was an investment, but it’s truly great, especially for cel animation. If I’m making a new piece, I have to start with a pencil. I got a lovely Blackwing that’s a mere stub now, but it’s a wonderful pencil. I usually draw on scraps of cheap paper, and try to reuse it as much as I can. What does your typical working day consist of? Take us through your creative process. In general, my process for lettering and illustration is as follows: thumbnail on paper, developing the sketch a bit bigger as I go, final design, then inking by hand on tracing paper, then scanning, then digitally colouring. If it’s animation or gifs, I always mean to storyboard, but I usually just start with a couple of keyframes and go straight ahead. It’s probably not a great way to do it, but I get impatient to see it move. I’m best in the morning, so after coffee and breakfast, I answer emails, invoice, and send quotes and sketches for new work. After lunch I try to do something more right-side brain-based, like drawing, or Photoshopping. I can’t usually listen to music or podcasts, as I get too distracted by the melody or lyrics. Unless it’s

doing something rote, like linework, or cleaning up frames or colouring in PS. Any recommended resources: books, podcasts or websites that are essential consumption in your mind? Shadow Type by Steven Heller and Louise Fili is a compendium of vintage drop shadows. Quite a niche topic, but it’s an amazing resource if you’re into lettering. Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics and Making Comics are, for my money, two of the best resources any visual communicator can read. It covers composition, meaning, visual hierarchy, all that good stuff, in a very digestible package. On occasions where I do listen to podcasts, I am a long-term listener to BBC Radio Five Live’s film review show, Kermode & Mayo’s Wittertainment.

art should be fun. Yes, you should enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hard work. To put it bluntly: shit in, shit out. Assess your work thoughtfully. I don’t mean seeing how it compares to your heroes’ work, but does it stand up as a piece? If your friend showed it to you, what would you think? Try to filter what your brain is telling you. Are your thoughts constructive criticism, or is it negative self-talk that doesn’t have a foot in reality?If it’s pure self-negging on your behalf. Cut it out! There’s enough trash talk in the world, there’s no need to join in by going to town on your own work. Be honest. Is it good enough? If you assess it logically and methodically, in terms of a piece of visual communication, and you find it wanting, try to see how to make it better. If the form just isn’t

hitting the right notes, learn how to draw better. If the colours are off and you don’t know why, look at compositions that really sing, and study them. Commit to improving. Not becoming perfect, or the best, but just improving. I hope to be constantly improving. Copy good work. Just for an exercise. Just for learning. That way you will get a feel for what works, and once you’re fully armed with that knowledge, you can translate it to your own work. I don’t think real artists can ever be derivative, because if you listen to your artistic instincts closely enough, they will always drive you toward fresh pastures.

If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self? Work hard, but don’t be hard on yourself. Have faith in yourself. It took me ages to realise that no one really cared what I was making, but likewise no one would believe in my work until I really did. What would be your best advice for aspiring creatives? As above! Believe in your work, and your ability to learn. Via the internet, we can access information and tutorials on almost anything. Although, “believe in yourself” can be a really abstract statement; so below are some more practical points: Put in the hours. We talk about artists’ practices, because art is something you do everyday, you practice. It’s not a noun, really, but a verb. It irritates me when people say

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KIM MACKENZIE DOYLE

KIM MACKENZIE DOYLE is a force of nature. An internationally esteemed PRODUCT DESIGNER and FOUNDER of IDI iniatives – WHY DESIGN and MIND OVER MATTER – Kim is also the brains behind the world’s best selling computer mouse the LOGITECH M305. @WHYDESIGN Could you tell us about your background and how you came to do the work you do now? I am an Industrial Designer by nature, design advocate and instigator. I was pushed into the Sciences at third level by my parents, dropped out (had a great time in ‘1st year’) and then found my feet in Industrial Design. I paid my way through college and took a year out before completing fourth year designing customisable tanker trailers in an Engineering firm. I could tell you a thing or two about kingpins. I worked three jobs through college which instilled a very strong work ethic and competitive streak. I knew exactly what I did not want to do in life. I grew up in Design Partners, ran a research centre in Carlow IT, dabbled in tech startups and was President of the Institute of Designers Ireland

@KIMMACDOY / @WHYDESIGNDOTIE

WHYDESIGN.IE

(yes I signed my Christmas cards ‘The President’) Now I am driven to build my own company and to take over my world.

Give me an example of one of your personal favourite projects you’ve worked on – professional or personal?

What were your first significant projects in your career?

OH that’s a tough one – I am lucky to have worked on some brilliant projects with some amazing people.

My very first project that went into production was a USB overmould in my first few months in Design Partners. No design awards there, but for me it was really significant, it was a big improvement to the bog standard design and it worked well to blend the industrial USB to the free and simple cord. It had a grip for ease of use and the textures guided the user to which way was up. It was on hundreds of Logitech products which in turn was produced hundreds of thousands of times. It was even copied by the competitors – imitation is definitely a form of flattery.

