As a designer I am often encouraged and inspired by the works of others. One of the designers whose work truly inspires me is that of Barry Downard.
Barry lives with his wife, two Border Collies, a Lesotho mountain dog, and a transient population of wild and not-so-wild animals on a small farm in the beautiful Dargle valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, South Africa. Trained as an interior designer, Barry designed houses, shop interiors, exhibition stands and fashion shows, played drums and worked as an art director before drifting into fashion and advertising photography.
In 1993, Barry became inspired by the story-telling possibilities of digitally manipulating his photographs, and developed his own unique style of photo-illustration. He combines a love of detail, with a fascination for non-verbal communication. He also likes a good laugh.
Doug: Barry, welcome to TBODC. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get started? Did you study anything in particular?
Barry: First off, I'd like to clarify your introduction relative to me and the word "designer". I don't see myself in narrow terms of any one field of design, but as someone who likes to combine many design disciplines into a result that "tells a story". (Does that sound pretentious enough?)
It's going to sound sad, but (violins please) I wasn't exposed to art, and had no interest in art until my late teens. I grew up in a somewhat unartistic environment my dad was an accountant, and no-one else in the family was involved in the creative arts. I did art in high school, but it wasn't an exam subject, and didn't really get me excited. I only started to draw when I was doing my 12 months of compulsory military service, and had to find something to beat the boredom of guard duty!
I can't believe it now, but I worked in a bank for a year. This was probably a good thing, because it made me realize that there had to be more to life, and I enrolled in a 3 year diploma course in interior design at the then Natal Technical College in Durban, South Africa. I still don't know what made me do that, as I had no idea what design was, let alone interior design somehow it just sounded cool, I suppose.
In the end, studying interior design turned out to be a pretty good choice, as it covered quite a range of creative disciplines stage and set design, building construction, theory of materials, interior drawing, technical drawing/draughting (these were the days before computers and CAD), lighting, typography, photography and history of art. I'm really glad that I had the chance to learn about the 3rd dimension, as it literally added another dimension to my design education and experience, and has allowed me to work in different creative fields, and to get involved in quite varying creative projects.
Doug: Was there a particular moment in which you realized you could do this for a living?
Barry: It never occurred to me that I couldn't do it for a living! I was having too much fun. Although at the same time, and helping to pay my way through college, I was playing drums in a band, and probably had more thoughts about a life of music. Money for nothing and the chicks for free you know? Heh!
Doug: What are some projects have you created? (web sites, print, logos, etc.)
Barry: I've been lucky enough to have been involved in quite a lot of varying projects over the years designing fashion store interiors, designing fashion show productions (including set design), designing houses, exhibition stand design, logo design, corporate ID design and brochures, fashion and advertising photography, and photo-illustration. Beats working for a living!
1. I've just recently (end of 2009) been involved with creating the imagery for the new Danimals (Dannon yogurt) website. The brief was to create a theme park experience to lead the user through the website, with an overall aerial view of the park on the homepage, and scenes of the various attractions/rides for the inside pages. Great fun mostly created in 3D, with Photoshop post production work. I had to design the rides, and construct the scenes, as well as model and texture the components, then set up and light the scenes, and render.
2. Orangina (UK) - the brief was to create a visual for the back of a bus to look like the bus was a truck and the back door had slid open and all the crates full of Orangina bottles were tumbling out. The bus bodywork and tumbling crates were constructed and rendered in 3D, the bottles were photographs, and the driver/dog and street scene were dropped in Photoshop. The trick on this one was to design a single image to work on 3 or 4 different bus sizes with different positions of windows, tail lights, grilles etc.
3. Opera Cleveland logo - I was commissioned to design the logo for the new Opera Cleveland, when the original Cleveland Opera amalgamated with a smaller opera company in Cleveland, Ohio. In the design I included a character who could be moved around and posed in different situations, and could even be dressed up in real life to become a living logo for the company, but client decided to just go with a type logo.
4. groundWork is an environmental justice organization, based in South Africa, who help disadvantaged communities sort out their environmental issues with (usually) large corporations. We wanted something "African", but without being cliche, and something that embodied people/communities, a spirit of protest, and a sense of aspiration and growth.
