1) Describe your creative process?
Dissect the brief and try to work out want the client wants and what the deliverables are e.g. images, gifs, short video etc.
Brainstorm with the team, and then discuss ideas back with the client.
Get our hands on the raw footage and then get creative…..
2) How do you get unstuck creatively?
Brainstorm with the team, we’re all team players at Digital Light.
3) What project are you currently working on?
- Chanel
- Fendi
- Jack Daniels
- Lexus
- Marie Claire
- Nike
- Paco Rabanne
- Sephora
- Shu Uemura
- Speedo
- Town & Country
- Vitabiotics
- Vogue China
- Wella
- Westfield
4) How much of the concepting or strategy phase have you been involved in in previous roles?
We don't get involved with the concept strategy phase.
5) Tell me about a time when a client didn't like your work. And how did you resolve this situation?
We tend to work with rounds of comments on jobs, usually its 3 rounds to a job.
We supply everything round 1 and then get feedback.
If a client doesn’t like the work, we take on board their comments and change it for round 2.
6) How do you stay organised when you are provided with multiple design assets, files, and ideas?
We use a very strict folder protocol for jobs.
Every part of a job should be organised so that another person can pick up a job that’s in progress.
Although to be honest they are always briefed over.
We also use a planning system for job allocation as we can regularly have over 10 jobs in at any one time.
7) What questions do you ask before you begin any design project? What information is most important?
- Comprehensive brief.
- Schedule.
- Budget, including details of usage e.g. POS material, bus side and online campaign etc…
8) Tell me about a time when you had to balance multiple competing priorities?
Pick a day, any day….We’re nearly always balancing client demands, that’s why the deadlines are so important.
Spreading manpower to the correct jobs at the correct time is key.
9) Tell me about a project you've completed that has made you the most proud?
For bragging rights I worked on a project for the Queen with Rankin.
10) What rules, culture, or structure needs to exist to foster team collaboration?
We have a pretty relaxed office atmosphere which helps creativity, but everyone still works really hard.
Its important for us to help each other out and to clear the workload as a team effort.
Its my job to ensure by always talking about us as a “team", that we really work as a team.
Regular group meeting certainly help foster the team spirit.
Our productivity and creativity would be far less without a team ethos.
11) What’s your greatest weakness?
Probably the hardest thing to do is keep up with a changing marketplace.
To stay competitive as a company you have to be constantly adapting and diverging.
I personally find it hardest to predict where the advertising market place is going.
A good example is VR, will it be the next big thing or a passing fad.
12) Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
After A levels I went to Art college and then onto University where I got a BA in professional communication.
I then worked for a few post production houses before starting my own in 2005.
A few years ago we acquired our own office in King’s Cross where we are still expanding.
I have a wife and two kids and enjoy travelling, cinema, photography, art, music, motorsport, architecture and my dog.
13) What are your strengths?
I like to think I’m a talented creative who’s passionate about art, hardworking, and a good manager/director.
14) What kind of design software are you familiar with?
Our team mainly use the Adobe Suite, 3Ds Max, Davinci Resolve and Nuke.
15) What is your graphic design process?
We don’t really do graphic design, although we quite often place the graphic design elements over ads.
We do however quite often design the images themselves.
Its difficult to describe the design process, but I suppose its a case of using standard design rules, our creative eye mixed with a bit of trial and error and having the odd "happy accident".
16) What have you learned from your mistakes?
The most important thing to do from mistakes is firstly identify them and then learn from them for the future.
17) What can you tell me about your company/brand?
Based in London, we are a creative post production team trusted by the worlds leading brands.
We’ve come a long way in the last 10 years expanding into all key areas of post production. Our ethos has remained unchanged - use our passion and creativity combined with our expertise to produce inspiring visual content.
We apply the same principles of refinement and artistry to everything we touch, and are now award wining in both stills and film.
18) What have you done to improve your knowledge of graphic design?
I’ve worked with some of the most talented people in the world, from fashion designers to art directors, and photographers to film directors and I’d like to think some of that creativity and knowledge has rubbed off on me.
19) What kinds of print media have you worked with?
We’ve supplied imagery to be used for everything from magazines, billboards, CD’s, websites, packaging, TV, film, stamps, and we’ve even supplied images to be wrapped around 5 storey buildings.
20) Can you tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure and how you overcame it?
In the advertising industry you’re always up against tight deadlines, so its important to remain collected and perform under pressure.
Lots of good coffee does help.
21) What qualities do you consider necessary for a good designer?
Creative, talented, enthusiastic, hard working, team player.
22) What kind of design projects interest you?
I really enjoy album covers, as the images have to stand the test of time.
23) How good are you about sticking to your deadlines?
When clients have booked £150K of advertising its a good idea to deliver on time, so basically we always stick to deadlines….
24) How long does it take for you to deliver the final product?
It ranges from a day to around 6 months, it just depends on the client and the project.
25) How do you think others see your work/company?
I hope they see us as a high quality post production house that’s produces highly creative work.
26) Would you consider yourself a team player?
Absolutely.
27) How do you handle criticism?
Its probably best to be thick skinned, take the criticism on board and try to make things better next time.
You can always learn something new from your last job.
28) Can you suggest some interviews or articles that inspired you for you career choice?
I’ve always been interested in art from a young age, my father was an architect and my mother enjoyed pottery and sculpture in her spare time.
I actually started my career through art college after enjoying the photography module, and at this stage I was influenced by photographers like Nick Knight and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Once I had my degree I decided to take a job with a post production house, to learn what happened after the photos were taken, but I always thought I’d go back to photography.
Funnily enough I had an offer to assist a photographer who worked with Hello magazine the week I started with Lifeboat Matey, who were are the time the leading Post Production house in London.
I guess things could have been very different for me had I taken the photography job, but I don’t regret my choice.
29) Which graphic designers / studios influenced your type of work?
I try not to be influenced by other studios, I think its better to be influenced by your clients and their references which can be as diverse as DVD’s, old masters, or a certain photographer/director.
I think projects always work best when they merge more than one reference into something new.
30) Could you possibly tell me a motto or a quote you follow by? Some kind of phrase that helps motivates your work and what you do?
I quite like the following motto: 'You are only limited by your own imagination’
