All images create reactions from people. That to me is what the difference design can make. It influences. As an illustrator, I use my skills to influence people positively. I believe that images that connote evil and negativity should have no place in existence, but the reality is that it is necessary to differentiate what is good or bad.
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to design, draw and create as an occupation, but just to that extent. Through learning from teachers, family and friends, I discovered that my designs could mean so much more than what you perceive. Each artwork should have a reason to why it was created and why a certain technique was used.
With the ongoing evolution of technology, our creative possibilities become unlimited and so do methods of communicating one’s ideology to the world. Implementing my philosophy in my artworks is my method of communication to the masses. As the artist’s technical skills improve, so should his/her morality, respect and discipline. By doing this, they become role models for aspiring artists. It is a principle I intend to develop.
A fundamental quality about an artist and a designer is how original their style is but the peculiarity is that nothing is qualified as ‘original’ anymore. All art is essentially a catalogue of influences that the artist is synthesizing into a new shape that reflect their own interests. Jean-Luc Godard once said, “Its not where you take things from, its where you take them to.”
As designers, it is our job to create and our responsibility to be dedicated and our privilege to influence the next wave of creative people. The truth is that as long as there are willing artists and designers that push boundaries, creativity will never die.