5. "Carla and the Famous Traveling Feather & Fur Show" is an illustrated children's book which I wrote, illustrated and art directed. It was published by Milk & Cookies Press in New York. Unfortunately, the publisher went into liquidation as the book was released, so, despite selling quite well, I still haven't seen much moola from it. I still had a ball doing it, and it sits proudly on my bookshelf next to the other 2 illustrated children's books I did for Simon & Schuster (New York), The Little Red Hen, and an updated version of The Hare & the Tortoise. I've been known to include the odd chicken and cow in my work, as anyone at Photoshop Cafe will know.
6. Talking of cows, I had a range of greeting cards, postcards, posters and a calendar, distributed by a Dutch publisher worldwide in a range called "Cow Planet". These images derived from the first work teaching myself Photoshop when I got my first Mac (a Mac PowerPC7100 with 512Mb of RAM, and a 700Mb harddrive, using Photoshop 3).
You can see more of my work on my web site here.
Doug: What is your design process?
Barry: Every element has to enhance the telling of the story. I believe that all design is essentially "communication", and in one sense or another, needs to tell a story. Therefore, it seems to make sense to first understand exactly what the communication is about, and then to work out how best to tell the story.
Doug: What are the tools you use, the ones you could never get rid of (softwares, apps, etc.)?
Barry: Photoshop, Illustrator, Vue Infinite 8, Carrara 7, Poser, and I'm busy learning modo 401.
Doug: How do you find clients? Do you use job boards and classified ad web sites?
Barry: Most of my work comes through my London agent, but having been in the creative industry for over 20 years, I have built up a network in South Africa where I work directly with clients and ad agencies (without a representative). I don't use job boards or classifieds, as I prefer the protection of working through an agent, or from personal referrals.
Doug: Do you have a business schedule? office hours? do you work at home? studio?
Barry: I work from home, and don't really work to a schedule. I'm privileged to be doing what I enjoy for a living, so I work when I need to, and can pretty much tailor my time accordingly. Although, working with clients around the world (Australia, USA, and UK) means that I have to make myself available to clients who may be in different time zones (8 or 9 hours difference)É makes things interesting conference calls with New York and Kansas City at 1 am.
Doug: What is your favorite type of project to work on?
Barry: Something challenging when the client says, "Do you think this can be done?"
Doug: What would be your best productivity tip?
Barry: Burn your TV.
Doug: What is the thing you enjoy most about designing?
Barry: Looking for fresh ways to approach a design problem, and fresh ways to tell the story.
Doug: Where do you find inspiration? Any websites or places you like to go to get the creative juices flowing?
Barry: Life. Keep your eyes and ears open inspiration can be anywhere, anytime.
Doug: What tips do you have for anyone who wants to succeed as a graphic designer?
Barry: Love what you do, and live life as a designer.
Doug: Briefly describe for us your worst client experience and how you handled it.
Barry: Hmmm, I'm pretty lucky in that I've had very few bad experiences (I suppose it's all relative?). The most uncomfortable, I suppose, was an illo/photo manipulation for a London ad agency where I was really trying to help them meet a deadline. I lost focus, and in my haste, was a bit careless with an area of retouching in the scene. I felt pretty cruddy when it was pointed out, as it was kinda amateurish to say the least. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to acknowledge the problem, and go out of your way to fix it, even if it costs you time and money. I worked through the night to fix the problem, and all turned out fine. The client must have been OK with it, as they've given me more work since!
Doug: Can you recommend some methods for designers to get new clients?
Barry: Always difficult and it really helps to get into circles of acquaintances/friends who share the same interests as you e.g. if you like fashion related work, get to know fashion people, etc. I think it is a lot about who you know, and then who gets to know you.
Doug: Anything else you would like to share with the design community?
Barry: Celebrate the fact that you have the potential to earn a living doing what you love, and then love what you do.
I would like to thank Barry for taking the time to do this interview for my readers. Hopefully it has been as entertaining and informative for you as it has for me.
