Adentity.org interview, September 2002
Age?
I quit college after a year, and i really didn't have an idea of what I would like to do with my life. I hated school and I didn't have any skills I could use to get a decent job. I got on the web alot, and I was impressed by some of the Flash sites, so I decided I'd like to try and do something like that too. I messed around in Flash for a long time, til I realised I had 0 graphic/design skills. So i dropped Flash for Photoshop, and for the next yr or so I tried to improve, slowly. I gotta say it was really hard at first, I had to work on my artistic side. In college and high school I hated art classes, and aside from countless hand drawings in notebooks and such I really had never done anything related to art, especially not art that comes from deep down. The piece that really got me going on a certain style was "Hope", it was the foundation I used to get off the ground, and from then I knew where I was headed. On the work side of things, it's been up and down for 3 yrs. Without any experience or exposure it was really hard to get work at the beginning. My first jobs were all the result of luck, and people I knew talking to someone they knew (networking). I am just starting to get really cool job offers, work that I can actually be proud of doing/showing. It's great when you can make money doing something you like, but it's way better when you have the chance to 'let loose' on a project, and shape it like you want to shape it. That's why I've strayed away from web design a bit, print design (like CD covers) really gives you more freedom, there's no limitations like on the web. I refuse work if I think it's a project that won't interest me, or allow me to use alot of creativity. Design education?Aside from reading "Adobe Photoshop 5.5: Classroom in a Book" 3 yrs ago, none. I don't believe an education is *required* in design. Give the readers a breif run through of a typical day in the life of Pascal Tremblay. My days are really boring and repetitive. I try to wake up at 9-10am on weekdays, I turn on the computer, get dressed and then I go eat. The rest of my day is usually spent in front of the screen. What I do depends on what I have to work on. Like right now I am working on a website with a design studio in Montreal, so we exchange calls and images all day. I usually have alot of things going on at once, so I'll work on certain projects a bit here and a bit there. I also stray away from work sometimes, it's my big weakness, I admit it. 3 meals a day and a shower. That's it.
I'd
love to say I have a ton of great ideas for my site, but I don't. It's going
to stay the same for a while, meaning it will only be there to showcase my work.
Of course I'll re-design it regularly. I've been meaning to add a "real"
gallery but it just seems like a pain to do. I'll do it though..some day. What would you say in your life has driven you the most with your creativity? Various
states of mind, and music too. Mostly music. Everyone has their own personal sources for inspiration, what would you say is your biggest source when your working? It depends on what I'm doing I think. If it's personal work (or something like a CD cover, where I can use alot of creativity) then I'd say music is my biggest inspiration. I can let loose and do whatever I want, so I really let my thoughts do all the work. I very rarely do a piece in one session of work. It usually takes alot of little ones to finish something. Right now my biggest musical inspirations are Beck's new album, Coldplay, and as usual Counting Crows. If it's work for a client that has specific needs then I just try to make it work so they like it. I don't think the same way when I do that type of work. I don't think any inspiration goes into it, if that makes any sense.
I think experimental work will always have a big place in design. It's how new ideas and styles are brought to life. I don't see how design and art could be so interesting without it. It'd be stale. Although I gotta say I don't visit other sites that often anymore. There's some really interesting, experimental, work out there, but there's way too much people that try to emulate everyone else...it's like some people don't want to push the envelope more, they are happy with creating something that has been done a million times before. Trends come and go all the time, it's always been like that, but I'd really like if more people would try to do something else than what's "cool" at the moment. Thank
you very much for taking the time to talk with me Pascal, any thing else you
would like to add? |