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An Interview with crowdspring Designer, Dhian Kusuma

Katie Lundin — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 17:05:38 +0000

At crowdspring, we have a terrific community of over 210,000 creatives. We recently spoke with Dhian Kusuma about his experiences working with crowdspring. We asked Dhian about his process and experience after submitting over 6,000 designs to various projects, and tried to uncover his secrets to success.

12 Questions with Self-Taught Designer and crowdspring Creative jhharoon

Nick Bowersox — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 16:55:25 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING creative community of 210,000+ designers & writers from 200 countries. Today we feature Jahanzeb, who goes by the username jhharoon.

An Interview with crowdspring Naming Creative, Shaunda Lindsay

Amanda Bowman — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 18:07:08 +0000

Crowdspring has a terrific community of over 200,000 creatives. We recently spoke with Shaunda Lindsay. Shaunda is a six-year naming veteran on crowdspring, and boasts over 1,400 naming projects under her belt. We learned how she approaches the naming process for heart pump products or for sandwich shops (and just about everything in-between).

An Interview with crowdspring Naming Creative, Mike Taylor

Amanda Bowman — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 18:03:39 +0000

At crowdspring, we have a terrific community of over 200,000 creatives. We recently spoke with Mike Taylor, a competitive professional product and business namer, about his experiences working with crowdspring. We asked him nine questions about his process and experience after working in over 1,600 naming projects, and tried to uncover his secrets to success.

Interview with The Founding Moms’ Jill Salzman

Arielle Kimbarovsky — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 22:25:40 +0000

If you’re a mom and you’re thinking about starting a new business or growing your existing business, you are not alone. According to the International Finance Corporation, female owned businesses make up 37% of businesses globally. In fact, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, women are more likely to reinvest in their businesses, create more jobs, and be more innovative than men. It’s no wonder that female entrepreneurs are changing entrepreneurship and setting the bar for success even higher. Fortunately, as more women have become entrepreneurs, there are also more networks, support systems and resources to help them succeed. One of our favorite resources for female entrepreneurs is Jill Salzman’s The Founding Moms, a community that enables mom entrepreneurs to connect with each other for support and advice. We recently collaborated with Jill on a free eBook to help women entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Jill is a mom and a serial entrepreneur. We asked Jill to share her insights on how women entrepreneurs can raise a family while building a great business. Here’s what she had to say: 1. What were you doing before you started The Founding Moms? I was running two unrelated businesses. My first was a music management company that I started in 2005. I sent bands out on tour. And since it was my first business, I should have called it Mistakes, Incorporated. Two years into that, I decided to start selling baby jewelry. By the time I (accidentally) launched The Founding Moms, I was running two unrelated businesses with two small children in one home office. 2. Had you always seen yourself as an entrepreneur? Absolutely. There was never a time I was not starting a business. In elementary school I co-founded a catering-for-parents company. By the end of high school I was editing, publishing and selling my own fanzine. I also attempted a record label but I sucked at it so it never got off the ground. 3. What inspired you to start The Founding Moms? My hunger to meet just one other woman who had a business and a baby. I didn’t know any. So I launched a coffee get-together on Meetup.com to meet a couple. That “couple” turned into 10,000+ women 7 years later. It’s amazing how many of us are hungry to connect with one another to build better businesses. 4. What was your biggest challenge with starting The Founding Moms? Figuring out how to make it a business. I knew these women wanted to get together. I didn’t know how to formalize it in a way where people could have success because of it and I could make money because of it. To be frank, I’m still working on it and figuring it out. Every. Single. Day. 5. What is an average workday like for you? Does it change day to day? There is no such thing in my universe. It changes hour to hour. Things get moved, kids get sick, and/or opportunities pop up that I want..

Keeping designs timeless and offering visual solutions with crowdSPRING creative kokoyangkoo

Nick Bowersox — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 14:55:36 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING creative community of 200,000+ designers & writers from 200 countries. Today we feature Natalia, who goes by the username kokoyangkoo. Natalia is a book-loving designer from Indonesia that has been on crowdSPRING for three years. During that time, Natalia has participated in over 200 projects with a focus on logo design and redesign. We asked Natalia 12 Questions about design, creative inspiration, and what it’s like working on crowdSPRING: 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hello! I’m Natalia, a freelance graphic designer from Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. I currently live in Yogyakarta City, a historical city full of cultural events and great talents in arts. I studied Visual Communication Design at the Indonesian Institute of The Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta. 2. How did you become interested in design? I have been interested in design for as long as I can remember. My father worked from home as an offset print-maker and was always reading novels, poetry, comics, and newspapers, which I think influenced me. I was always around so much artwork and design that I decided that maybe I could be someone who produced artwork someday. 3. What led you to start using crowdSPRING? Originally, I wasn’t interested in freelance work because my day job as a graphic designer at a book publisher took a lot of my creative energy. I had some close friends who were creatives on crowdSPRING and I could see that the work was quite exciting. A few years later when I decided to make the jump to freelance design and that’s when I began working on crowdSPRING. 4. What inspires you? Most of my inspiration comes from books I’ve read. My favorite books are focused on either design or history. I like to learn how people grow from their natural environment and how different time periods affected taste, lifestyle, and mindset. That is an important source for me to understand what people want in their designs. I’m also constantly inspired by people on social media, especially Instagram! 5. How would you describe your style? I am pretty flexible with my design style. In fact, as a designer, I think we should not be constrained by style. I think it is great to know/master a variety of design styles so that you can be more flexible in working on various design projects. The most important thing is not your personal style, but to answer the needs of clients with visual solutions. 6. What is the design process like for you? How do you start? I think the design process is actually something that is unique because you take something abstract like a concept or feeling and turn it into something visual. Normally, I do research for the project first. I always read the brief from the client multiple times, check the visual references, and research the company or industry to find information related to the project. If I..

