Interview With Patrick Jackson

Here is the interview I conducted with Patrick Jackson- a graphic designer who own and runs his own agency. The interview was conducted at Patrick's studio in Sheffield on 27/03/2017.

I know you have a background in illustration and practiced as an illustrator for a few years. How then did you end up with your own graphic design agency?

I guess if you make work that people like the 'graphic design' element of, you will probably get more work as a graphic designer, and it probably works both ways with illustrators as well. I kind of just fell into it, me and my partner were getting more and more work for graphic design and it just grew from there. It's hard to find work as an illustrator if you're mainly doing graphic design work.

So where do you see your current practice in terms of the boundaries between graphic design and illustration, including your personal work?

To be honest I wouldn't really describe myself as a graphic designer; I think its a dangerous game. You hear a lot of practicing illustrators and graphic designers talking about not wanting to 'pidgeon hole' themselves in terms of the work they create. I think it snowballs if you set the foundation of calling yourself a 'graphic designer' or 'illustrator''.

So you don't think is a definite boundary between the two?

'Oh there definitely is a boundary, but that not to say that there has to be. I think a lot of artists cross the boundaries between the two, but still choose to class themselves as one of the other- but i guess it's not necessarily as marketable to say 'oh I'm neither' or 'oh I'm both'. It's like telling everyone you're the best portrait photographer in the world, and then wondering why no one is asking you to paint their portrait- they're the same but totally different, but I don't think they're exclusive in that you can't do both, you've just got to be shit hot at both'.

What advice would you give to someone who's practice is drifting between the two at an early stage?

'Stick to what you enjoy doing. Try not to concentrate on being one or the other, just do what you enjoy and the clients will decide what they want you for. Just make sure your stuff is appealing to them.

What do you think is the best way to market my work and get it out there?

It's totally dependant on the work you do, a lot of the  clients we get have either worked with or know someone who's worked with the agency before, so often the work falls into our laps. A lot of the work we [Patrick's agency] do is very similar- clients know what we do well and that's because we do a lot of it, so we generally get told what we're good at. 
So you don't use social media that much?I don't find much use for Instagram and such as a graphic designer, it's not very often I get that kind of work through social media, I think it's the corporate world and those types of clients we get just don't look at those kinds of interactions. There is definitely a place for it as an individual practitioner, and it's perfect for getting your work out for people to see; if I'm honest I wish we were more on it with that type of thing, but a lot of the time we already have too much on'.
What advice can you give to avoid having your work go 'stale'?

Keep it fresh, do something different every now and then, within reason. Keep working with new clients and never repeat an idea. Push the work you want to make and people will let you make more of it. 
How do you look at taking on new graphic designers, and would you consider looking at hiring someone who studied as and mainly worked as an illustrator?
Definitely! We generally don't care about what degree you have, we want to know about your work. We want to see passion and talent, if you've got both of those, coupled with a bit of technical knowledge, we don't care if you trained as a ballet dancer, as long as you can do the job and please clients. Our recruitment process is simple, if we like what you do, and you seem like someone we can get on with, you're in with a good shot of working with us'.

I really enjoyed speaking to Patrick, he seems to love what he does and has a lot of experience. I showed him some of my work and he said he would definitely be interested in seeing how my work progresses and that we will talk after my degree. Good stuff.

Emailing

What a shit thing.

I thought books were boring, then I started sending emails, now I love books.

David Doran Interview

What’s your story? Can you share a brief history of how you’ve got to where you are now?My name is David Doran, I’m 22 years old and currently live and work as an illustrator in Falmouth, Cornwall. I grew up in the South East of England (Kent) and studied Graphic Design at College. While studying there, I realised how much I enjoyed working with design, but always craved drawing more. I then discovered illustration and the course at Falmouth University, and knew that it was the perfect next step for me. Whilst studying at Falmouth, I explored lots of different techniques and discovered the wonders of screen-printing, which still largely informs the way that I work now (with the added use of a computer).

What was the first piece of work you ever sold? What was it and who did you sell it to? How did you feel? 

One of my first commissions was for the UK magazine Oh Comely. Laura Callaghan (the art director at the time) contacted me out of the blue and offered me the job. It was a brilliant project too; to illustrate an imaginary book cover! 

What has been the most important lesson you have learned along your design journey? 

Have fun with the work you’re making and have goals – even if it’s a smaller goal of what you want to achieve in a day, I find it helps productivity.

What are you currently working on? 

I’m currently working away on a few editorials and a very exciting 2016 calendar with the wonderful folks at WRAP, more will be revealed soon! I’m also enjoying a few spare moments to work on personal projects and delve into my sketchbook.

What is the big dream for you as an illustrator? 

I’ve recently signed with Bernstein and Andriulli agency, based in NY and London. I’m excited to be working alongside them and to be developing as an illustrator. The big dream is to continue making images and exploring more contexts for illustration, through advertising, web, publishing and editorial, and to be as productive as possible, while having a good time doing so.

How would you describe yourself in 3 words 

Let me think…

Can you share 3 random facts about yourself? 

•  I live in Cornwall but have only surfed twice in my lifetime, both times were on holiday nearly ten years ago. 

•  I enjoy sandwiches more than the average person.

•  My nickname at school was Double D.

If you could have any super power what would it be and why? 

I’d love to fly. After a childhood of dreaming I could fly and a lifetime of carefully considering this question, I would still love to be able to fly.

I really love David's work, and his process is also really similar to my own. I love the way David's practice has progressed and his journey is something I would love to follow.