At a push, it would be WhyDesign. I think is has a massive potential to inspire the next generation and also highlight some of the inspiring women we have in our industry who simply have had it harder and don’t get enough credit. My challenge is time – it’s one of my after-hours projects so it all happens in the dark hours. But the highlight is the team behind it and the craic on the WhatsApp group. They are a great bunch of women and we have had some incredible people involved over the years!

experienced the disadvantages and the advantages. It was frustrating to me that no one else thought it was an issue, and why would you if you were getting paid more and had more chance of advancement and already had a management seat. This was a common thread in most of my career. I do want to stress this point though, some of the best feminists I know are men. They are out there, we just need more.

Was there turning point or eureka moment in your life when you decided to become a creative and how did you proceed? I guess I have always been inquisitive and had a real need to find out how things work and why they do what they do. I used to take products apart to figure out how they worked (and got in trouble for it). I liked to solve problems, I remember when I was in school fixing doors and making handles that would work for the cupboards. There was no real or clear route to design, I remember the school guidance counsellor suggesting art or science (as I was strong in both). I fell into design after beginning science in college and hating it. I (or my parents) could not afford for me to study in Dublin so I went to the closest college Carlow IT (RTC back then) – luckily I was hanging out with designers and knew I would rock it. It was a pivotal moment, so I am reminded that it’s OK if something does not work out. There is a different path that will. Could you tell us about your tenure as the President of the IDI, and walk us through the formation of your two major initiatives – Mind Over Matter and Why Design? By far that was one of the hardest years of my life. I had been an IDI member for years, an award winner and a judge. That gave me a real insight into the organisations workings. As soon as the opportunity to become President arose I said yes. Immediately I got a huge

Where would you like to see KIM MACKENZIE-DOYLE / IDI © these projects in five years time? dose of imposter syndrome, asking That’s a tough question, hopefully myself ‘why me?’ I became resolved a male leading the initiative. That’s in the challenge and thought if I was when real change will happen when going to do it I was really going to do our male peers make the change it. I knew what I wanted to work on, two we need. I would like to see males issues I am really passionate about and represented on the platform in female lived through. Having the platform was heavy disciplines, but in saying that the a real change maker, it enabled me to pendulum has swung the other way for realise both initiatives alongside some so long I think we are OK to feature a of the best creatives in the country. few more women before that happens. I feel strongly that we need to get into Why Design’s mission is to bridge schools and talk to students about the jarring gender divide within creative careers. I would also love to the Irish creative community – was see a study done on where females go there a particular moment that in the creative sector – why is there a you became acutely aware of the drop off from college into industry, division? What made you decide why is there only 100% female creative to tackle the issue yourself? In college! Day one, I noticed there were all male lectures bar one female teaching design history. Most of my class was male too, I studied Industrial Design and I did not know one practicing female industrial designer. There are still very few only 5% in the industry and its dangerous for everyone (that’s a whole different interview). Then when I got ‘the’ job I was the only female designer in the building and I

KIM MACKENZIE-DOYLE / IDI ©

directors. If we understand the “why’s” – we can work on a solution. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

a lot for collaboration, Indesign/AI/ Photoshop as standard practice, EMAIL EMAIL EMAIL too many emails, and then you have all the conferencing software from Zoom to Google Hangouts. Trello can be useful as is Assana, so glad I am not using slack anymore – it’s a big distraction. Later for social media

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‘Don’t eat yellow snow’ but seriously I have two. ‘You get what you put out in life’ and ‘Surround yourself with the people you want to be’ So I have tried to live both. For the latter - I am not shy, possibly a bit socially awkward. I tend to make a bee line for the people I want to meet, even if they are mid conversation. They may think I am rude, but in essence, I am seizing the opportunity. I know for a fact if you don’t back yourself nothing happens.

and when I carve out the time I will read books that will challenge me not just feed my creative soul. Think entrepreneurial books or publications on societal impact. I have 10 books on my desk I want to read – but time is my enemy. Here are two of note that I frequently of note; How I built this with Guy Raz – some inspiring conversations here. How to Own the Room with Viv Gos– great for women who would like to get more comfortable with public speaking. I do like the odd Design focused podcast and drop in and out of them.

Take over your own world,

On the other side of the coin addressing the first bit of advice, I believe if you have the experience and the ability you should support someone else on their creative journey. We should treat people how we would like to be treated and I would have loved to have someone in the industry to check in with for words of support or a steer. Us older heads might just have that one nugget, that one work of advice that can support someone is ways that could change their lives. After all, we are only keeping their seats warm. Choose your weapon: Mac or PC? What software do you use on the daily? Mac – but I run Parallels so have the PC side if and when I need it, so I run both sides of the track. I am a frustrated Apple fan, loving the usability and design of their products with eternal jealously of the budgets the designers had to play with. I use Google Doc’s/Dropbox

management, Last pass for storing passwords safely its brilliant. Keynote and all the other usual Apple app suspects. What does your typical working day consist of? Did I mention EMAILS… so since the whallop of Covid (that was not in my plan) I now juggle some different hats in addition to my normal creative hats; teacher, chef, cleaner, dog sitter, bouncer (to my lovely kids), delivery service, director of IDI, CEO of a creative startup, mentor, sometimes guest lecturer to name but a few. Days are busy and go fast, it has been a struggle. I am doing my best and at the moment that is good enough. Have you any creative digestibles that you’d recommend? Books, websites, podcasts..??