Inspiring Advice from Self-Taught Designer and crowdSPRING Creative AVARTDE

Nick Bowersox — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 13:00:47 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING creative community of 196,000+ designers & writers from 200 countries. Today we feature Dino, who goes by the username AVARTDE. Dino is a self-taught designer from Indonesia that has been on crowdSPRING since 2012. During that time, Dino has participated in over 600 projects with a focus on logo design and redesign. We asked Dino 12 Questions about design, creative inspiration, and what it’s like working on crowdSPRING: 1. Please tell us about yourself. My name is Dino, aka AVARTDE. I was born in Indonesia and lived in a small town called Padang Panjang for most of my life. For the past few years I’ve been living in Pekanbaru, Riau with my lovely wife and two amazing daughters. 2. How did you become interested in design? I quit my study in high school and never received any formal graphic design training. My informal learning began when my parents gave me a computer while I was still in middle school. The first time I used Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop my life changed because I realized I could channel my hobby, drawing, into something more. I could do anything in Illustrator and Photoshop, and I could eventually learn to master it. Over a 5 year period, I taught myself how to use design software without the help of the internet because at the time there was no internet connection in my town. Once the government began providing internet service in my town, it was a new chance for me to learn more about design. I learned everything I could about design techniques, illustration, and Photoshop to make myself a better designer. I am still learning every day. When someone asks me who taught me, I answer “Google.” When someone asks me where I studied, I answer “Google.” When someone asks me who I work with, I answer “My computer.” 3. What led you to start using crowdSPRING? After six years of using Illustrator and Photoshop, I started thinking I could earn money from my design. It is hard for someone like me to find work, especially because I did not finish high school. I tried searching for options on Google and came across crowdSPRING and some other websites. I was most interested in crowdSPRING because of the requirements and rules for a design project. crowdSPRING also has friendly a staff that responds quickly, and with all the talented designers, I can learn from others even when my work is not selected for a project. 4. Describe your typical work day. My day usually starts with waking up, taking a bath and drinking coffee. After I drop my daughters off at school, I read creative blogs and check my email to see what’s going on for the day. I then browse and participate in projects on crowdSPRING or work on other personal projects until dinner at about 8 PM. After that, I just relax with my family until bed. 5. What..

12 Questions: Meet Tal More (USA)

Audree Rowe — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:47:46 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Tal More (crowdSPRING username: moretalme) today. Tal lives and works in Los Angeles, California. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hi crowdSPRINGers and NetBrowsers. My name is Tal More. I was born in Israel aka the holy land (known to some as the holy shit land) in 1978 and lived most of my life in a small town called Rehovot, about half an hour drive from Tel Aviv. These past few years I’ve been living in sunny- often too sunny- California, first in the bay area and more recently in L.A. (known to some as Hell A). I guess you could say that creativity pretty much runs in my veins. I used to write a lot when I was younger, but these days I focus on copywriting, songwriting, recording my music and giving music critiques to other artists. I also have a BA in Film and Television studies, but getting it was mostly an excuse to catch up on great films (mission accomplished). However, I did also get some practical use out of it working on a few projects, most notably while working on the script and the creation of the music video for my song- ‘Parallel Me’: {Animation: Rivka Press; Direction: Rivka Press & Yaniv Shmeltzer} 2. How did you become interested in writing? I was drawn to art and creativity from an early age. It started with music- I was classically trained but then in my teens I found out that I also extremely enjoyed expressing myself through writing. I guess school essays were mainly to blame. Thus began a short story phase in my life. For a long time I was certain that I was destined to be a writer. Some of my short stories got some buzz on the internet and later on I won first and second place in a couple of short story contests. I briefly worked as a book critique in a big online portal and also had a few stories published in a couple of magazines. But then one day I started writing songs and that was a major turning point. I realized that though writing short stories was nice, writing songs was even better because it fused my two passions together- music and writing. What could be better than that? (Answer: Nothing). Since then I’ve been writing and composing like a madman. I’m pretty sure that songwriting will be my main focus for the rest of my life. 3. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your writing? The main influence on my prose was an Israeli short story writer called Etgar Keret,..

12 Questions: Meet Connie Zegers (The Netherlands)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:41:24 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Connie Zegers (crowdSPRING username: StudioZ) today. Connie lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 1. Please tell us about yourself. I live and work in Amsterdam and I’m single. Since 2000 I have been self employed as a graphic designer and illustrator. I also paint. Before that, I worked for almost 20 years as a packaging designer for HEMA (department stores). I started off working the old fashioned way; pencil, markers, ink, drawing board, scalpel, repro camera, Letraset etc. (showing my age now). When the Mac came into our studio, it was love at first sight and Illustrator became my favorite creative tool. After HEMA I worked as a desk top publisher for almost a year, but I quit as I missed the creativity. I learned a lot though. Starting as a free lancer work was slow at first, but luckily I was asked to do 2 illustrations weekly for a national newspaper, which was great and meant a regular income. In between jobs I did a lot of painting for fun and on commission (mainly portraits). I always use photographs but I work on them first in Photoshop. Then when I’m satisfied with the result, I start the painting. Since discovering crowdSPRING almost 2 years ago however, I’ve said goodbye to my brushes and have been back at the computer almost full time. 2. How did you become interested in design? Can’t remember exactly, but I was always drawing as a child. I used to make my own little magazines with advertisements copied in a funny way from magazines. I was also interested in typefaces from a young age and had a strong opinion about how things looked esthetically (shoes, furniture, fabrics, clothes, houses, interiors etc (never cars though). When I heard about the Design Academy whilst in high school, I instantly knew that that was what I wanted to do. And I have never regretted it. 3. What is the design industry like in The Netherlands? Although I can’t really compare with other countries, I do think we take design seriously. These days everyone seems to want a logo, which is good for us designers and businesses like crowdSPRING, but I sometimes doubt whether all buyers can recognize a professional design. I once saw a logo on a truck made out of 4 or 5 letters with wheels, wings, arrows, speed lines and shadow. I hope they didn’t pay for it. It was a foreign truck though. 4. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work? I’m a huge fan of David Hockney, so he may have influenced me, I..