Barry lives with his wife, two Border Collies, a Lesotho mountain dog, and a transient population of wild and not-so-wild animals on a small farm in the beautiful Dargle valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, South Africa. Trained as an interior designer, Barry designed houses, shop interiors, exhibition stands and fashion shows, played drums and worked as an art director before drifting into fashion and advertising photography.
In 1993, Barry became inspired by the story-telling possibilities of digitally manipulating his photographs, and developed his own unique style of photo-illustration. He combines a love of detail, with a fascination for non-verbal communication. He also likes a good laugh.
Doug: Barry, welcome to TBODC. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get started? Did you study anything in particular?
Barry: First off, I'd like to clarify your introduction relative to me and the word "designer". I don't see myself in narrow terms of any one field of design, but as someone who likes to combine many design disciplines into a result that "tells a story". (Does that sound pretentious enough?)
It's going to sound sad, but (violins please) I wasn't exposed to art, and had no interest in art until my late teens. I grew up in a somewhat unartistic environment my dad was an accountant, and no-one else in the family was involved in the creative arts. I did art in high school, but it wasn't an exam subject, and didn't really get me excited. I only started to draw when I was doing my 12 months of compulsory military service, and had to find something to beat the boredom of guard duty!
I can't believe it now, but I worked in a bank for a year. This was probably a good thing, because it made me realize that there had to be more to life, and I enrolled in a 3 year diploma course in interior design at the then Natal Technical College in Durban, South Africa. I still don't know what made me do that, as I had no idea what design was, let alone interior design somehow it just sounded cool, I suppose.
In the end, studying interior design turned out to be a pretty good choice, as it covered quite a range of creative disciplines stage and set design, building construction, theory of materials, interior drawing, technical drawing/draughting (these were the days before computers and CAD), lighting, typography, photography and history of art. I'm really glad that I had the chance to learn about the 3rd dimension, as it literally added another dimension to my design education and experience, and has allowed me to work in different creative fields, and to get involved in quite varying creative projects.
Doug: Was there a particular moment in which you realized you could do this for a living?
Barry: It never occurred to me that I couldn't do it for a living! I was having too much fun. Although at the same time, and helping to pay my way through college, I was playing drums in a band, and probably had more thoughts about a life of music. Money for nothing and the chicks for free you know? Heh!
Doug: What are some projects have you created? (web sites, print, logos, etc.)
Barry: I've been lucky enough to have been involved in quite a lot of varying projects over the years designing fashion store interiors, designing fashion show productions (including set design), designing houses, exhibition stand design, logo design, corporate ID design and brochures, fashion and advertising photography, and photo-illustration. Beats working for a living!
1. I've just recently (end of 2009) been involved with creating the imagery for the new Danimals (Dannon yogurt) website. The brief was to create a theme park experience to lead the user through the website, with an overall aerial view of the park on the homepage, and scenes of the various attractions/rides for the inside pages. Great fun mostly created in 3D, with Photoshop post production work. I had to design the rides, and construct the scenes, as well as model and texture the components, then set up and light the scenes, and render.
2. Orangina (UK) - the brief was to create a visual for the back of a bus to look like the bus was a truck and the back door had slid open and all the crates full of Orangina bottles were tumbling out. The bus bodywork and tumbling crates were constructed and rendered in 3D, the bottles were photographs, and the driver/dog and street scene were dropped in Photoshop. The trick on this one was to design a single image to work on 3 or 4 different bus sizes with different positions of windows, tail lights, grilles etc.
3. Opera Cleveland logo - I was commissioned to design the logo for the new Opera Cleveland, when the original Cleveland Opera amalgamated with a smaller opera company in Cleveland, Ohio. In the design I included a character who could be moved around and posed in different situations, and could even be dressed up in real life to become a living logo for the company, but client decided to just go with a type logo.
4. groundWork is an environmental justice organization, based in South Africa, who help disadvantaged communities sort out their environmental issues with (usually) large corporations. We wanted something "African", but without being cliche, and something that embodied people/communities, a spirit of protest, and a sense of aspiration and growth.
