A quick questionnaire querying designers on their queer careers…
After reading a few questionnaire posts on other people’s blogs – Nouveller’s Quick fire questions with designer folk & Grace Smith’s Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me – I decided to compose one of my own, featuring well-known designers and ones to watch for in the future. Much-delayed due to my re-designing of the blog, you’ll find a sneak peek into the lives of designers below. Enjoy!
Kayrose Design
Website: kayrosedesign.com • Twitter: @kayrosedesign
Introduce yourself: Well, you know me and I know you 
What type of designer are you? Web
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Photoshop
Favourite alcoholic drink? Cider
What was your first job? Painting and Decorating for about a week.
What or who is your inspiration? Music is my biggest influence, since I play my Guitar 24/7 it should be! My favourite inspiration overall has to be Jack Johnson.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? Read everyone’s Facebook statuses
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? To have the awesome power of being able to win jobs on bidding sites!
Seriously though I think personally I want that feeling of dread just before hitting bid to go away. I think I get it because in my head I’m worried of actually having to do something if I win the job.
Benjamin Reid
Website: nouveller.com • Twitter: @BenjaminReid
Introduce yourself: I’m a web/graphic designer from the sleepy town of Peterborough (it’s not as romantic as it sounds). You can find me tweeting non-sense on Twitter @BenjaminReid or talking design on my blog @ http://www.nouveller.com/
What type of designer are you? I’m about 75% web, 25% graphic
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Camera
Favourite alcoholic drink? I’m a sucker for Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort
What was your first job? My first job at 16 was working at ‘Pets at Home’, a large pet retailer in the middle of town. I stuck it for 2 years whilst I was freelancing but got out of there when I started working full time for Adrenaline Creative.
What or who is your inspiration? At the moment I’m focusing a lot of usability and interface design so the iPhone give me loads of inspiration as some of the app’s out there are brilliantly designed. I particularly like http://tapbots.com/ app’s.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? My to-do’s for the day, Twitter, Emails and my RSS reader.
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? The one thing I’d change about the past would be to embrace new techniques and technologies. Ignoring them is a big, big mistake.
Tigz Rice
Website: tigzrice.com • Twitter: @tigzy
Introduce yourself: Hullo! I’m Tigz and I’m a freelance digital illustrator and photographer from London. I like corsets, red roses and ridiculously high heels. My work is often described as dark and creepy with a kinky edge; I’m also currently doing a lot of work with the burlesque scene. I love making books and I am currently working on an adult picture book of Snow White, called ‘Bitten’.
What type of designer are you? Illustrator
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Photoshop
Favourite alcoholic drink? White wine
What was your first job? My first job ever was helping my parents run a tea bar at the local football club every weekend. I used to serve lots of coffee and tea to cold muddy parents, which is probably why I refuse to drink either now I’m all grown up! I think I was about 13?
What or who is your inspiration? I get a lot of inspiration from music, so I’m never too far away from my Ipod! I also love staring out of windows on long journeys, reading blogs and watching silly Youtube animations and videos. Inspiration comes form literally everywhere, the only thing that changes is how I channel it.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? My log-in routine goes as follows: Emails, blog comments, Twitter messages, Facebook, Etsy, Creative Boom, followed swiftly by a glance at my ever expanding to do list!
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? Hmmm… thats a toughie! I keep getting told I work to hard, so maybe I should change my career to have Sundays off?
Stina Jones
Website: creativeelements.co.uk • Twitter: @CE_Design
Introduce yourself: Graphic Designer, Digital Artist, Illustrator and founder of the Graphic Design studio Creative Elements.
What type of designer are you? Doodler
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Illustrator
Favourite alcoholic drink? Jagermeister
What was your first job? I’ve been entrepreneurial since I was a teenager. My first earnings were from doing odd jobs such as helping out at the local cafe, washing cars, mowing lawns etc.
What or who is your inspiration? Fine Art, Music and Life
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? My emails
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? I wouldn’t change anything about my past. All of the mistakes and choices that I’ve made have lead me to where I am now and have made me the person I am today. Who knows what the future will bring… whatever happens, it’s all about the ride.
Grace Smith
Website: postscript5.co.uk • Twitter: @gracesmith
Introduce yourself: Sure, I am a 27 year old web designer and owner of a small but perfectly formed design studio called Postscript5, based in Northern Ireland. I work with individuals and companies based mainly in the UK and USA, on a diverse range of projects from branding and blog design to application UI’s. I am also involved in several personal projects including CSS Loaf and The Freelance Feed as well as writing on my design focused blog at gracesmith.co.uk
What type of designer are you? Web
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Photoshop
Favourite alcoholic drink? West Coast Cooler (I’m a lightweight really)
What was your first job? It was as a general assistant at a local Animal Farm, it’s a bit of a tourist attraction where I live and I interviewed and got the job while still at High School. I worked most weekends for the summer in the tea & gift shop and generally helped out with the animals.
I saved most of my earnings that summer, though for what I can’t actually remember now!
What I do remember is the pay was terrible!!
What or who is your inspiration? The talented people I regularly collaborate with inspire me, as do the awesome people in the web community.