12 Questions: Meet Jelena Mirkovic Jankovic (Serbia)

Audree Rowe — Thu, 22 May 2014 14:46:06 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Jelena Mirkovic Jankovic (crowdSPRING username: JMJ) today. Jelena lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia. 1. Please tell us about yourself.  When I think a bit, my name is mom. Most of the day I respond to IT: Moooom, come to see this!!!  Moooom, why are turtles bold?  Mom, will the people on clouds fall down on us one day?  Mom, why are there no woman pirates?  …and so on and so forth.  Seventhousandandeightynine times a day! And the rest of the day – when I’m not dressed in the magic “mom” costume – I’m simply Jelena. I got Mirkovic from my father and I greedily snatched Jankovic from my husband. And thus we got JMJ (Jelena Mirkovic Jankovic). Oh, I forgot to tell you.  I am actually a sculptor. Deeply involved in painting and arts. And again – in momhood. It all started a long time ago – almost 38 years ago, when everything that could be drawn – was drawn, when all that could be colored – got colored. And that “disease” remained incurable in my case. I was born in Bosanski Petrovac, a small town in Bosnia (ex-Yugoslavia), where I blissfully lived the best and most magnificent childhood on earth. This was a childhood ample with smells of earth and sky, full of colors, bare feet, animals and freedom. Following my “artistic urge”, which is more powerful than orientation (what I would be when I grew up), I left to attend the High School of Art in Novi Sad (Serbia), where I graduated from the Department for Interior and Industrial Design. I never wondered what I would do later. Nor did I have any compromise. I wanted to study painting. Alas, all the teachers who saw the drawings that I prepared for the entrance exam said – you’re born to be a sculptor. And it took me just few days to make five portraits (plaster cast) and take them, still “hot”, to the exam. This is how I became a graduate sculptor and art professor. In spite of my fingertips being enamored with the tactile world of sculpture, my ontological need for painting, drawing and colors never ceased, it was rather simultaneous. Following this urge, I finalized my Master at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Department for the Theory of Culture, and I defended the thesis entitled Color and Culture (from myth to postmodern culture). 2. How did you become interested in design? Huh, entirely by chance! By the end of my studies, I visited a friend and colleague in a marketing agency and their design studio. At that moment, they..

12 Questions: Meet Tayo Adetola (Nigeria)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 16:52:25 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Tayo Adetola (crowdSPRING username: HisP1611 ) today. Tayo lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hello, my name is Tayo Adetola [HisP1611 on Cs]. My wife Peace and I both live and work in Lagos, Nigeria. We recently moved back into Nigeria last year, having spent 7 years in the United Kingdom. I have a diploma in Architectural Technology and a BSc. in Architectural Design Technology/Building from Coventry University. I have worked with several architectural firms both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. I currently run a small design studio called His-P Design Studio whilst still freelancing on cS. Did I mention that I am an “Arsenal” fan? COME ON GUNNERS. And also have a thing for TIES, just love to wear them, most especially SUNDAY mornings to church. 2. How did you become interested in design? Pretty much from junior high. I used to so much cartoon DVDs and still do. I became very much interesting in illustrations, characters, and anything and everything design wise. I have always wanted to become an architect, I worked as one for years and decided to change career to graphics design. I am proud to say I am an architect turned graphics designer [self-taught]. And I love my job. 3. You were awarded for designing the new ComEd Bill. What was your process for organizing all that information into an easy-to-read format? ComEd Bill, one of my favorites till date. I was born to design this bill. :] From the very first day I read the brief, I just knew it was made for me. I am a sucker for infographics and this just fit the bill for me. [Touché]. The brief was well detailed enough and it just like speaking to the client face-to-face and knowing what they wanted. I had to go back and forth on the previous bill, the comments their already customers made with regards to the look of the bill and what they wanted changed. I always keep my notepad with me during the time spent on the project; illustrating new ideas, icons, what needed to be added to make reading easy for users. My approach to this project was, what if I am a ComEd customer, how would I like my electricity bill to look like? That really was the key thing for me to producing such a design. 4. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work? I cannot place my hand on who or what influences my design work. What I can say is that the most influential thing on..