If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self? Be more ambitions, knock on doors earlier and don’t be afraid of ‘no’ it’s just a word. Learn if you don’t ask you don’t get, but in the ask you should always reciprocate. Don’t just take, make sure and give too and it will come back to you. Relationship building and your emotional intelligence will be your super power – build on those skills as much as you can. Ask for help if you need it, and feel uncomfortable more. That’s when great things happen, that’s when you’re at your best. What would be your advice for aspiring creatives? Own it. Take over your own world.

Books?! What are books? I would love to get back into reading books. But if

Y V O N N E R A T H YVONNE RATH is PIXELPOD – alongside her husband James, they run the Wexford-based, multi-disciplined DESIGN STUDIO. @PIXELPOD

@WE_ARE_PIXEPOD

Could you tell us about your background? Where your interest in design began and how you got your start? As a child growing up in Clare I loved drawing and writing. This love grew, and when I was a teenager I realised that I could have a career in combining images with text and they called it “Graphic Design”! I filled out my CAO form and I started LSAD in 1998. (I’m immediately feeling old typing this!) I completed my degree in 2002 and after some travelling I landed my first proper design job as a Junior Designer for a Dublin Advertising Agency. In 2007 I was offered the position of Publication and Multimedia Officer for the Green Party and stayed there until 2011. I wanted my own design studio for a number of years, and after managing the design and production of large volumes of material for Local and General Elections I knew that I had the discipline and creativity to give it a shot. I completed a “Start your own Business” course in Sheffield where I was living at the time, and then in September 2011 Pixelpod was born. It wasn’t until 2014, when I moved

@THEPIXELPOD

back to Ireland and my husband James joined me, that the business really took off. We make a great team and have produced some really great work together. What were your first significant projects? How did they come about? Being a great designer alone is not going to win you projects. Networking and making connections with people is really important if you want to gain new clients and build awareness and trust. While it might be uncomfortable at first, you have to put yourself out there and build relationships with individuals, business owners and decision makers. This will afford you opportunities to be asked to tender for projects and then you need to nail it! (By the way, nailing a proposal takes practice and it will include failures but you learn and try again.) I did a lot of networking and in early 2015 we were asked to tender for a project for Hook Tourism. The brief was to create a family friendly pull out brochure with a map of the Hook

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Coastal Tour and it was aimed at national and international tourists. It needed to fold to DL and stand out in the Information Office and Hotels display stands. We created a paper craft map of the area and then photographed it and it worked really well. The front cover of the brochure was also hand crafted out of paper and then photographed. A second and third publication of the brochure was translated into German and then French. This project was a real labour of love we certainly underquoted for it but we have since learned our lesson and it helped us attract some new clients. Give us an example of one of your favourite projects that you’ve ever worked on and why? Can be personal or professional? All the projects I have worked on have taught me something valuable about design processes, or about clients or how to get the most out of a collaboration. The work I am most proud of are the Monart brochures. We looked at the ethos of Monart, a five star destination spa, which is harmony and tranquility, and worked through how we could create meaningful material.

Our client was and still is great to work with. He is someone that understands the value of great design and while he had input he also trusted us and had a generous budget for the printing so the brochures are embossed on beautiful uncoated Olin stock. The end result of the brochures were a real success and we continue to work with the Griffin Group across branding, marketing material, packaging and website design and development. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? One of my lectures in LSAD impressed upon me the importance of embracing the new experiences and challenges that Graphic Design brings, as it will help push you and your work. From a business perspective the best advice I received was to have clarity of purpose. This rings true not only for all aspects of how to operate your studio but also with the creative work you produce. Your work should be clear, meaningful and have value otherwise it’s not going to be fit for purpose.

YVONNE RATH ©

Following on from that – What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given? That I should use Quark Xpress! Okay, now choose your weapon: Mac or PC? Any reason why? What tools do you use on the daily? Macs really are beautiful machines to work with and I would have continued to use them until 2014 when James joined Pixelpod and we needed to upgrade my Mac and get James a new machine and we realised that ….sweet baby Jesus, Macs are really expensive. James ended up building his PC with a gaming graphic card and solid SD drive all encased in our brand orange at the time, and I bought a fancy new PC. Now that I think about it I should probably have got him to build me a customised machine too hmmm... Can you tell us a little bit about your design process? How do you tackle projects? Our first step is, where possible, to meet with the client in person, if not then start the scoping process over the

phone. We talk about their needs and then listen. This is a crucial part because it gives the project the right direction and makes the whole process run much smoother. The next step is researching then collaborative brainstorming, and then start to doodle ideas or draw wireframes. Once a few ideas have been created we critique each other’s work make reiterations and then present to the client. After some feedback we will tweak the design and then send back again for approval. Having open communication with the client throughout the process is really important so that the end result is the best it can be based on the brief and budget. In your own words – describe your style? Any particular influences or eureka moments that helped inform it? I don’t think I have a style, not that I can define. I focus more on the design process. Each project is looking for its own unique solution. It’s important to be flexible and sticking to a certain style or trend wouldn’t work. What’s it like having your own studio? Can you tell us a little bit about what it’s like to be a business owner? I love the fact that I coown a design studio but living the dream is a lot of work! At the start it was especially overwhelming as there are a lot of skills you need to acquire. You

