23 Questions!

New year... new start... new opportunities... and new A-Lists! We're exploding into 2010 with some brilliant new creatives for you to get to know and first off the block is Marcus, one of our Senior Graphic Designers who dables in motion graphics and photograpy. Check him out!

What sparked your passion for design?
I’ve been surrounded by creative people all my life, I don’t think I thought about design, or followed it, I think it followed me.

How creative were you as a youngster?
Art class was my favourite class in school. Dad had a screen printing business growing up. I must have been about 5 or 6 years old when my parents would give me Letraset to play with. During my teens I experimented with all sorts of graphic techniques and media, especially when I discovered skateboarding. The amazing illustrations from independent artists that broke through to the mainstream and defined the identity of skateboarding culture had a great influence on me.

Do you come from a creative family?
Yes, my sister is in the fashion industry, my brother is a creative writer and musician and Dad’s involved in the music industry. On Mum’s side, I have uncles and aunties who are graphic designers, photographers, printers, musicians and live as far away as New Zealand.

Were they supportive of your desire to be a designer?
Yes, extremely supportive.

What sort of education and training have you had?
I studied Graphic Design in Ireland and have continued to advance my skills in the world of photography, web, video and motion graphics here in RMIT. I started my career in advertising ten years ago and have worked as a Senior Designer in some of the top agencies throughout New Zealand, Sydney, Brisbane and now Melbourne.

Who did you want to work for when you first entered the industry?
Music and art, when combined, make the most noise for me. As far as artistic expression goes, both, when fused together create a synergy that’s above everything else. Music videos and album covers inspired me growing up, so working for Steve Averill at Four5one was a dream at one stage.

Tell us about your first project and what do you feel about it now?
My first design jobs were designing album covers, flyers, ads and posters for bands and the music industry back in Dublin. This was great training especially when dealing with artists who have strong creative opinions. I designed some album covers for Rodrigo y Gabriela who are very successful now, so it’s cool to see their albums in stores everywhere I go.

What is your preferred software to work with and what has been the greatest advancement in technology over the past 5 years? Because I work across print, web, motion and audio... Photoshop, After Effects, Final Cut and Logic would be on the top shelf. I love InDesign and Illustrator too. The integration across the Adobe platform is improving all the time.

As far as advancement in technology… I’d say mobile technology. The iPhone and the Apps have certainly changed the way people behave.

Is digital technology going to eliminate the need for print?
I doubt it, paper’s been here for thousands of years and you can’t wrap your fish and chips in an iPhone.

Whose work do you really admire and why?
Salvador Dali and HR Giger. Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry’s video work always inspire me.
Zaha Hadid’s architecture blows me away. Sometimes it’s the shape of a building, a curve on a road or a sentence that I’ve just read that can inspire me.

Who has been the greatest person that you’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and what have they taught you? There are a few, I’d have to say working with my first creative director in Ireland, Ger was a major influence at the start of my career. She gave me confidence. More recently I created a few music videos for guitar virtuoso Preston Reed. I’ve always been a fan so working on a video for one of my favourite pieces of music was an honour. Persistence in perfection is rewarding.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Backpacking on a photographic journey through South America, Asia, India and Nepal. I think every designer should travel, it’s the best education anyone can have.

How would you describe your work?
Extremely versatile as I work across many platforms.

What are your plans for the future?
To further my studies in motion graphics and immerse myself in web and digital while continuing to work with great people who continue to inspire me.

What sort of company would you like to work with next?
A company that strives for excellence with an open minded team culture.

What is your opinion of Australian design?
Australia is such a huge country with influences from so many different cultures, which is very healthy for the design industry. It’s great to be surrounded by creativity in a city like Melbourne. Then you have the "Best Job in The World" campaign which was designed in Brisbane and rocked the foundations of the ad industry causing ripples world-wide.

What is the best/worst thing about being a designer in Australia?
I’ve produced design work for clients based in Ireland from here via the web, so if asked this question many years ago I would’ve said that the distance was a problem. Now with high speed internet, Skype and the internet in general, it doesn’t matter where you are based... although it’s great to have Prague, Rome and Barcelona only a stones throw away!

In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge the Australian design industry has to face in the near future? Client spending. Less of it, which will probably work both ways as it makes you think more about a design solution ...but it’s cool to have big budgets to play with.

What is your creative outlet outside of design?
Playing music, photography and live music photography, video and motion graphics.

What is the best designed bar in Melbourne?
Haven’t seen enough to answer that one but the best ones for atmosphere so far are the ones with no real design flare, some local bars around Richmond and Brunswick Street have been chilled.

What are your top 5 websites at the moment?
http://ted.com
www.google.com
http://bluevertigo.com.ar
www.lonelyplanet.com
http://music.myspace.com

What CD are you currently listening to and is it any good?
Seasick Steve and some albums by Murkof. Yes.

If I was a font, I’d be...?
Helvetica, extremely versatile and timeless


Do you need an A-List Artisan like Marcus in your studio? Would you like to know more? Contact Mathew NOW!