12 Questions: Meet Catherine Feeman-Fick (Wisconsin – USA)

Audree Rowe — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 15:03:33 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Catherine Feeman-Fick (crowdSPRING username: catherinef3) today. Catherine lives and works in Wisconsin. 1. Please tell us about yourself. I am a visual communicator that broke the mold coming from a family of teachers. I love to help companies discover their business personality! It is a passion, and quirky as it may be, I am able to pull out information or see things others cannot. All I wanted for my 9th birthday was oil paints… I wanted to be an artist. Thankfully my parents embraced the idea and set out to support me any way they could… I received the gift I so longed for, painted my little heart out, and entered my work in a 4-H contest. The result: a first place win and the good fortune of meeting my art teacher/mentor for the next nine years.” So the story begins – Kendal College of Art and Designs and the “real world” have been my best teachers. Yes, I admit it; I came from a generation with out cell phones or computers. I can honestly say I am grateful for not having all of the distractions technology can bring. I still prefer starting any project with a pencil and paper to this day. Technology has given me the ability to take my concepts and easily present them to non-visual clients. Back in the day, we had to do it all by hand or key lining which was a long and tedious process…no command Z’s! 2. How did you become interested in design? It has always been part of me ever since I could draw, create, act, speak… and of course my 9th birthday wish. 3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why? Each holds a special place in my heart. They are like my children whom I have created and nurtured to the best of my ability. It is not possible to love one over the other when each holds such a special quality. 4. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work? My Grandma Stearns, who always told me I was clever. My Grandfather Feeman, who always encouraged me to draw. He was a high school chemistry teacher, but he could draw a mean brown bear… a skill which he patiently taught me. I have also been inspired by great artists who were not afraid to explore the boundaries, Picasso, Monet, Ansel Adams, David Carson, Paula Scher, among many others. 5. How do you come up with ideas for concepts after you read a creative brief? I read them two to three times. Often I can read between..

12 Questions: Meet Emanuel Hărdăuț (Transylvania, Romania)

Audree Rowe — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 17:25:36 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Emanuel Hărdăuț (crowdSPRING username: emanuelhardaut ) today. Emanuel lives and works in Cluj-Napoca (Transylvania), Romania. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Servus to everyone, (Servus is an old Transylvanian salute, it comes from the latin “servus tu sum” which means “I am your servant”). My name is Emanuel Hărdăuț, I’m 34, I am a graphic and motion designer, I live in Cluj-Napoca (Transylvania), Romania, with my fiancee, Luciana, which I love very much and I hope we’ll get married soon. I’m proud and honored to be here, on crowdSPRING, with all of you, talented guys. Because I loved drawing and painting I went to the Arts High School, and graduated the University of Arts and Design, here in my hometown, Cluj-Napoca. It was a nice period, I was drawing portraits and nudes, studying much history of arts, meeting interesting people, playing guitar, having fun after classes, and the most important – learning from each other drawing and graphic design, my coleagues and I. Pretty much like here on cS, where we all can learn one from another, that’s one of the things I like about crowdSPRING. After graduating the university I had many jobs, I worked as a graphic designer for two publishing houses, and three advertising companies. I was an animator and background designer for a tv animated series. For the past two years I have been a motion graphics designer for a local television. And now I’m back on crowdSPRING, after a two-years break, and I enjoy being freelancer again. 2. How did you become interested in design? Probably during high school, in ’94, when my graphics teacher was trying to keep us away from the computers. She was teaching us traditional, manual techniques for obtaining textures, hand drawing letters, collage, etc. At that time I really hated her for the anachronic approach, but over the years I realized that that experience helped me understand what design is all about. That’s when my parents bought me my first computer, a terribly slow 486 PC, and a friend of mine brought me the ms-dos 3ds studio 1 (the first 3ds max) and I was amazed, although every command took like 4-5 minutes to do, and I was kinda staring at a sphere, not knowing exactly what to do next. Back then I discovered PhotoStyler and later, PhotoImpact, which came free with my first scanner, in `96, and it was much faster than Photoshop, so I used it until a few years ago, when it was discontinued. 3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why? My favourite design is the logo for a..

12 Questions: Meet Bojan Bundalo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 15:19:47 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Bojan Bundalo (crowdSPRING username: BigBaldBeardo) today. Bojan lives and works in Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hello all! It’s nice to have this opportunity to present my work to crowdSPRING design community. My name is Bojan Bundalo (33), cS “code name” BigBaldBeardo. Started using this username as a joke, but it kinda stuck with me,…you can say I’ve accidentally made a brand out of my head, but down side to this, is that shaving beard, or growing hair would be considered complete re-branding. I’m based with my creative studio in City of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, small country located in western Balkans. You all probably know about Bosnia from the war that took place here 20 years ago, but there’s another side of this beautiful piece of land, that should be more in the focus this time. Inspiring nature and its position on the roads between Austria and Italy in north-west, and Greece and Turkey in south-east (German, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman culture), made this area rich in various influences, specially in fields of art and design. I’m no exception to this rule, as you’ll see from the works presented here. After this short initial introduction and “global positioning”, that needed to be done, I can continue with shameless self promotion! 🙂 So, I didn’t start as graphic designer, but painting and architectural design were my first picks. After learning some basics in these fields, I’ve decided to take short brake, that extended into two years working as a sailor on Pacific coast of United States and Mexico. American tour made even more influence on the work I do today. After returning home, I’ve opened small art workshop, with selling gallery, specialized in creating classic and wood-intarsed orthodox icons. Few years after that, I’ve taken interest in 3D modeling and animation, so I did some exploration in those fields as well, as significant parts of architectural and product design visualization. Illustration led me to discover all the positive aspects of graphic design, specially logo design/visual identities/branding. All these explorations in the past resulted in creating one place, rounding up my entire creative activity today – BigBaldBeardos_design and modeling studio (www.bigbaldbeardos.com). 2. How did you become interested in design? When you say “design”, my first thought is architectural, product, and in the end – graphic design. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not underestimating graphic design,…on contrary. As most of the creatives here, I’ve started doodling as a kid. Playing with shapes, forms and colors led me to drawing and painting, after that..

