Tag Archives: interview

Frank Olinsky designs logos & gets interviewed!

General Info, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, Interviews, Publications, , , , , ,

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Illustration Adjunct Faculty Frank Olinsky is a busy man! He recently created his third logo for media wizard Fred Seibert’s Next New Networks, a new kind of media company, creating micro-television networks over the internet for targeted communities, bringing together elements of TV programming and internet philosophy to allow viewers to contribute, share and distribute content. His latest logo is Goggleburn: Online TV You Gotta See. Previous, more illustrative logos were created for Bleacher Bloggers and Metal Chik: The first online network for jewelry making and trends.

olinsky sonic youth

Additionally, our friends over at the Spraygraphic Sprayblog interviewed Frank about his artistic process. Here’s a snippet:

SG: How did you get into being an artist/designer for record companies (CD Cover work) and companies like MTV?

FO: A few early album covers somehow came my way, and after designing the MTV logo, musicians, managers and record companies began contacting my former design studio, Manhattan Design.

SG: What kind of deadlines do you work with when producing this kind of work?

FO: That ranges from a few weeks to months. I’ve even had a CD package drag on for several years.

SG: Do the companies come back to you and say “change this” or “change that?”

FO: Always!

SG: How much are you willing to change? Is there some kind of negotiation process you go through?

FO: I try to be flexible and receptive. I know that I am not always the best judge of what is the best solution to a design problem. Negotiation? Let’s just say on more than one occasion told the client to take the job back and find someone else to do it.

Read the rest of the interview here and also make sure to check out the comments below the interview for some lovely appreciations of Frank’s fine work.  Congrats, Frank!

[images by Frank Olinsky]

From the Vault: Illustration Friday interview with Philip Fivel Nessen

From the Vault, General Info, Illustration Alumni, Interviews, , ,

nessen yellow sun

While sifting through the blogroll, I came across this interview from August with recent Illustration alum Philip Fivel Nessen. He talks about the development of his style, his methods of finding work, and what inspires him. Here’s a brief excerpt:

How did you get started in the illustration field?

The first time I noticed illustration was a Henrik Drescher drawing in the New York Times book review. It was an Uncle Sam head, with spider legs, and I think lasers for eyes. It had people running through the spider legs. I think that’s where my interest in visual arts started. I find Monet sort of boring. As for doing work, I got a few jobs just through my website before I started doing any promotion or meeting with anyone. Then I sent out postcards and took my portfolio to a few places and got some good advice and some more jobs. And then I did an Illustration Friday interview.

How did you find your style? Has it changed since you started?

At first it was a very calculated thing. I spent like a month cutting things out and taking notes. Just sort of figuring out where I could fit into the illustration business and be sort of novel but also reflect stuff I really like. I also wanted to sort of look like a late 1950s, early 1960s illustrator. After I started drawing more new stylistic things popped up in response to different things. Thick lines, thin lines, abstract people, figural people. Whatever. Things are still working themselves out. I sort of hope I end up like one of those guys comfortable enough to do work that’s not the same story over and over. There is definitely a fine line between hopeless and multi-dimensional.

Read the rest of the interview here (and make sure you take a look around the rest of the Illustration Friday site for great interviews and image galleries).

(Image by Philip Fivel Nessen)