I don’t think I have a style, not that I can deﬁne. I focus more on the

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stands apart from her peers. Jessica is physically very visible in the work she produces more than most designers. This is somewhat intriguing and it seems to be working for her agency, &Walsh which supports 20 creatives. Jessica retained a number of clients from her previous studio partnership with Stefan Sagmeister and is continuing to attract big name clients. What are your recommended books to read that you have found helpful, career-wise?

are not just a designer anymore you are a business owner who needs to understand financial projections and what is expected by Revenue from you. You are a networker who connects with businesses or public entities who need your expertise. You are a project manager that needs to liaise with clients, bring together the right team for a project and meet deadlines across multiple projects…….Phew. You also need to try to have fun…. I could do with more of that these days! What does your typical working day consist of? Coffee and flexibility! Prior to working from home and homeschool my 6 year old during the lockdown, I started at 9am and I will follow up on emails and then James and I have a meeting over a coffee. We agree on tasks and meetings for the day. We work with developers, designers and copywriters remotely so I will follow up with them as needed. Pixelpod is a branding, graphic design and web design studio so I work on different creative projects every week.

But about 50% of my day is project management, producing quotes and proposals and giving presentations or attending meetings.I used to work until 5.30 or 6pm everyday and then start back to work around 8pm for another couple of hours but now I try to get finished at 5pm and find that I am more productive because of the extra downtime. Work / Life balance seems to be the eternal battle for creatives of any field – do you have any tips or tricks for keeping it relatively 50/50? Don’t try to do everything, find out what you are strong at and then get support or outsource work. In this way you can make more money, reduce your stress and enjoy your time doing the creative work. Who’s your favourite designer and why? It’s probably Jessica Walsh. She is a leading designer and successful creative director in New York. Her work is concept driven and the bold use of colour and creative compositions is clever and

Work for Money, Design for love by David Airey! What would be your best advice for aspiring creatives? To give your craft time and inform yourself of what the past and current great creatives are doing in your field. Staying creative and passionate isn’t always easy so look for ways to keep focused and push yourself and your work. Find ways to be creative outside of your day job and this will help fuel your work. If you can find time, do a personal project. And lastly, if you could go back in time, what would you say to your younger self knowing what you know now? This is a good one... so I would tell her to be more confident in her ability and take more risks. I would also strongly advise her to hunt down and kill all bats.

ADAM MCGUIRE

ADAM MCGUIRE is a MASTER RESEARCH STUDENT at I.T. Carlow’s gameCORE, researching the effects of GAMIFICATION and its effects on student motivation. @ADAM_MACGUIDHIR Could you tell us about your background and how you came to do the work you do now? I have always been creative and when I was younger, I saw myself pursuing animation. However, I learned that I do not have the patience for animation so I am glad I did not pursue that in the end. School was always tough for me from an academic standpoint. I always got on well with the teachers but I never found any meaning in what I was learning. I wanted to pursue something in the arts or design field but the subjects did not accommodate for it and honestly, I felt that there was some form of pressure to pursue a career that offered zero risk and predictable income. After school there was a lot of trial and error with college courses, I really struggled to find something that had meaning for me. I have my mother to thank for putting me onto the track of design. She has always been supportive of my creativity and discovered the Visual Communications and Design course at IT Carlow. That course really did

@MCGUIREADAM

increase my love for design and through the support of the lecturers in that course, I have been able to go on to a postgraduate position at IT Carlow. Do you remember when you fell in love with your field and why? It is hard to recall when exactly I fell in love with design. As I mentioned, finding the right course really did help but there has always been a passion for good design from a young age. I used to keep the boxes to all the toys my parents bought me, they thought I was a hoarder but in reality, the packaging was as much of a part of the experience as the toy itself. Not much has changed, I still keep the boxes of my toys, only now my toys are electronics. The packaging helps convey the experience of using the content inside. I guess I always had a fascination with that level of visual communication. You’re currently undertaking your Master’s degree with IT Carlow and their gamesCORE – can you tell us about what it entails and the kind of work you’re doing?