12 Questions: Meet Nausika Georgakopoulou (Greece)

Audree Rowe — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:27:23 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Nausika Georgakopoulou (crowdSPRING username: BlackCatDesign ) today. Nausika lives and works in Athens Greece. 1. Please tell us about yourself. First off, I’d like to say that I’m deeply honored and humbled by this interview. I always found it difficult to talk about myself, so I will do my best to paint you a picture of me. My name is Nausika Georgakopoulou (hard I know! … it’s pronounced Nafsika) and I come from Greece. I live and work in Athens which is Greece’s capital. My first name actually comes from Homer’s Odyssey, where Nausika was the princess of Corfu who helped (and had a secret crush on!) the stranded Ulysses during his long journey back to Ithaca. I’m 37 years old and I’m married to a wonderful and supporting fellow designer and calligrapher, named Dimitris. We live in a house where we are “guests” of our two cats, Eva (thus my BlackCatDesign nickname) and Cookie (a.k.a. “the Cookie monster”). For as long as I can remember myself, I was the kid who always loved animals, especially cats, and had from time to time owned several pets including a goldfish (that mysteriously committed suicide by jumping out of its bowl!), a hamster (who run herself into a heart attack on the wheel in her cage!) and a baby duck. I studied graphic design in VAKALO School of Arts in Athens and got my MA in Interactive Media Design from Derby University in the UK. I have to say I loved going to school there and to think that at those days we had to do everything by hand. Computers were not so evolved and wide-spread back in the day, so we did everything by cutting, taping and combining our own designs. It may seem unreal to many young designers now but trust me, it gave us skills that came in handy. At some point (around my senior year) computers came into the picture and I found my calling! I was fortunate enough to have found a job during my post-graduate year, where I quickly realized that things were much different in the real world than what we had in mind while studying! And yes, much to my fellow students surprise, my first job, apart from designing and brainstorming, also included making coffee, answering occasional phone calls and running chores! So, word of advice to any young designers that set out on their first job, “you won’t all be made creative directors at once”! Nowadays, I divide my time between working as a freelance designer and teaching graphic design in an Arts College. Though it may seem..

12 Questions: Meet Moisés Ferreira (Brazil)

Audree Rowe — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:41:40 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Moisés Ferreira (crowdSPRING username: moisesf ) today. Moisés lives and works in Brazil. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hello friends from all over the world. It is a pleasure to share a little more about me. I’m an artist, interior designer, graphic designer and musician. I live in a very quiet town, but it was not always so. I spent the longest time of my life in a big city called São Paulo, in terms of comparison, we can compare it with New York. I had a busy life and did many things at once. Working as a web designer, artist, designer events and still enjoying myself. One day I was visiting a small town in the state of Parana, called Ponta Grossa, where my parents had moved a little time. I was charmed by the city, the people and the climate. I could walk through it with ease and come and go from one place to another very quickly. I worked twenty-five kilometers from the center of São Paulo and took about two hours to arrive. Now go through my town in ten minutes. I have considered that it could work online and earn a living in a more peaceful place, even earning less. Eleven years ago now that I’m here and do not intend to leave. In the meantime the world of technology has changed a lot and I could relate to people around the world and with great speed, but because of my age, some ports work closed. When a relative of mine who lives in the USA showed me the possibility of working in the cloud, introducing me to crowdSPRING, I signed up immediately. I will not lie, at first it was very difficult. I thought it was going to bulldoze, but actually I have to relearn and change my concepts for introducing me to this world. Designing for the world is different from designing for a particular group. Today caught my initial drawings and see how much I learned. The work in the cloud opened a new world of possibilities and learning, where else could find it all? I found on crowdSPRING. 2. How did you become interested in design? I am interested in drawing since my childhood. I had many problems with my teachers, because my books had pictures everywhere. Nevertheless I always had good grades, but my notebooks may not be used .. rssss I got to do cartoon, paint pictures and draw booths for events, with booths for events has to earn well. After this phase started for digital design, I had a shock initially...

12 Questions: Meet Sandie (USA)

Audree Rowe — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:37:31 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Sandie (crowdSPRING username: cornflakes) today. Sandie lives and works in Indiana, USA. 1) Please tell us about yourself. Hi! My name is Sandra, and I live in a small rural town in Indiana. My husband and I, and our youngest daughter moved here about 8 years ago, after having lived in the Chicago suburbs most of our lives. The simple, small town lifestyle has always been a dream of mine. I prepared for the move a year in advance by digging up most of my front and back yards….(I had spent 15 years planting trees and flowers in those yards, to the point that there no longer was any lawn, just mulched pathways through the flora.) I knew that most people prefer the typical suburban type yard, complete with grass, and would most likely not know what to do with all the abundance of plantings. I couldn’t bear the thought of my beautiful botanicals being discarded. So, for a year I waited till each season’s offerings emerged and bloomed, then I carefully dug everything that was not too big to move. Our driveway was full of 5 gallon buckets, flower pots, plastic dishpans , 20 gallon rope-handled containers, basically anything that could hold a tree, shrub, or plant. There were a lot of things that were just unmovable, so the yard still looked amazing. I put in a lawn. When we started having drive-by shootings in our neighborhood, we knew it was time to leave. For the first year it was only me and our daughter here. My husband had to stay behind and run his business. It took that time in order for him to be able to successfully move the business to this location. He came out to the country to see us on the weekends. I kept busy making gardens from all my transplants that we brought. Our town is tiny. It’s the kind with the one blinking stoplight. “Town” itself consists of a bank, library, post office, liquor store, grocery store, pizza place, hair salon, auto parts store, police and volunteer fire station. That’s about it! As for our home, we are nestled into woods on two sides, and in the back. The across-the-road neighbors are hidden behind evergreens, so we enjoy that borrowed view as well. There is pasture, and then more woods behind the first set of woods in the back. I love the peacefulness of this place. 2) How did you become interested in writing? I have felt an affinity for words as long as I can remember. As a child I loved to read. I..