Away from the web, I find photography hugely inspiring, especially going on photo walks and spending time with other talented and experienced photographers.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? Email, of course! Followed by PopUrls.
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? I would start blogging and sharing my thoughts and experiences sooner! I love writing and since starting my blog last year I’ve noticed a steep increase in enquiries to Postscript5 and requests for interviews and features on both online and offline publications.
So it’s certainly helped increase my profile and cement my brand.
Srdjan Kirtic
Website: wizemark.com • Twitter: @wizemark
Introduce yourself: I am a 25 years old freelance graphic designer from Novi Sad, Serbia, specializing in logo design.
What type of designer are you? Graphic
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Illustrator
Favourite alcoholic drink? Def a beer.
What was your first job? I was selling watches. It was kinda fun, since I had to travel a lot across the country.
What or who is your inspiration? Anything & everything. Luckily, I don’t have a muse nor idols, so I’m literally inspired often with all my surroundings. But the hardest waves of my inspiration seems that I get on the toilet , under the shower, in nature, from my dreams and from my beats. Also, sweet & sunny days are full of the creative energy for me.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? Mails.
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? Right now I’m a completely self-taught, so I wouldn’t skip any of the graphic design schooling. Imagine that you’re studying graphic design from your 14 till 25, from high school to college, master, etc.. man, I could cry when I think on the all stuff that I’ve missed.
John Young
Website: alackof.com • Twitter: @johnintheuk
Introduce yourself: I’m a part-time freelance web designer and photographer, music fan and comedy nerd. I’m based in Runcorn, Cheshire but I hope that won’t be the case for too much longer, 27 years is a long time to be living in a place like this.
My main website site is http://www.alackof.com and I can be found on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/johnintheuk
What type of designer are you? Web & Photography
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Photoshop
Favourite alcoholic drink? Cains Finest Export Lager
What was your first job? My first job was collecting glasses in the Golden Lion pub in Frodsham. Walking around a pub for 3 hours while breathing in cigar smoke, fun times! My first design job was freelancing at a bar in Widnes, putting together flyers, posters and promo videos/animations.
What or who is your inspiration? There’s a radio station based in New Jersey, USA that amazes me, WFMU (http://www.wfmu.org/). It’s a freeform station with some truly excellent programming, the DJs work for free and it’s solely funded by listeners such as myself. I really can’t say enough good things about the station and the community of listeners. The passion shown by all involved is what inspires me to keep pushing on. If you fancy dipping your toe in the water, I recommend starting with The Best Show Gems podcast (http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wfmus-best-show-gems-tom-scharpling/id306300026) and the episode titled ‘The Gorch Storms the WFMU Studio’.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? Email, quickly followed by Twitter.
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? I’d like to actually have a design career, part-time freelancing doesn’t pay the bills. Having a full-time job in the design and/or photography field is a dream that I don’t currently have the confidence to go for. One day…
Luke Davies
Website: starcrazy.org/art • Twitter: @starchildluke
Introduce yourself: My name is Luke but I go by the tag name of Starchild. I’m 20 years old and I’m a long suffering wannabe graphic designer. You can check me out at http://starcrazy.org/art, http://twitter.com/starchildluke and http://facebook.com/starchildluke
What type of designer are you? Graphic
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Photoshop
Favourite alcoholic drink? JD + Coke
What was your first job? Cleaner at my sixth form college. £6.98/hour ftw!
What or who is your inspiration? Anything I see or hear really, but two things in particular: the cosmos and music.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? Go on Twitter and Facebook and check my emails.
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? Paid more attention in Graphic Design class at college.
Sneh Roy
Website: littleboxofideas.com • Twitter: @LBOI
Introduce yourself: I am Sneh Roy and I am responsible for the going ons at LBOI. I am primarily a web and logo designer from Sydney, Australia who has too much to say both in the real world and on the blog. I also create content, writing articles for other websites/blogs and managing the small studio we set up in 2005. On Twitter you can find me here @LBOI
What type of designer are you? Web
Favourite Tool of the Trade? Illustrator
Favourite alcoholic drink? Chilled sweet whites.
What was your first job? Freelance web design projects for an internet based company while I was at college.
What or who is your inspiration? Nick [my husband and business partner] inspires and motivates me immensely on a daily basis. Growing up, my mum has been a very big motivating factor in everything I did. In the past year or so, I have met some amazing people via Twitter and my own blog, like-minded creatives who teach me something new and inspire me to be creative and curious every single day.
What’s the first thing you check/do when you log-in? Check email and Tweetdeck, check if my sites are online and working fine, then drag myself to get some coffee.
If there was one thing you could change about your design career – past, present or future – what would it be? I wish when I started designing websites and it was expected of me to code, that I had not done that and instead started designing and purely developing my creative, graphical skills. I missed out on almost 10 years of my life doing that and looking back, I wish I had started what I am doing now much earlier. Wouldn’t change a thing about the present and the future although all chalked out is totally unpredictable!
Well, that’s all for Part 1! I hope you found the designer’s answers as interesting as I did! Part 2 is also live, featuring Rachel Shillcock, Jam Factory and loads more! Click here to read more!
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