The Masters is in the area of Gamification and its effects on student motivation. Gamification is the use of game elements (points, badges, leaderboards) in non-game contexts. The research revolves around studies to determine the viability of using game elements to increase student engagement with tasks considered boring. The research involves a lot of writing which is not overly exciting but it does include the occasional UX/UI design. Outside of the Masters, I have had many opportunities to design and develop mobile apps, games and websites for gameCORE projects. These projects involve developing mockups, designing interfaces, utilising HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I also teach graphic and web design part-time for IT Carlow’s Lifelong Learning modules. Give me an example of one of your personal favourite projects you’ve worked on – professional or personal? I think my favourite project was one I did in my undergraduate. The project involved designing a book cover. The book I chose was ‘Lord of the Flies’ by

William Golding. I’m really proud of that project due to the inherent challenge designed into the project brief; the content needed to be produced by the designer. That meant no use of stock photos. But I wanted to use an image of a shattered conch shell and using colours from old paintings depicting the fall of ancient Rome as my visual. I had no means of acquiring a conch shell and I didn’t want to use similar looking beach shells so I painted a conch from reference images. The reason that project is a highlight for me is that I managed to achieve exactly what I was wanting to convey but without that limitation, I really think my product would have suffered. Lesson learned here is that limitation sparks creative solutions that are often greater than if we had every resource available at our disposal. Besides design, what are you passionate about? Other hobbies or interests? Im passionate about new technology (phones, tablets etc.). These devices not only enable new tools for us to use in our creative processes but they have shaped how we approach web and app design. I think if you are designing for those platforms, you really do need to submerge yourself in the latest news and keep up to date with the latest tech. Luckily for me, it’s of interest for me to keep up to date. As a pastime, I play video games (perhaps too many). Apart from being pure entertainment, video games do an incredible job of trying to communicate a lot of information at once on screen. The

Heads Up Display (technical term for displaying important information to a gamer) is fascinating. It involves careful use of typography and iconography to communicate information all without being in the way. I think I learned a lot from my time playing games from a UI/ UX perspective. Like other human-beings, I listen to music. But unlike other human-beings, if it’s on the radio, you will not find it in my music library. This isn’t some hipster protest, it’s just the music I enjoy is never present on radio stations. I listen to movie soundtracks and multiple heavy metal sub-genres such as metalcore, trash metal, new wave british, nu-metal and death metal. What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given? One of the first courses I ever took in college was Architectural Technology. I always regretted taking that course and I applied completely for the wrong reasons. During that course, one of the lecturers said (to the whole class mind you, but it stuck with me and I’m paraphrasing here) if you don’t love buildings, love looking at them, then why are you in this course? At that time in my life, I went to college because I felt I had too, and not once did I consider doing something I should love. I never met anyone who loved what they did so I thought I was supposed to pick something I could earn as much money as I could regardless of if I liked it (like I said, completely the wrong reasons). After hearing that, I left the course and started my journey on finding something I would love to do.

What’s the worst piece of advice you have ever been given? I don’t think I have ever followed any advice I thought was bad so I can’t recall any bad advice. In your own words – describe your aesthetic. It’s always difficult for me to pin down my aesthetic. I would like to think that it is clean and purposeful. It may not be, but it is my intent and every design I work on is my exploration towards achieving that. Could you give us some examples of your favourite designers and why you chose them? Dieter Rams is a product designer who I greatly admire. His design rules were my computer screen wallpaper for a long time. What I love about his designs is that they are iconic. If you were to create a silhouette of his products, you would know exactly what they are. Dieter does not apply any embellishes for the sake of it. Everything has a purpose. He has gone on to inspire Sir Jonathan Ive (Apple’s previous lead product designer) who openly states Dieter as an inspiration. Another influence on me is the minimalist artist, Donald Judd. His sculptures explore the relationship of space and the objects that occupy it. I often use his pieces as an influence when applying design principles and laying out content in my work. What software do you use on the daily?

I use a Mac with Adobe Creative Cloud. The Creative Cloud has so many pieces of software to allow me to create video, graphics, animations, wireframes etc. For web based projects, I use Adobe XD for mockups and Brackets for HTML and CSS. I tried to work in a paperless environment so all of my sketches and note taking is done on an iPad Pro. As for software on the iPad, that changes as there are so many apps so I like to swap between them. At the moment I’m using Microsoft’s OneNote as a digital sketchbook. Work / Life balance seems to be the eternal battle for creatives of any field – do you have any tips or tricks for keeping it relatively 50/50? We all have different methods that may work and what works for me, possibly won’t suit everyone. Maximise your time when at work and you will have more leisure time. I am not a morning person, I find it very difficult to get into a work mode. So I always dedicate the morning to less intensive tasks such as answering any emails, making a list of what I need to do that day etc. I don’t particularly enjoy working in an office, but that is where my primary machine is so I like to surround myself with things that inspire me. This is primarily why I use Mac over PC, I genuinely enjoy using the machine and it’s design inspires me. Others might think that they don’t look good, that’s fine, use what you enjoy using, it will make your workflow so much more productive. I do like to get out of the office and work at a coffee shop, you’d

be surprised what kind of ideas come to mind when you go to a new place. Often though these are moments for me to sketch so I take my iPad with me on those occasions.

offers very helpful tips on frontend development and graphic design.

What does your typical working day consist of?

Take your time to find what you would love to do, and don’t rush.

So mornings are usual admin times for me. This involves answering emails and scheduling tasks for the day/week. I alternate my days between design and writing. I find it difficult to do both in the one day so I’m either in a design mode or a writing mode. Splitting them 50/50 during the week tends to work for me.

