23 questions!

Learn about what get's Artisan Brisbane's Simon up and about each day, and just how he cam to be such a talented Creative!

What sparked your passion for design?
It’s interesting but I had never seen my self as a creative until I was forced into carrying the responsibility of marketing in an event management company in the States. But I loved the challenge of engaging an audience and selling my message visually in a very competitive climate.

How creative were you as a youngster?
For as long as I can remember I’ve been driven by a need to create. I remember as a kid on winter holidays spending hours building lego cities in the living room. I wasn’t the best illustrator but I loved playing with colours and my Dad was a dodgy painter so I’d get into his oil paints.

Do you come from a creative family?
Well as I said Dad use to dabble in landscapes but by and large my family wasn’t in any way artistic. I’m adopted so perhaps my creative urges came from some other place.

Were they supportive of your desire to be a designer?
Despite their lack of appreciation for the arts Mum & Dad were always supportive of whatever I was passionate about.

What sort of education and training have you had?
I came into design from left field. I left school and joined a non-profit organisation that had me traveling quite a bit. Over 10 years I worked throughout Asia, Europe and ended up Event Coordinating in the US for a year. I had to wear a few hats and I discovered I had a real flair for marketing so I developed all the communication pieces for the organisations TV, radio, outdoor and direct mail. This was in the 90s and the graphic design industry was become more dependent on computer-aided design so I did a Design course in Melbourne before moving to Brisbane to work for an exhibit designer.

Who did you want to work for when you first entered the industry?
My career path has steered me clear of ad agency work. Some might say that is a good thing but I’ve always wanted have a stint in an agency like Mojo, particularly to see their approach to concept development.

Tell us about your first project and what do you feel about it now?
Hmm, that’s a stretch. It was an interactive CD (pre DVD) for a financial consultancy start up that was meant to be the next big thing. I don’t have a copy any more but looking back I think it was my intro to Flash. I think that company folded after a few months, nothing to do with my CD of course.

What is your preferred software to work with and what has been the greatest advancement in technology over the past 5 years?
The Adobe Master Collection is my weapon of choice. I straddle between graphics and video production so Final Cut Pro is my other favourite.

Is digital technology going to eliminate the need for print?
On one level I think we’ll always have print work but I can see a definite trend towards paperless communication. I have a client that is a large private school and they’ve just gone from a printed monthly newsletter to an e Newsletter. I don’t think you could have assumed that level of web access 5 years ago. It’s early days but I do think that the iPad could revolutionise our relationship to ‘print’. I have teenage kids and I can easily see that they could comfortably live in a world without print outs.

Whose work do you really admire and why?
I have really liked Marc Newson’s work. I remember a number of years ago seeing an article he laid out doing dome really funky stuff with his typography and at the time it was like nothing anyone was doing. I admire his courage and innovative approach to design and imagine getting a call from Ford and getting a gig to design a concept car I mean really.

How would you describe your work?
Fresh, open, colourful

What are your plans for the future?
I’ve been developing skills in film making for a number of years now. Film making is a natural extension of design especially if you think on a visual level so I hope to go from making shorts to features and at some point make money from it.

What sort of company would you like to work with next?
I’d like to work with a film production company preferably in Queensland. Whilst my key interest is in

What is your opinion of Australian design?
I think we like to be non-conventional, don’t like people to tell us you can’t do it that way and this has created an original looking style for many outstanding designers and made them a sort after commodity in the design world. It always amazes me how often Australians rise to the top whether it be in fashion, film or design.

What is the best/worst thing about being a designer in Australia?
We are a young and fairly egalitarian country and as such our architecture is modern and we value equality but there is a lot to be said for the heritage of places like France and Italy. I think these things can be a wonderful influence on designers and being so far from Europe we tend to lack the benefits of being surrounded by such a rich variety of histories and cultures. Having said that we have our landscape, our indigenous heritage and our relative youth gives us an air of youthful 'up started-ness' that has a very positive effect on other nations and an opportunity to differentiate ourselves as designers.

In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge the Australian design industry has to face in the near future?
I think a lot of designers lack the confidence and appreciation of their

What is your creative outlet outside of design?
Writing, film making and time with the family. If I can figure a way to make lots of money from these I’ll be a happy man.

What is the best designed bar in Brisbane?
There are bars in Brisbane? Father of 3 so I don’t get out too much GPO in the valley is pretty sheik.

What are your top 5 websites at the moment?
www.imdb.com
www.australianinfront.com
www.wired.com
www.coolhunter.com
www.abc.net.au

What CD are you currently listening to and is it any good?
I’ve been listening to The Servant, not a new group, in fact I think they’ve spilt up but I love them.

If I was a font, I’d be...?
I know this may be cliché because I see it everywhere but there is something about Helvetica Neue. Maybe I was part of a big family in another life.

For Simon's current availability, contact Phil or Susie at Artisan Brisbane NOW!