Today, designer and illustrator Marko Purać joins us for another inspiring interview. Marko has a outstanding portfolio of clever illustrations and beautiful typography pieces and has agreed to give us a insight into his busy yet enjoyable life as a full time Art Director and freelance graphic designer.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where in the world are you and what do you do?
Hi, I’m Marko Purać, a graphic designer and illustrator from Novi Sad, Serbia, where I also live and work. Illustrative typography is something I’m most drawn to, although I sometimes can’t even read my own handwriting, and I sometimes get a feeling I’m part dyslexic, bummer.
Apart from my full time job as an art director in a local interactive agency, I also do freelance work, and of course when I get the time, some personal work as well, which can in a best way represent what I’m about and what I would love to continue working on in a commercial sense.
Currently, I’m focusing to invest all my spare time in my little up-and-coming t shirt brand named “Over” which is something I would eventually like to turn to completely, and do that as a full time job one day.
Q: Describe your design style and what attracts you to producing this type of artwork
For me, style is a matter of compromise and personal evolution as a graphic artist.
I can’t quite stay working in a same style, because, although I might enjoy it, it won’t always fit the concept, the medium, or even perhaps a client’s request.
If I was to stick to just one style, I would find myself repeating in a loop, doing similar things, on similar mediums, which I actually went through, and I find that a bit boring.
It’s a thing that comes with time and experience, and a will to experiment.
Currently, I can just say that my favorite style is just black and white.
Q: Can you show us and explain your workspace?
Well, this is my radiation corner. I don’t have much to say about my workspace surrounding, once I start gazing at the screen, all of it just blurs out anyway.
Seriously, I really do hope I’ll be able to do something about it, since I know how important it is to maintain a creative environment. One thing that is always a must for me, and won’t ever change (well, not at least till I manage to get my hands on the wacom cintiq 24hd), is a stack of A3 blank sheets, a bunch of black liners and a tech pen.
Q: What methods and websites do you use to promote your artwork and attract new clients?
I actually just use my flickr page as a way of promotion, which I know is not enough, but even that generates an amount of work I can’t manage to bring to realization due to a shortage of time.
But if I were to go freelance full time, the absolute must have would be a Behance portfolio, alongside a personal portfolio website.
Dribbble in combination with Twitter is also a good tool for getting your stuff out there as well.
Q: What preparations do you take before starting a new project and how do you overcome creative block?
If we presume the brief is something that’s crystal clear, the research is my next step of getting a more complete picture of what I’m dealing with, and often those initial steps, tying the strings, making the connections, are the kick-starters to some potentially great instant ideas.
Often I don’t have an assigned art / creative direction, so I find myself thinking and deciding upon those 70% of the time. That however is not a creative block, but the amazing ability not to make my mind up. Flipping a coin doesn’t work, tried it.
Q: Many designers use other people’s artwork to inspire themselves, where do you get your inspiration? Do you have any favorite artists?
I often get inspired by random things in life, accidentally, and mostly by a visual reference.
But sometimes that just isn’t enough, or the time doesn’t allow it, so I often find myself digging through the archives on my computer where I have accumulated a bunch of works from various artists. In that way I’m focused on the essentials of what I think is awesome, and don’t have a distraction of viewing some other nonrelated content.
For example, when I stumble on something on ffffound I end up losing myself for hours in tons of great stuff, where I easily lose focus, and forget why is was there for in the first place.
As for the artists, there are of course lot’s that I admire, but I really can’t name one that can stand out amongst all, at least not in the same field of work. Perception always changes. And as a matter of fact, I generally have a difficulty labelling something as a favorite.
Q: Can you offer any tips to help upcoming designers, especially those who’re designing for print?
Experiment, invest more time, obsession is a good thing, ask for critiques, be patient, promote your work, be constant and work will come to you.
As for the CMYK guys out there, trial and error is always the best way to learn something in that sphere, you will often learn more than you thought you would, just try not to learn that when you get to a point when you’re printing something in large scale.
Learn the difference between the printing techniques, be aware that you will be printing stuff on different materials, and they don’t react the same when color is applied.
Also, if you’re doing some standard small scale formats, always try to print something out on a digital printer, you’ll get a more realistic feel of it once you see it live.
A lot of it is in the feel if we’re talking about the stuff that is in contact with the consumer/client, (b. cards, packing, magazines, etc.) so carefully choose your materials. And of course, stay tight with your printer.
Q: What are your personal favourite pieces of art from your Portfolio?
Almost always the latest ones, so that’s bound to change constantly.
Q: What do you do in your spare time, apart from Designing?
Spare time? Huh?
Design is something that is always on my mind, which is only natural, cause it’s a thing that always surrounds us. And as a designer, you’ll always want to try and improve or make things nicer.
When I can, on workdays I mainly try to chill over a (not very often) good movie, hang out in a cafe, etc. and on weekends, browsing the bars.
Travel is something I’m always for when I can get a bit longer absence from work.
Q: Where can we connect with you online?
You can stalk me on Twitter @sepra4life or at my Flickr page
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Marko. We love hearing from new graphic designers and seeing their amazing portfolio’s. We also loved the canvas with the mixture of previous personal works on your workspace wall.