23 Questions!

Daniel, our favourite self confessed glorified nerd, has been one of Artisan's favourite on-again-off-again prodigal sons. Before heading off to South America, A-List took the opportunity to find out a little more about what makes this Graphic Designer tick.

What sparked your passion for design?
Big slabs of body copy and technical drawings. I still get excited by those two.

How creative were you as a youngster?
I really loved my mums dress up case, there were some wonderful times in there. I used to spend a lot of time with my cousin putting on magic shows, shadow puppet plays or attempting to make an 'Olympic board game'. I had an old auntie that taught me how to paint with oil paints. Even though she is gone I still have a collection of her paints and brushes to use.

Do you come from a creative family? Were they supportive of your desire to be a designer?
Not really no. My dad runs a ford garage and my mum is a personal career. Mum was also a seamstress for a long time, so there was some air of creativity around the home. I do remember watching mum draw some animals in a book for me, and watching her create made feel really good inside.

It took some convincing for my parents to understand design. I grew up in a small country town that believed you would never make any money as an artist. Design was at least a way to satisfy that. Now days, my family are very supportive, somewhat curious and proud.

What sort of education and training have you had?
I studied a bachelor of visual communication at Monash Caulfield. Took me 3 ½ years to get through first year, but I romped 2 and 3 year in back to back. I studied photography as my major and decided that I wanted to focus on print, specifically publishing and book design.

Who did you want to work for when you first entered the industry?
When I first graduated I ideally wanted to work for someone like Cornwell design, but never had the courage to approach them.

I ended up working for the Herald and Weekly times. I sold my soul to the corporate devil for 2 years, which turned into be a very valuable first job. I worked in publishing, which gave me some great magazine experience. I also got to work with slabs of text and some technical drawings.

Tell us about your first project and what do you feel about it now?
My first project would be one of my first freelance jobs for a café. They needed branding for the café, the coffee and also the coffee repair service. I think I made like 10 cents an hour on the job if that, even though they still questioned the price. It was pretty horrible now I think of it, but man oh man I learnt a lot from that job. Plus I did get a nice design piece out of it too.

What is your preferred software to work with and what has been the greatest advancement in technology over the past 5 years? Preferred software CS3. And the greatest advancement in technology would have to be mac laptops. I love that design can be portable. I've had some wonderful times sitting in the backyard working on my machine. Having a laptop totally changed the way I worked with my machine, from something that was fixed to my desk, to something that I can take anywhere I like.

What are the various mediums that you've worked with and is there any that you would like to explore? Most of my career has been print based. I'm still very happy exploring that world, but i know a time will come when I will need to understand the web. I'm still trying to push that off for as long as I can.

Is digital technology going to eliminate the need for print?
I sure as hell hope not as print is one of the reasons I love being a designer. I like the tactile side to design, the papers, the inks, the smells. I do like digital technology, come on, I'm a designer (I'm really a glorified nerd at heart). So while I like my technology I do love the side of print.

Whose work do you really admire and why?
Vincent Frost. His work for Sydney dance company in particular (grand and shades of grey). They have produced some beautiful marketing materials over time, so much so that I enjoyed them more than the shows.

I also admire the work of my friend Chrissy Cerny, one of the best illustrators I know. Her work always makes you feel good inside.

Who has been the greatest person that you've ever had the pleasure of working with and what have they taught you? I'd have to say Erika Budiman, the senior designer at the Arts Centre. I got to work with Erika for a few years and it was such a wonderful time. I started the job on a 6 month contact and ended up being there 4 ½ years which became the making of me as a designer. I knew nothing about print at all, and had not had a job where my creativity could be embraced. Well the Arts Centre certainly embraced creativity as did working in the studio with Erika. She parted me with much wisdom and design, the running of a studio and the world of circus. She taught me that I am an excellent designer. I'll never forget the time someone described my idea as 'shit hot' in a meeting.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Probably the work I did for Cuocollo and Bosetti for 'the Diary Project' at the Arts Centre. With this project is was a rare time where I got to work with the artists on the design of the project. This project also received an award in the Museums Australia Publication Design Awards (mapda).

Working as the senior designer of the Arts Centre in my last year there was also a highlight for me. My whole time there was a wonderful experience, but some of my greatest achievements hopefully came in the running of the design studio. We had ourselves quite a wonderful studio, with windows that overlooked the wave sculpture and the lawn stage. We had our stereo, a fine bookshelf and 'lassie' our gold fish.

How would you describe your work?
That's a hard one. I'd like to say strong, clean with a touch of syphistication. I seem to have a thing for red, black and white combinations.

What are your plans for the future?
Save the world.

Travelling to South America for 12 months for an adventure. I plan to take a break from design and do some volunteer work and learn another language. I'd also like to keep working on my handstands so they become good and strong.

If / when I come home, I'd like to keep freelancing. Eventually one day I'd like some kids and a partner and then would ideally work from home and raise them.

What sort of company would you like to work with next?
A small design studio. Much of my career has been working in larger organizations, so I'd like to spend some more time in some smaller studios and deal with the clients more often.

What is your opinion of Australian design?
I think it's strong, there are some great designers making a mark out there, nationally and internationally. I think it certainly has its place on a global scale.

What is the best/worst thing about being a designer in Australia?
Worst. Being responsible for forests being torn down.
Best. Working towards changing trees being torn down.

In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge the Australian design industry has to face in the near future? The fact that as designers we are into mass production means we should look at how we use our materials a lot more. We need to design in a sustainable way, for the long term, not just the immediate future. I think some of the greatest challenges we face are those of an ethical issue.

What is your creative outlet outside of design?
Circus training. It gets me out of my head and into my body, which gives me a good contrast to sitting at a desk all day. I do like the odd contemporary dance class too. I also still draw and try and paint once every blue moon.

What is the best designed bar in Melbourne?
The Carlton Club and Yeltza, as I like touching their walls.

If I was a font, I'd be...?
This might sound quite old school since there are millions of amazing fonts out there. I'm going to say Swiss. Its strong, bold, has character and lots of flexibility.

What are your top 5 websites at the moment?
www.lostateminor.com
www.volunteersouthamerica.net
www.nytimes.com
http://glutenfreevegan.wordpress.com
www.en.wikipedia.org

What CD are you currently listening to and is it any good?
Some music by Anoushka Shankar with her father Ravi doing a guest spot, which is an awesome combination. Yes, it is very good.

Do you need an A-List Artisan like Daniel in your studio? Would you like to know more? Contact Michelle NOW.