What would be your advice for aspiring creatives?

Any podcasts or online resources that you would recommend? I recommend checking out The Futur on Youtube. I don’t watch them that often but they do have helpful tips on growing a business, negotiating prices and general design tips.

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Another resource I found helpful is DesignCourse on Youtube which

If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?

Surround yourself with things you love. Often times we designers are at a desk so it helps to have things around our desk that we find inspiring. This could be art, books, figurines, anything. As I stated earlier, I use a Mac for this reason. I find it to be a beautiful machine that inspires me. Often times you will see animators surround their desk with action figures from their favourite cartoons. These are a reminder of why they are doing this, because they want to create something as magical or inspiring. Do the same for yourself, what inspires you? Surround yourself with it.

Take your time to ﬁnd what you would love to do and

don’t rush.

LEE CRONIN is a DUBLIN born FILM DIRECTOR and WRITER whose first feature length horror film, THE HOLE IN THE GROUND was released to critical acclaim last year. He is currently collaborating with SAM RAIMI on the Quibi series – 50 STATES OF FRIGHT, which explores urban legends throughout the United States. @CURLEECRONIN Could you tell us about your background – how you got your start and how you came to do the work you do now? The thing about making movies at any level, is that it is a much slower process than anyone realises. Even in the midst of it all right now, I sometimes forget how slow it is. So rather than there being a specific start - it’s more a gathering of events over a number of years. I started as a runner. Made the coffees, changed the toilet rolls, did the film school thing, I made corporate films, TV commercials, short films and eventually got to make my feature film debut. It has taken more time than I am willing to admit even to myself. Do you remember when you fell in love with film making and why? I was a movie and cartoon fan from a young age (which kid ain’t?). But there were a few definitive viewing moments before I was ten years old that really dug their claws into me and set me down

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the pathway I’ve followed. All of these moments were from suspense and horror movies. Ben Gardner’s deadhead reveal in Jaws, the bath hag in The Shining, and countless moments from Evil Dead 2. I got eyeballs on all this stuff way before it was age appropriate. Being the youngest sibling in my family by almost a decade meant I used to watch these kinda movies with my older siblings and watch their reactions, their fear, their joy. I think I fell in love then with the idea of trying to show off and freak out my family. I think that’s what I’m still trying to do. Oh, and Robocop…sometimes I forget how much I love Robocop.

because all I did was talk about movies. I remember then thinking that I’d rather make them than write about them - and that roughly tallied with my first steps into making stuff. From there I began doing all the cliched stuff that all wannabe film makers do. Got the camcorder, wrote some terrible angsty crap and did some actually impressive stop motion lego films. At least I thought the were impressive. I also used to love making my own blood bags and doing little special effects tests.

Was there turning point or eureka moment in your life when you decided to pursue film as a career? If so, could you tell us about it?

I think there’s always a project for each and every stage of your development that matters most at that time. I remember my first college short film feeling like the most important thing in the world, and in that moment that was super significant to me. I would say perhaps my first out and out horror short ‘Through the Night’ was probably a big turning point for me as I built a relationship with my producing

Reflecting what I said previously it was more of a slow build. Fearful steps into the unknown as such. Having said that, I do remember when I was around twelve or so, a friends mother telling me I should become a movie reviewer

What were your first significant projects – personal or professional?

partner and created something that played on the big screen all around the world. That was a real motivator for me and it was definitely a no turning back step. ‘The Hole in the Ground’ was your debut feature as a writer/ director – could you tell us about the process of its creation?

I do love that familial aspect of ﬁlmmaking and working with all those people is the

Slooooooooow. Really, truly. It took a long time to get from my short film ‘Ghost Train’ to rolling camera on my debut feature film. I’ve always written ambitious screenplays - so there was an intense development process to find a film out of the story I wanted to tell.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

The best part was getting to work with all the super talented people I had come up through the ranks with. I do love that familial aspect of filmmaking and working with all those people is the best part of the process.

Get a real job.

Get a real job. What is the worst piece of advice you have ever been given?

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What is your daily inspiration when you create?

Usually it’s fear. Fear I’m not doing enough, fear everything is taking too long, fear I’ll never make another film or get to tell another story. I think this fear is healthy though. At least for me, I know that I need it to create. Could you tell us about your favourite filmmakers and why you chose them? There are so many immense filmmakers that I admire for so many reasons, so I always kinda hate listing some and leaving others out. But, the ones that have had the biggest influences on me are - Spielberg, Raimi, Kubrick, Jackson, Zemeckis and Darabont. I think the thing they all have in common is unique style, singular vision and whatever the tone may be - they create engrossing movies that entertain you. Could you give a few examples of some of your favourite films and how they influenced your own creative process?

I think I’ve kinda hit on these already, but to elaborate - Jaws is the perfect blend of character, mystery, dread and action. All things that I love to death.

