I love beautiful aesthetics and clear functionality - things that look good and are easy to use. I am passionate about figuring out how things work, then trying to make stuff that looks the part and serves some useful purpose. I'm interested in the crossover between creativity and business, the expression of unique talent applied to a practical means. I find web development and graphic design fits that bill very well.
One of the great things about this job is that I get to work with many amazing people in a range of professions. I help out with the more technical areas of design and business communications, and generally just try to make information look good and read well.
When I'm not designing and tinkering with code, I can generally be found sleeping, pondering the mysteries of the universe or trying to fly.
At second level my favourite and strongest classes were art and technical graphics, with higher maths also an enjoyed subject. This lead to third level applications for Fine Art, Architecture, Furniture Design, Model Making, Animation, and a final acceptance of a course in Interior & Furniture Design at D.I.T.
The course gave rise to an interest in graphic design and visual presentation along with an appreciation of how design influences perception. On completing the degree in 2004, I embarked on a freelance career in graphic design and then eventually web design. For the past 4 years I have had a steady stream of clients and range of briefs that have included brand identity, graphic layout work, illustration, photography, and web development. I have embraced the more technical side of programming and computer software along with the visually creative aspect. I have also gained an appreciation for the industry and markets involved and what it takes to get work and run a small service business.
Each creative endeavour, whether educational or in the working world has spawned an interest in other areas. Each discipline has its own unique set of rules, approaches and challenges. And each seems to provide a new perspective and set of tools to view the world.
I have come to appreciate the designers way of viewing the world and tackling a project. But I also ask how does the artist view and approach this work. Drawing has always played a central role. Underlying everything I have done, drawing has been a lifelong influence and a keystone activity. Whether sketching up concepts or polishing finished plans, rendering for design or exploring through art, drawing has carried ideas from birth to fulfilment. Everything requires and benefits from an ability to draw, including writing.
How drawing is used is what intrigues me. From idea generation to completed work, drawing is a fundamental and wholistic activity. The craft that is born of the hands becomes the vehicle by which to convey an idea. One with a well rounded and experienced appreciation of drawing has a truly extraordinary asset in life. It traverses the transcendental aspects of creativity to the absolutely pragmatic. It gives the mind a voice as well as a place of rest. When in total immersion in the act of drawing, you happen to switch off and something else takes over.In these "peak states", the mind is corralled and applied with effortless focus and attention. Stuff emerges from the void of the blank page. New forms take life and the one at the end of the pencil is doing the ushering. The connection of this external tool to the adept body provides a bridge for something seemingly magic to happen. The resourceful alchemist will turn lead into gold.
I'm currently doing a part-time course at NCAD (National College of Art & Design) - an educational environment which I hope will provide further drawing experience with a view to an application into the animation and interactive media industry. Concept art, character development, and computer modelling are all areas of keen interest. These all require a good grounding in drawing skills, idea generation and use of materials/tools.
At a critical level the themes of fantasy and reality are engaged. When you introduce interactive "entertainment", then what is the impact of the generated world when we have control of the creation? Avatars, digital-selves in cyber-communities, fantastic stories in unreal landscapes with our immediate attention. How does this shape the world we live in and influence society with all its cultural and political mythologies? The artist as myth maker with the designer as world builder draws up an unusual blend of fantastic reality. We draw individuals into these created worlds in the sense of attracting an audience as well as the fictional lives we dream up.
I have asked what is the potential of architecture and the built environment? Then what is the potential of digital media and the printed landscape? Now I ask, What is the potential of concept art and interactive design - from identity creation, representation and abstraction to narrative works with the author in the pilot seat.
