Jason Dean: poster, designer (english version)

In English:

Jason Dean is a graphic designer/illustrator from Florida. He created a website to sale is own posters, thebestpart.com. Everything is limited edition, local partners, handmade processes and natural inks are used whenever possible. His last innovation including two different layers of phosphorescent inks, so when the lights go out you can see a other aspect of New York, San Francisco... He has a modern aesthetic, and old fashion style. Jason like to share is favorite link on his Facebook page, go take a lock. He succeed and can live from his business, it's a very talented and a lucky guy. Thank you Jason for your interest in participation in this blog.

En Français:

Jason Dean est un graphiste/illustrateur originaire de Floride (USA). Il propose des posters en édition limitée sur sont site thebestpart.com. Des points importants, tout est fait localement, avec des encres naturelles et à la main. Grâce à l'utilisation d'une encre phosphorescente, il a élaboré une série d'affiches sérigraphies, offrent une vision de jour et de nuit de villes comme New York, San Francisco... Ces créations font preuve de diversités et son style reste personnel, moderne tout en ayant une ambiance rétro. Il réussit à vivre de sa passion et de ces créations. Il nous décrit sont parcoure dans cette interview. Un grand merci pour sa participation.

Can you tell me about "the best part" website?

Originally "The Best Part" was simply an art/design blog, created more for myself than anyone else. I (borderline obsessively) like to catalog things that inspire me, and a simple website was my way of doing that. After years of working days at a design firm and coming home to work on the blog at night, I felt like I needed to do something of my own. So I quit my day job and began creating posters, which had always been something of a dream for me. Luckily my wife is very supportive and understood why I wanted to leave a perfectly good job that I was very lucky to have. I'm still obsessive about documenting things that inspire me, so while the blog in its original form no longer exists I still post links to things I like via Facebook and Twitter. They're so much more immediate than a traditional site and this allows me to spend my day working on posters rather than tweaking code. All of these different things still fall under the umbrella of "The Best Part" though.

What was the most challenging part in creating "day and night in" poster?

The most challenging part was the printing process itself. Don't get me wrong, I didn't print those personally. But it would be wrong not to recognize the fantastic and excruciatingly painstaking work that my printer David Chad did on the "Day and Night" series. Not only did he have to print and perfectly register 7 different ink colors on a constantly changing page (paper contracts with each layer as more ink is applied to its surface, sometimes drastically), he had to mix two different intensities of phosphorescent inks to make sure that the things I wanted to glow most prominently did exactly that. All from a garage in hot & humid Central Florida with no air conditioning, and no computers. The man is a craftsman and he involves me in every step of the process, I really can't say enough about how lucky I am to have him.

What work do you most enjoying doing?

I always say that my favorite project is the next one. The beginning ideation stages of designing a poster are both scary and exciting, you have nothing but a blank sheet of paper in front of you with which to communicate an idea that people will want to buy. The process is addictive, reaching that AHA! moment when you know you have something good is possibly the greatest feeling on earth. But once it's done, I'm usually over it and want nothing to do with it again. I'm too busy obsessing over the next idea!

Laëtitia Devernay: illustratrice (version française)

Laëtitia Devernay est graphiste qui est tombé dans le domaine de l'illustration. D'ailleurs, elle donne des cours d'illustrations aux enfants.

Elle est diplômée de l'Ecole supérieure des arts déco de Strasbourg et de l'Ecole Olivier de Serres. Elle a été lauréate en 2006 du concours d'illustration Teatrio's International Illustration. En 2010 elle à reçue le Prix de la nouvelle publication CJ Picture Book Festival (événement organisé en Corée du Sud). Plus récemment elle a obtenu un prix au V&A illustration awards, pour son livre The Conductor, publié en 2011, les juges ont décris son travail comme "attrayant" et "méticuleusement exécuté". Avant cela, elle publia son premier livre Diapason en 2010 par les éditions la joie de lire. L'absence de textes dans ses livres nous pousse à l'imagination d'une musique douce. Ses dessins son sobres, raffinés et plein d’élan.

Elle a acceptée de partager et d’écrire son talent et son succès dans cette interview et je la remercie pour cela.

. Pourriez-vous vous décrire ? Et qu'est ce qui vous a amené vers l’illustration?