The Shining for its precision and focus, and its delving into the dark heart of domestic horror. I think horror starts best at home as it’s always something we can identify with. Evil Dead 2 for its brazen balls to the wall nature, its visual verve and pure entertainment value. What does your typical working day consist of? It depends a lot on where I’m at in the stage of a project. Sometimes it’s prep, or on set, sometimes it’s a lot of travel and banal hotel rooms. The majority of time though is spent in the writing and development phase. Typically I try to be at my desk by 8:30am, so I’m typing by 9, work that until about lunch, take a walk or run and then try go again in the afternoon. If I’m on a deadline then it’s usually just a 14-16 hour freakout fest followed by a week of exhaustion. Pretty much like any job that survives on deadlines. I think one of the hardest parts is figuring out what to write. So sometimes it’s

days of just walking, talking, thinking and fretting. Filmmaking is incredibly demanding – maintaining work/life balance is important, any tips or tricks on how to manage it? I think it’s in relation to what your personality is like. I have people close that are willing to listen to me rant in circles about what I’m trying to figure out at any given time. Getting this stuff out of my head and into words, usually frees up the brain space to go for a run or something head clearing. I’I enjoy doing cooking because it takes the mind off creative challenges. I think it’s also really important to have friends and family that don’t give a shit about the film business, and that leads you to talk about other aspects of life. Put film people in a room, and all we can fucking talk about is the business. It’s an obsessive bubble. Do you have any recommended books, websites or podcasts that you use as a resource?

The film book thing I’m never too sure about. If you find something that helps you figure out your own process, then great. But never see anything as a rule book. I do dip in and out of the Scriptnotes podcast by John August and Craig Mazin, it can be really useful. I also enjoy Blindboy’s podcast for his discussions on mental health which is something I think you need to consistently work on when in a creative business. It’s an anxious and unstable game. I tend to not read too much film based websites online, it kinda starts to feel like homework to me! If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self? Get a real job! What would be your advice for aspiring filmmakers? Be brave, be focused and try and work with a team of people that want it as badly as you do.

RICHARD SEABROOKE has been producing and curating creative events for over 25 years. He is the CO-FOUNDER and CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER at THE TENTH MAN, a communications agency and the FESTIVAL DIRECTOR for KALEIDOSCOPE, a family friendly camping festival. @THETENTHMAN

THETENTHMAN.IE

Can you tell us about your background and how you came to do the work you do now?

me, one feeds the other and constantly pushes me to keep working harder and innovating. It’s been a buzz.

promotion of the school discos, doing the entire marketing and design campaigns, and the rest is history.

I took an interesting path, choosing to work through various types of agencies out of curiosity and wanting to know how to create good work, connect that with the right audiences and also ensure it resonates in new and interesting ways.

Was there turning point or eureka moment in your life when you decided to become a creative and how did you proceed?

What were your first significant projects? How did they come about? Were there any challenges or learning curves that you had to navigate?

I have worked in design and branding (Brand Union, Dynamo), PR, social and digital (Thinkhouse), and experiential (Modern Green) before I landed in The Tenth Man, where I get to work on all aspects of creative output with a young, hungry team of almost 20. In my other life, mostly my “spare time” I’ve created and curated many exhibitions, club nights, events, conferences, festivals and lots of other fun projects with friends. This Work and Play attitude has always worked for

Yeah, Live Aid in 1985, I had no idea what graphic design was but I knew I was more fascinated by the logo than the music on the day. I spent the entire day drawing the logo and from there, at the age of 12, I knew I was going to do whatever this was. From there I quickly took over

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I’ve been very fortunate to work with some great people in fantastic businesses on incredible projects and opportunities. I’ve always pushed myself to stay hungry so I made opportunities happen. In work, I’ve rebranded some of the biggest businesses in the country, launched telcos, worked with global brands and

I’ve always pushed myself to stay hungry so I made opportunities

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pulled off some of the biggest stunts in the country, and loved almost every moment of it. Straight out of college my first job was to implement the rebranding of HB’s latest look, which was daunting but I learned so much working at that scale I never really looked back. That quickly lead to working with Unilever Global in Rome and seeing projects released around the world. Wild to think about considering I was a few years out of college. Give me an example of one of your personal favourite projects that you’ve worked on – professional or personal? I used to put on a live creative event series called SweetTalk and at that I met Oliver Jeffers, who I became good friends with. Over the course of the years I’ve worked with him many times, helping with his monograph, Paris show in Colette and other creative endeavours. Working with someone as driven and focused as Oliver is always a revelation and insight into someone who pushes hard on a global level, so you’re always bound to learn something along the way. Could you give us a breakdown on how you got into event management? Was there a particular reason why it was of interest to you, or is it something serendipitous that you fell into? I started by running the school discos back in Gorey back in my youth. I was always interested in running the show, promoting it to get people there and focusing on the overall experience