12 Questions: Meet Ana Grigoriu (Germany)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:55:25 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Ana Grigoriu (crowdSPRING username: AnaGrigoriu) today. Ana lives and works in Germany. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hi everybody, this is Ana Alexandra Grigoriu, aka AnaGrigoriu here in crowdSPRING’s lovely community, with attempt number 16 at answering the most simple question in this interview. It kind of reminds me of the days that I started designing, just as awkward but exceptionally rewarding. I was born and raised in the ever expanding capital of Romania, the crowded, noisy but charming Bucharest. Since I’ve lived there for the first 23 years of my life I figured I should try something else, so in early 2010 I’ve decided to move to Germany. More than two years later I’ve managed to start my own freelance career in the country with the most delicious brezels in the world. (Speaking of “deliciuosness”, if you ever visit Germany, make sure you don’t miss the traditional German foods, you’ll love them!) 2. How did you become interested in design? I loved drawing for as long as I can remember and it seems I enjoyed drawing hats as a little girl (I believe my mother still keeps my hat drawings collection somewhere safe :P). Pretty interesting when I think about it because I was rather a tomboy, than a fashionista. I first considered graphic design in my early teens when I discovered Paint Shop Pro 5 (*an astonishing upgrade from MS’s Paint*) and the wonders one could do with a mouse and a 640×480 pixels canvas. Four years later I went on to university, got a degree in advertising, specialized in graphic design, worked as an art director in a couple of advertising agencies and then one day I just felt like doing everything on my own, so I turned freelance. (*that also coincides with the moment I started sleeping only 5 hours a night, I wonder why…*) 3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why? Well, that’s got to be the most difficult question to answer, since I’m very passionate about my work, let me ponder for a bit. Leslie Beckmann’s The Sum of All Evils is definitely one of my favorites. It was also the “stubborn” kind of graphic design, it took a lot of changing/adapting/starting all over again until it looked “just right”. Then there’s Allan Gallauresi’s Repetition, featuring a very interesting and simple design concept that I personally find very appealing. One of my latest projects also comes to mind, Pierre Marshesso’s Double Life book cover with it’s intriguing graphical twist. 4. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work? crowdSPRING’s community is..

12 Questions: Meet Xavier (Spain)

Audree Rowe — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:59:55 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Xavier (crowdSPRING username: Badaboom) today. Xavier lives and works in Madrid, Spain. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hola! I am a 40 something French-Spanish world traveler now living in the wonderful city of Madrid. It has been nearly a year now since I joined the great crowdSPRING community. I have lived in different countries in Europe, America and Africa. 2. How did you become interested in design? I think it all started somewhere between the age of my Lego and Construction Blocks childhood when I was living in a famous surfing town in France and watching first Breakdance movies somewhere in the early 80’s. Watching lots of TV series and films from the great 70’s Culture are probably a big part of my Graphics and other Creative early interests: Colors, Cars, Travel, Cities and Buildings etc. 3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why? I admit I do have some kind of retro vision, I love many things done during the last Century and try to get concepts from them translated into a Classic and Balanced feel, but trying not to fall into a fashionable trend that won’t stand too long. I try to use all kind of different external “ingredients” from Pop Culture to Industrial Mechanical Instructions, from Science Fiction to Street Art. 4. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work? Whaow! Many many things from the XX Century! Although thanks to internet and the huge amount of great ideas and visual concepts coming from anywhere of the world, this last decade has proven to be amazing. I think at the same time this huge amount of information and data can become negative if it doesn’t go thru a personal filter. Apart from trying to work more like an artisan, I can go thru long phases of stopping feeding my visual memory bank from the superfast changing “What’s ON” or “What’s IN Now”. The concept of Artisan work has a big relation between my own creative intuition and imagination connections, my visual background culture and how I use tools. 5. How do you come up with ideas for concepts after you read a buyer’s creative brief? Well, there is a process into it. I would say it is very much like cooking, but in this case it is like cooking in a restaurant but you don´t have a direct action with the customer. I usually take the briefing reading moment as a different creative process, it helps me to extract main ideas, inspiration and first sketches, like doing a shopping list for a menu. Another..

