Before the year ends, I got a chance to interview Lawrence Villanueva of Booster Designs to ask some short questions about his work and his career as a graphic designer, specially his cools artworks over at Threadless. I featured his work I Be Au Sm last time when it won $2,000 in cash together with a Zune HD and Xbox 360.
Read on for the full interview.
Smiley Factory / Diggin’ Anatomy
What is your artistic background? your scholastic or work experience?
Hmm...i really didn't study art, I'm actually an engineering graduate from MIT (Mapua Institute of Technology not Massachusetts). I got into graphic design while I was in college as a hobby (that was a long time ago, don't ask how long ago it was. lol). I started off creating application skins for media player programs (eg. Winamp, Windows Media Player). After that I stopped designing a few years to make room for real work. I didn't really do any graphic design 'til a couple of years ago. A friend of mine introduced me to Threadless.com and I got hooked! at first I thought it was a fake site and nobody really won except people they already know, but after my ninth sub (Smiley Factory) I got my first print. From then on I just kept on designing and got a few more prints.
Nerd HQ / Lunar Phases of Sleep
Where do you get your inspirations on your designs, specifically your t-shirt illustrations?
I get my inspiration from a lot of things, but mainly from just random things i see and some silly ideas formed in my head. One tip though, be sure to write down your idea once you have one. I always forget them if i don't write them down right away. Not all your ideas may be good but you don't want to miss out on those great ones.
Geekimists / Lunar Banana Scarf
What is your favorite work/challenge/project at this point? Why?
My favorite project would be Tapa Boy LA. It's a food truck business here in Los Angeles, where I currently reside. I was in charge of creating the whole look and design of the truck and website. It was fun doing the design for the truck. We basically wanted the truck to look like a Filipino jeepney and I think I was able to accomplish that.
Tools of the trade? Are you a Mac or PC?
I mainly use my trusty intuos4 w/ my windows laptop.
What are your favorite design websites?
Threadless.com / Deviantart.com
Any advice you could give to other local designers?
There's a lot of talented local designers out there, most of them I've met at Threadless. If you're just starting, don't be discouraged by negative feedback. Keep designing and keep evolving.
Any shout outs?
Hi to my family in the Philippines! :)
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See more of Lawrence’s works at his personal website at Booster Designs and check out his Facebook page.