more than dancing or even the music. I loved how graphic design, promotion, marketing and a wild schoolyard hustle would all combine for a great buzz around the event. I then went on to start CLUB 303, the first techno club outside of Dublin, Cork and Belfast with friends which was a wild time, pretty blurry memories of that. Then I got into creative events and festivals. Everything was a learning experience and always informed the next move, I’ve never stopped wanting to innovate or push myself and the events I do onwards. I get bored easily so always need to keep coming up with new ways of doing things. Could you walk us through the creation and curation of some of your interactive works like Kaleidoscope Festival, The Future and OFFSET? What inspired their genesis and how did you go about launching them? All of the events and festivals I’ve created have come out of insights and opinions. There’s a line a former boss of mine had, “Yes there’s a gap in the market, but, is there a market in the gap?”. That’s a really interesting way to approach new ideas and event concepts, helps sort them into good to do, must do or abandon. It’s stood to me so far, creating SweetTalk to give creatives a social event to get together, creating OFFSET to put Irish talent alongside the best international talent, THE FUTURE looked at the future of the creative industries and KALEIDOSCOPE was created as there simply wasn’t a family festival in the market, so why not be the first to make it.

What does your typical working day consist of? LOL, there is no such thing, and that’s what I love. If it ever got monotonous I’d be bored and that would kill me. I’ve always thrived on not having the same day twice and foster that in The Tenth Man. A typical day is 12-14 hours of various projects, challenges, opportunities, check-ins, meetings and more. Despite being always busy I believe it’s very important to have projects for the soul as well as profit. We define them as projects for People, Profit and Passion. As long as every project works for 2 of these you’re winning in different ways. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been give – personal or professional? Work harder than anyone else, push yourself every single day. I have never believed I’m the best at what I do but what I lack in talent I make up for it in terms of hours ploughed in and efforts I make to do my very best every time I go to work. A sustainable work/life balance is the eternal battle for the creative – what’s your personal experience with this, and do you have any advice on how to maintain the equilibrium? LOL!! I am literally the worst to give this advice. I LOVE what I do and I really don’t believe it is like work. We get paid to solve challenges creatively, work with good people while trying to make our clients famous for the work we collaborate on.

Work and Play define my life, I wouldn’t change a moment of it. I probably should take more time for myself sometimes but there is always a brief to be answered or a project to be imagined. My brain fires all the time so I have to answer to that, otherwise it will eat itself. Work is life and vice versa. Who are your favourite creators? Artists, designers, musicians and everything in between – Who and what inspires you and why? SO many people, and for years I’d get consumed by all around me which would confuse the shit out of me as I wouldn’t know where I stood amongst all of it. In recent years though, I’ve really enjoyed art and music more and that fires me up to make myself. Off the top of my head… KAWS, Supreme, Oliver Jeffers, Morag Myerscough, JR, Miranda July, Mike Mills, Spike Jonze, Faile, Espo, Chloe Earley, Conor Harrington, Gemma O’Brien, Maser, Sean Scully, Daniel Eatock, Hort, Debbie Millman, The Designers Republic, Anthony Burrill, Mr. Bingo, Damien Hirst, Banksy and so many others… Aside from art and design – what are you interests and hobbies? Do they inform your work or are they an entirely separate entity? I like to head to cities to see art shows and wander aimlessly. I’m not one to sit in the sun and let the world pass by, I’ve always got to have something to do or see. I game a little but generally I’m deep in hunting out culture and creativity, and coming up with new

ideas to make happen once I’ve finished what’s in front of me. It’s an endless road but I love it, keeps my brain satisfied. Are you an early bird or a night owl? What’s your operating times and is there a reason why that is? I work from 8am to 10pm most days, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, and I put in a tonne of hours over weekends too. My brain is constantly connecting new options and creating new opportunities and I decided years ago to action or share them all, whether they go anywhere or not. I am “always on” and that won’t change until I can’t go any more. I work best when I focus but that flow can come at any time. Have you any creative digestibles that you’d recommend? Books, websites, podcasts..?? LOADS. I’m a big fan of podcasts especially The Diary of a CEO, Blindboy, Debbie Millman and anything with either Brene Brown or Russell Brand. I don’t read books but I hoover up magazines and creative/art books. Online I hunt out everything and love to keep going down rabbit holes of other content, it keeps me inspired and fuels original thinking. The world never stops, even in COVID-19 so staying inspired is always important to me.

If you could go back in time – what would you say to your younger self? Not sure, I’ve had a pretty good working career. I’ve made a shit load of mistakes and some of them have got me in trouble but others have defined me, so between it all I wouldn’t be too hard on myself. I’m 46 now and loving what I do as much as when I picked up a pen and drew a logo at age 12, that’s a pretty good buzz. What would be your core advice for aspiring creatives? Simple, if you feel this is for you, ignore EVERYONE else, face forward and Go For It! Good luck!

OUROBOROS

Articles inside

RICHARD SEABROOKE / DESIGN LEADER

YVONNE RATH / GRAPHIC DESIGNER

ADAM MCGUIRE / MASTERS DESIGN STUDENT

ANDI MCGARRY / ARTIST

PADRAIG HOLMES / GRAPHIC DESIGNER

KIM MACKENZIE-DOYLE / INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

LEE CRONIN / WRITER + DIRECTOR

HOLLY PEREIRA / MURALIST

BEN HENNESSY / ILLUSTRATOR