12 Questions: Meet Connie Carlson (USA)

Audree Rowe — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 17:32:52 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Connie Carlson (crowdSPRING username: iconicdesign) today. Connie lives and works in Northern Minnesota. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hello! I would like to introduce myself to all the talented creatives and buyers at cS. My name is Connie Carlson also known as Iconic Design. I was beyond thrilled to receive the April cS award, and then asked to be interviewed for the cS blog. I hate to admit it but I am not much into blogging, but I now can see it is a wonderful way to connect with others and express yourself. My husband of 23 years and 22 year old son and I live in beautiful Northern Minnesota and own a small hobby farm in the country, close to beautiful Lake Superior. 2. How did you become interested in design? I am what you call an “old school, self taught designer”. My father, a sign painter, started a small sign company in 1967 out of the basement of my childhood home. When I was young, I knew I was interested in art, I seemed to always be visualizing letters, shapes and how things were made. Our family recreation was mostly driving around looking at potential sign work, and long discussions about how signs could be constructed to be visually pleasing yet most importantly functional. While growing up in the expanding family business, I soon realized that I wanted to work in the family business but didn’t quite know in what capacity, so I started out doing odd jobs, sweeping floors, deliveries, coating boards or anything to be useful. In 1983, after my father invested in the first “signmaker computer”, it was a rather simple machine, first designed to cut fabric for clothing. You really had to have a good imagination because you couldn’t see your design on a monitor, you had to lay everything out on paper first and then choose your fonts and letter sizes and cut the letters out of vinyl and then apply them to your substrate. Most people don’t realize that even a simple parking sign need to be properly designed, what words should be emphasized, minimal text to get the message across and best color combinations for viewing. That is where my design work started and with the progression of new technology in the sign industry, I was able to learn new design software and my love of logo design took off! 3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why? Now having 25+ years of design experience I can’t say that I have a favorite project because with each new project comes a whole..

12 Questions: Meet Dylan Barmmer (USA)

Audree Rowe — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:33:56 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdspring community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Dylan Barmmer (crowdspring username: wordisborn) today. Dylan lives and works in Oceanside, California. 1. Please tell us about yourself. I have lived in the North County San Diego region for 6 years. I recently relocated from Cardiff-by-the-Sea to Oceanside, about 14 miles further north up the PCH. I am grateful to live so close to the coast. My new residence is a mere 220 steps from the Pacific Ocean. I get great inspiration from the ocean, and connect with it daily. 2. How did you become interested in writing? I have been interested in writing for much of my life. I was named after the poet Dylan Thomas, and my mother has worked as a librarian for many years (she still does in the Miami-Dade County Public Library System). I was initially drawn to drawing and painting, but discovered writing more in high school. I wrote for and co-edited the Christopher Columbus High School (Miami, FL) quarterly student paper, The Log, and went on to serve as a writer and Assistant Sports Editor for the daily student paper, The Observer, at The University of Notre Dame, where I also earned a BA in English. I have been writing professionally for 15 years, and started my own company, Word Is Born, in 2004, while still living in Miami. I write every day, in many different forms. Including Haiku/Random Acts of Poetry…http://www.delmartimes.net/2012/01/27/local-man-shares-random-acts-of-poetry/ 3. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your writing? I have had several influences on my writing over the years. Hunter S. Thompson was a huge influence. Henry Miller was a strong influence. Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Rumi and Gary Snyder have inspired my poetry. During my formative years as a sportswriter, I was inspired greatly by Miami Herald columnist Dan LeBatard, Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith and ESPN The Magazine writer Tom Friend. From a more advertising/writing perspective, Bill Bernbach and Luke Sullivan were both strong influences. But mostly I have developed my own writing style and “voice” over the years. I’d say it’s direct, urgent, conversational and often quite raw. 4. Please tell us about some of your award winning work in web, print, and television. While working for Southern Brand Collective in Miami on the Miami HEAT account, I wrote a TV spot called “Mini Mart” that received citation in AdWeek. It starred then-HEAT rookies Caron Butler and Rasual Butler, and they started shooting all kinds of items into a kid’s handcart sitting at this mini-mart checkout line. You saw the items flying in, as the kid looked on amazed…and then at the end, it was revealed..

12 Questions: Meet Naoki Haruyoshi (Japan)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:02:01 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Naoki Haruyoshi (crowdSPRING username: KIONA) today. Naoki lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hi, I’m KIONA, from Tokyo, Japan. Surviving among the meltdown and economical depression;) I’m not a boxer or a karate fighter but making logos and web pages. 2. How did you become interested in design? “Design” has a wide and also specific meaning, you know, but I just wanted to live more comfortably and excitingly. 3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why? I tend to love ones that people don’t admire. Why? I don’t know why but probably I’m just a foolish person. 4. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work? Stanley Kubrick, Yohji Yamamoto, Tadao Ando, Shintaro Ajioka 5. What are other ways you use your creativity? I used to compose music, now sing karaoke. I also like movies and write blog about them. I educate my kids and play with them. Slow shutter with light pen is our fovorite now. 6.Mac or PC? Mac, Illustrator(trying CS6), mi(text editor), less(extended css), MAMP, VMware fusion 7. What is your dream project? I want to start up a new web service. For ex, textbooks children carry are too heavy and they walk to school. They should carry iPad. And also I’d like to make a movie someday. 8. How do you promote your work? Nothing special. 9. Please describe your typical work day. I wake up in the afternoon, stretching, check emails, RSS reader and some social websites. Giving advices to kid’s homework. I watch DVD, then maybe work. 10. What is the design industry like in Japan? Not exciting. Many clients are too conservative to build a new direction in their business. So they want designs as just good appearances. Politics are bad, mass media’s worse. We must reform them all for kids. 11. If you weren’t designing, what would you be doing? I would sing a song, or work as a ninja. 12. What do you do in your free time? I watch movies, study programing and study English. _________________________ ありがとう Naoki!