L'envie de raconter des histoires m'a amené à l'illustration. C'est pourquoi j'ai choisi d'étudier dans l'atelier d'illustration des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg où l’enseignement est ciblé sur la narration. Je me définis en tant qu'auteure illustratrice. Je ne suis pas une grande dessinatrice, je n'ai pas un dessin aisé, mes envies formelles découlent de mes envies de narration et accompagnent toujours l'émotion que je souhaite transmettre dans mes histoires.

. Qu'essayez-vous de transmettre à travers vos images ?

Une astuce à chercher. Je pense mes images comme des dessins d'idées. Je souhaite que mon lecteur soit un lecteur actif. J'essaie toujours de faire appel à mon lecteur pour qu'il reconstitue le sens de l'image. Je veux être discrète et offrir ainsi le plus de liberté possible dans la lecture de mes images, de mes histoires.

. Que pouvez vous dire sur la récompense que vous avez obtenu au V&A Illustration Awards ?

C'est une très jolie récompense. J'en suis très heureuse, émue et honorée ; surtout au vu des précédents lauréats. Et c'est également très important qu'il existe pour l'édition jeunesse des prix comme celui-ci.

. Quelle importance accordez-vous à la connaissance et à la maîtrise des médiums qui gravitent autour du domaine de l'illustration (connaissance des techniques d'impression, du développement informatique, de la photographie...)

Maitriser plusieurs techniques peut permettre une créativité plus large et une réalisation de l'objet livre plus qualitatif : par le choix du papier, de l'impression,... L'histoire, la transmission du sens doivent, bien entendu, rester au cœur du livre, même si le choix de la technique renforce le message de l'album.

. Comment ressentez vous le développement de l'illustration ?

Genís Carreras: designer and philosophist (english version)

Genís Carreras is based in London, but he is born in Catalonia in 1987. Is become famous with a set of poster, explaining complex philosophical theories. He came up with 24 posters perfectly minimal, during is final major project of his degree in spain. And this is a great example of Infographics (be careful, this is not Data Visualization, because visualization is created by a program that can be applied to many datasets). If you want you can help this young graphic designer to pay the rent, so you can buy some of those posters via Society6. Thank you to him, to answer a few questions.

. What’s your life philosophy?

I’d say I’m an existentialist and that’s why I love the arts. When I’m not asking myself the purpose of life I’m more of an hedonist. I'm also an atheist but I think that people are inherently good and a better world is possible. As a designer I’m a rationalist and a reductionist.

. For you, what role does philosophy play in society?

I think philosophy is generally perceived as an old thing, useless an inaccessible for most of the people but the truth is that it shapes our world and defines our direction as individuals and as a society.

. What made you choose to apply to Graphic design?

I guess like most of the designers, we all started drawing and building things as a kid. My dad is a handicraft carpenter and I guess I always wanted to make things with my own hands. I started studying advertising and in that time I felt that I needed something more practical so I quitted. Then I studied audiovisuals and multimedia but was with Graphic Communication where I found what I’m really good at.

. What work do you most enjoying doing?

My favourite job is posters and icon design, especially when I have to boil down an idea or story into a single still image. I like to work with restraints and use the simplest shape in each case, to create a beautiful result but at the same time something useful. For the same reason I also love working on infographics.

. What are the key things that are essential while doing the graphic designing?

For me it’s important to reduce what you’re trying to say into the essential, making sure that your design communicates the message you want and it’s not misleading. It’s also an excuse to create something beautiful, to put a bit of order among all this chaos.

. Where do you go for inspiration? and what artist inspired you?

Amelie Chabannes: artist (english version)

Let’s do the promoting of a French artist lives in USA. Amelie Chabannes study at ENSAD, Paris and she move in Brooklyn in 2003. She exhibited regularly in France (FIAC, Hussenot Gallery, La Hune Gallery ...). Her themes are related to her personal history with the connections and the disconnections between countries.

It is a fact, in France the young artists struggling to emerge. She took the opportunity to live in a cities where art is riche and promote as London, San Francisco…, and she have the advantage to have great sponsors.

Fallow up, she describe her experience, the way she working... thank you for participating.

. What was your first art production?

A series of photographed installations and after that a precious list series of drawings, it was a real "cadastre"! We was able to found topography on paper, actors, objects, the location of the camera... this was a precise notes of installations facilities and the impact on use.