5. "Carla and the Famous Traveling Feather & Fur Show" is an illustrated children's book which I wrote, illustrated and art directed. It was published by Milk & Cookies Press in New York. Unfortunately, the publisher went into liquidation as the book was released, so, despite selling quite well, I still haven't seen much moola from it. I still had a ball doing it, and it sits proudly on my bookshelf next to the other 2 illustrated children's books I did for Simon & Schuster (New York), The Little Red Hen, and an updated version of The Hare & the Tortoise. I've been known to include the odd chicken and cow in my work, as anyone at Photoshop Cafe will know.
6. Talking of cows, I had a range of greeting cards, postcards, posters and a calendar, distributed by a Dutch publisher worldwide in a range called "Cow Planet". These images derived from the first work teaching myself Photoshop when I got my first Mac (a Mac PowerPC7100 with 512Mb of RAM, and a 700Mb harddrive, using Photoshop 3).
You can see more of my work on my web site here.
Doug: What is your design process?
Barry: Every element has to enhance the telling of the story. I believe that all design is essentially "communication", and in one sense or another, needs to tell a story. Therefore, it seems to make sense to first understand exactly what the communication is about, and then to work out how best to tell the story.
Doug: What are the tools you use, the ones you could never get rid of (softwares, apps, etc.)?
Barry: Photoshop, Illustrator, Vue Infinite 8, Carrara 7, Poser, and I'm busy learning modo 401.
Doug: How do you find clients? Do you use job boards and classified ad web sites?
Barry: Most of my work comes through my London agent, but having been in the creative industry for over 20 years, I have built up a network in South Africa where I work directly with clients and ad agencies (without a representative). I don't use job boards or classifieds, as I prefer the protection of working through an agent, or from personal referrals.
Doug: Do you have a business schedule? office hours? do you work at home? studio?
Barry: I work from home, and don't really work to a schedule. I'm privileged to be doing what I enjoy for a living, so I work when I need to, and can pretty much tailor my time accordingly. Although, working with clients around the world (Australia, USA, and UK) means that I have to make myself available to clients who may be in different time zones (8 or 9 hours difference)É makes things interesting conference calls with New York and Kansas City at 1 am.
Doug: What is your favorite type of project to work on?
Barry: Something challenging when the client says, "Do you think this can be done?"
Doug: What would be your best productivity tip?
Barry: Burn your TV.
Doug: What is the thing you enjoy most about designing?
Barry: Looking for fresh ways to approach a design problem, and fresh ways to tell the story.
Doug: Where do you find inspiration? Any websites or places you like to go to get the creative juices flowing?
Barry: Life. Keep your eyes and ears open inspiration can be anywhere, anytime.
Doug: What tips do you have for anyone who wants to succeed as a graphic designer?
Barry: Love what you do, and live life as a designer.
Doug: Briefly describe for us your worst client experience and how you handled it.
Barry: Hmmm, I'm pretty lucky in that I've had very few bad experiences (I suppose it's all relative?). The most uncomfortable, I suppose, was an illo/photo manipulation for a London ad agency where I was really trying to help them meet a deadline. I lost focus, and in my haste, was a bit careless with an area of retouching in the scene. I felt pretty cruddy when it was pointed out, as it was kinda amateurish to say the least. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to acknowledge the problem, and go out of your way to fix it, even if it costs you time and money. I worked through the night to fix the problem, and all turned out fine. The client must have been OK with it, as they've given me more work since!
Doug: Can you recommend some methods for designers to get new clients?
Barry: Always difficult and it really helps to get into circles of acquaintances/friends who share the same interests as you e.g. if you like fashion related work, get to know fashion people, etc. I think it is a lot about who you know, and then who gets to know you.
Doug: Anything else you would like to share with the design community?
Barry: Celebrate the fact that you have the potential to earn a living doing what you love, and then love what you do.
I would like to thank Barry for taking the time to do this interview for my readers. Hopefully it has been as entertaining and informative for you as it has for me.
Hey Doug, thanks for coming by, that was such nice comments about Dusty. This is such a nice post, I enjoyed reading it and like the photos also. love mom
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