Hello faithful readers. Welcome yet again to another artist profile.
We have known this week's artist as far back as 2003, when we were all getting our feet wet in the wonderful world of computer design. He's a very talented graphic designer, has worked for Visual Effects, Watoto, Watoto Church and recently went freelance with his own design firm. He is also the genius behind the Design Kingdom logo. His name is Edward Merik Matovu.
As usual, we'll start with a brief artist bio, and then jump straight into the interview.
-----
Edward's Bio
I am a Ugandan visual artist working in graphic design and illustration. For the last 8 years I’ve worked on projects including, designing logos, corporate identity, beautifying websites, story book illustrations, promotional items and publication designs. My major tool of trade is the Adobe Creative Suite and I’m a good friend with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I’ve been working with Watoto Church (www.watotochurch.com) and for the last two years as an in-house graphic designer. I’m currently working as a freelance graphic artist for studiomataz.
Company — studiomataz (www.studiom.ug)
Blogs — edwardmatovu.wordpress.com
eMail —
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Work
Watoto Church (2007-2009), Graphic Designer.
Visual Effects (2001-2007), Creative Director.
Lynx Graphics (2000-2001), Graphic Designer
Common Logos I’ve Worked on: Design Kingdom, Artfield Graphics, Visual Effects Limited, Yellow Taxi, City Oil, The Cellar, The Palette, Sage Paints,
Experience: Web and Print media
Platforms: Mac and PC
Software: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Fireworks, Flash and Dreamweaver, Corel Draw and Photopaint
Artistic Media: Pencil, Charcoal, Watercolour , Pen & Ink
Edward, thank you for making the time for this interview.
It’s a pleasure.
Could you please tell us more about yourself?
I’m Ugandan Graphic Designer with over 8 years of experience in print and web media. I graduated at the Margaret Trowell’s School of Industrial and Fine Arts with a major in Illustration. I love drawing, illustration, motion graphics, graphic design – all things to do with art and design.
Your work from your portfolio is mainly Graphic design work. Would you call yourself a purely Graphic Designer? Or do you find yourself covering multiple skill sets?
I would simply call myself a communication artist. Graphic Design has evolved to mean more than designing graphics. It needs to communicate an idea or ideas. It is a very wide subject. It is everywhere in our everyday lives. You see it in cars, on the roads, building signs, papers, products, on the tv… it’s everywhere. The ultimate goal of my works is to communicate.
How did you become good at design? How much do you practice?
I practice a great deal. How did I become good at design? It began with a passion for design. Looking at good design and deciding that it’s what I wanted to do. Looking at good design, visiting creative websites, interacting with other designers. Learning from good teachers and instructors. Tutorials, tutorials, tutorials. Learning from as many tutorials as possible. People that I’ve worked with in the past have also greatly influenced my growth as a designer.
Leaders are readers. The books I’ve read have given me wealth of knowledge. I highly recommend the Adobe Classroom in a Book series, The Wow Book of Photoshop. To get around basic skills in software I learned a lot from the SAMS 24 Hour series. Thank God for the internet. There’s enough resource to last a lifetime. ComputerArts is my favourite. Their tutorials have proved to be priceless and they come from industry leaders and practitioners.
What influences or inspires you as a designer?
The love for design. I am also inspired by other designers. People I’ve worked with, people I’ve shadowed. I get inspired by Artists whose work I admire and the desire to learn. I’ve been greatly influenced by works from Jason Arber of Research Studios, Derek Lea, David Carson, Robert Lindstrom of Design Chahpel. I’m also inspired locally by Ugandan artists like Addmaya’s Peter Mukiibi, the RogueKing (Solomon King), the Apprentice, Nancy Kacungira, Arthur Nakaka, I always see great work and wonder, ‘how on earth did he do that?’
What projects are you working on now and if not super secret, can you tell us a bit more about them?
I’ve started a journey as a freelance graphic artist and there’s loads of work coming in. I’ll soon be working on a re-design for a magazine in Rwanda. I’m currently working on corporate identity for an NGO. I’m also working on a number of logos for some new companies. It’s all exciting.
What is your most rewarding design work, the one project or piece that you are really proud of? Why is it your best?
I have quite a number. I’ll just talk about one of them. It was designing the logo for Design Kingdom. I was first of all humbled by the request from Solomon King to do some concepts for a community of Uganda designers that was coming up. By then I didn’t quite get the magnitude or scope of where this was heading. I am so grateful for the opportunity. Each time I log on to the DK website, the logo reminds me that I had a contribution to make to this movement.
The other work I find very rewarding was work I did for branding the Watoto Conference of 2008. I found it rewarding because it stretched over various media; web, print, video and stage design. I was also able to work with a big, diverse team including designers, video editors, marketing coordinators, copy writers, event managers – people from different parts of the world with a wealth of ideas. I must say that it’s the biggest design project I’ve ever worked on.
Tell us a bit about your general work flow: from idea, to concept to finished piece. What techniques, tools and software do you use?
Ideas are key in design. I usually love to first research about the subject. There’s a quote from Steve Covey that has helped me in this. “Seek first to understand before you seek to be understood’. As artists and designers, we need to be understood by our audience and clients but we need to first understand what the client wants to communicate before I spending hours on a concept that won’t hit the target.
Drawing is very helpful. It helps me think and work out various ways of how best the ideas can be portrayed. I do not want to start using the computer before I know what exactly I want to do. This saves me loads of time. I usually choose from the best three concepts and zero in on one.
After choosing a composition I then dive into the software for execution. My tool box is the Adobe Creative Suite. I use Illustrator for vector art and drawings, Photoshop for raster images, InDesign for multiple page layouts and Dreamweaver for web page layouts.
What are the difficulties or challenges you face in your projects (personal and commercial work) and how do you overcome them?
One of the challenges is designer’s block. There are times when there’s a lot of demand for creativity and not enough time to do all the brainstorming and research that you need. It’s tough being able to deliver excellent work in very little time all the time.
I also face challenges with parts of my work that I do not have control over. For instance, when it comes to print, I am at the mercy of the print shop. Hours spent in coming up with a killer artwork can be rubbished when the final product is dirty, or was poorly trimmed, or is dirty with ink scum.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Wow, that’s a good one. I see myself working more with motion graphics and comic book art. I plan to exploit my drawing skills further. My long-term goal is to educate and inspire the next creative generation. I pray for a day where we will have Ugandans producing work of excellence at an international level. I look forward to a time when people from Pixar Studios will ask Ugandan digital artists to teach them. I look forward to the day when students will travel from different parts of the world to learn from Ugandan digital artists. With God’s help, yes we can.
Thank you for the time and for the interview, do you have any last words of advice or tips for designers?
Creativity pays. Let’s take time to develop and harness it. Let’s encourage our clients that money and time spent in design is an investment that will keep them ahead of the competition. Today’s excellence is tomorrow’s mediocrity. Let’s keep advancing, keep learning, and keep getting better and better. Mediocrity dies here.
----
And that's it for this week. Next week's artist profile steps away from the digital realm and takes a look back at traditional art as a medium of expression. Keep on growing!
Share on Twitter!