12 Questions: Meet Tiffany Silverberg (USA)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:03:11 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Tiffany Silverberg (crowdSPRING username: TiffSilverberg ) today. Tiffany lives and works all over the United States. 1. Please tell us about yourself. I’m a marketing writer and consultant – which means I work with small businesses and entrepreneurs to help them develop their brand and tell their story. I work from home, for myself, which frees me up to travel and explore! I move often with my husband’s job so I love having the chance to get to know new communities and the businesses that drive the local economy. 2. How did you become interested in writing? I’ve always been completely obsessed with languages and the ability to communicate. I grew up moving a lot – much as I do now – and had the chance to learn Cantonese and Spanish. When I went to college, at the University of California Berkeley, I studied linguistics, with research in language development among Deaf children. I also took Danish linguistics, Latin, conversational Spanish, and of course American Sign Language classes. All that random knowledge sort of coagulated into my job now – which to me is still all about communicating. 3. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your writing? All the great copywriters that produced the retro magazine ads of the 1960’s and 1970’s really inspire me. It was an age when words were respected and manipulated to say the cleverest things. I keep old ads all around my desk. On a more philosophical level, I’ve always adored Jane Austen’s ability to draw out the nature of women in her books in a way that we fellow women can both appreciate and learn from. I want my story telling to be the same way. Lighthearted, but thoughtful. 4. Please tell us about your favorite projects. Really practically, I love doing projects that force me to pull out a few thesauruses and dictionaries and delve into the etymology of words. I love to swim in words. But from the clients’ perspective, if I had to choose one project, it would probably be bios. I love helping my clients see themselves in a new light. 5. What types of writing interest you the most? Copywriting is probably one of the most fascinating to me. It’s so full of spark and creativity – and yet at the end of the day, it’s about selling and you have to stay within the parameters. It’s like a puzzle. 6. Do you do your best writing in a Porsche 911? Well, I think everyone around me would prefer that I keep my eyes on the road, rather than on my paper..

12 Questions: Meet Catherine Faletanoai (New Zealand)

Audree Rowe — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:00:48 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Catherine Faletanoai (crowdSPRING username: Catalyst) today. Catherine lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand 1. Please tell us about yourself. Ok, sure, or should I say ‘surrrrre’… I grew up in Wyndham, Southland, New Zealand – and we Southlanders are know to roll our ‘rrrs’ I live at the other end of the country now, Auckland, New Zealand and often get asked with questioning looks… “where ARE you from??!” So apart from rolling rrrs Southland is a beautiful piece of New Zealand, perhaps the most beautiful….yes. I was raised on a sheep farm with my 3 sisters, Mum and Dad. Great times, great childhood. I completed high school at Menzies College with Dux in my final year and went on to study at Otago University. I completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Design with my main focus being on Design and Communication. Fast forward a few years of working for Woodworx Design Agency, Chipmunks NZ Ltd, Kiwi Mortgage Market…. and we arrive in Auckland. I moved to the other end of the country to be with my Prince (Dwaine) and we now live here with 2 young children, (Mia, 4 and Mason, 1). Oh yea – I nearly forgot – work now?…I don’t have a lot of time for a whole lot of designing – kids have that affect on us stay at home mums! But I wouldn’t have it any other way, love being home with the kids every day and fit my work around that – when they’re sleeping, glued to the TV (I mean books) and in the evenings with a tall glass of Coke to keep me awake! 2. How did you become interested in design? I remember knowing logos – from a very young age I could remember a whole street of shop signage, logos, colours, fonts – I’m a very observant person by nature, and I see it in my daughter too. I’m also a visual person, and have always been interested in art and anything design. That’s why I love my job as I don’t really see it as a ‘job’, it’s more an outlet, a relaxing thing, entertainment for me. I look forward to evenings where I can sit down and just design, no pressing deadlines, just let the creativity happen. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and I think that’s the key to a good designer is knowing when to stop and when to go for it when you’re on a roll! I’ve learnt to trust my instincts – if something moves me, it must have value…so I strive to design with..

12 Questions: Meet Vinay and Asha (India)

Audree Rowe — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:13:58 +0000

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice. We’re very proud to feature Vinay and Asha (crowdSPRING username: Knifeonbutter) today. Vinay and Asha live and work in Goa, India. 1. Please tell us about yourselves. We have traveled around the world, working in places as far and diverse as Fiji Islands and Dubai, not to mention all the cities across India. We now reside in Goa, dream beaches, sun,sand, coco feni, and like to pretend to work hard. Ideas fortunately , winning ideas save the day for us on sites such as yours. We just love crowdSPRING. 2. How did you become interested in writing? We are both writers from the day we left college, and have worked with top 10 ad agency networks. It all started in school, when the teachers noticed we had a flair for writing, however, the idea lightbulbs started glowing, later on, after 3 years of hard, rigorous college education in disciplines as strange as physics and home sciences. 3. Who/what are some of the biggest influences on your writing? David Ogilvy for sure. He was the greatest at one time. We never studied literature, so we can’t quote Shakespeare. We are more fascinated with Adworld writers, Paul Hegarty, and creators like the Saatchi brothers. 4. Please tell us about your favorite projects. Oh, its a long list, right from brand names on your site to tag lines to hold your breath, selling a premium burial space in Trinidad and Tobago (seriously, and we actually did it – it was fun). 5. What types of writing interest you the most? Anything and everything, our niche is travel and we have a long running blog for a UK client. We also did some nice work on Indian destinations for a US travel company. Love doing brand names, tag lines too! 6. When working as a team, what is your creative process? Read the brief, sit under the hot sun, reach out for a cold beer, wipe the sand off your feet, and go to sleep. Wake up with a day to go for the deadline and let the creative juices flow. 7. What kind of on-line resources do you use? Not much, except admiring the canners gold winners for their outstanding work – it’s good inspiration for us. We are sure there are tools to spinning and sharpening brand names and tag lines, but we never got down to discovering them – which is a pity. 8. How do you promote your work? We really don’t promote our work – you folks promote it for us! its word of mouth, honestly. Apart from your site, we sit pretty on elance under the..