Richard Roche
Student Activities Graphic Designer
www.gentlepurespace.com
1. I'm a graphic designer just wrapping up my BFA in Minnesota State
University - Mankato. I work as a designer on campus and on freelance
jobs almost constantly. I guess the way I came into blogging actually
started with my desire to just see as much beauty as I can. I tried
magazines and books, which were nice, but needed much more so I
eventually discovered how amazing blogs were. Once I found out how to
use a feed reader I was able to keep up with hundreds of blogs. I
really appreciated being able to have so many amazing images virtually
delivered to me on a daily basis, so I wanted to do my part. I
started my blog as a way to contribute to the blogosphere that I
loved, and also as a way to try to spotlight good work that deserved
more publicity than it got. I don't have any strict rules for my
blog, but my goal is that most of the stuff I post about hasn't been
blogged before, or at least not on any major blogs. For those under
the radar posts I usually find stuff from scouring through Flickr for
images uploaded by the artists themselves. It takes a lot more time
to filter through thousands of mediocre images looking for the few
good ones, but it's more rewarding to find a hidden gem to share than
to just add your praises to something that's already been discovered.
2. I've been playing around with graphics on the computer since I was
about 12 years old, setting back my back computer's date so that I
could use the expired Paint Shop Pro free trail. I didn't even
realize there was such a thing as graphic design until I was about 20
though, and that's when I really got into it and eventually switched
my major. I think two things got me into design. First, I was just a
super nerd as a kid and spent my free time making text games in QBasic
in 3rd grade, so eventually I got into making websites and I found
that creating the look of the website was really fun and apparently I
was pretty good at it considering my lack of experience. Second, I
took photography in my Senior year of high school, and it was my first
art related class I had ever taken (I had been a band geek before
that). I really enjoyed it, and was surprised that I seemed to be
good at something art related. That really gave me the confidence to
give art a serious try.
3. I get most of my inspirations from history and other designers of
course. I am a very nostalgic person, so when I design I like to make
sure it has a sense of history. I like to look at vintage and retro
designs and take elements from them to utilize them in a new way. At
the same time, I always looking at what's happening now and what
innovative designers are doing. You never want to copy someone, but
the things people do can give you ideas that you never would have come
across on your own. I like to think that by simply looking at lots
and lots and lots of design everyday it helps me build a broader
"vocabulary" the same way a writer would want to read as much as
possible to broaden theirs.
If I have designer's block I usually try to do something besides
"design". Usually when I'm having problems being motivated in graphic
design I on a roll with something else, like photography or painting.
I think it's important to have a variety of interests that you can go
to so that you can take a break from the computer and still be
exercising your creativity. It stops from from just sitting at my
desk and getting frustrated and it puts me in a positive and
productive frame of mind.
The length of time it takes me to design a piece can vary greatly.
One of the best posters I've ever made was a rush job that I finished
in 2 hours, other posters have taken me more like 20 hours. Websites
can take 40-60 hours, or if I'm designing my own website it seems to
never be finished! I guess it's just one of those questions where I'm
forced to just say something lame like, "it takes as long as it takes
to get the job done right". I will say that it's really important to
stick with something and not take shortcuts or make comprimises to
save time if you want to be really happy with your work.
As far as what medium I use the most, it would of course be the
computer. The computer is my portal to the world of art. Even if I'm
making a painting I almost always start by making a layout on the
computer to serve as a guide. Photography has been really important
to me though, and I've made some designs that only use photography as
the final composition tool.
4. My favorite artist is a tough question because my opinions change
so quickly. I guess right now my favorite artist is Mark Weaver, he
does amazing digital collage work and every time he creates something
new it blows my mind all over again. I love the melancholic whimsy
that is expressed in his work, not to mention just the pure mastery of
composition, colors, and typography.
