#catskillmade

Your Catskill Made design utilizes very few elements and uses the mountaintop as a symbol for the region. What inspired you to create that design?

The Hudson Valley is a great place to drive around and just get lost. Everywhere you go, no matter where, you see this mountain range. It’s almost as if it’s the frame to the beautiful picture that is the Hudson Valley.

What do you enjoy the most about the Catskills?

I truly love driving around in the fall and hiking any number of the peaks. There are plenty of amazing lookouts and if you get up early enough, you can see some amazing views.

What is your favorite Catskills hike?

So far, I’d have to say Giant’s Ledge and Panther Mountain Trail. You have to get up there nice and early, before the tourists show up, though. 😊

You currently live in upstate New York, but also spend time working in the city. What are some of your favorite places to hang out or illustrate in each region?

Any coffee shop in the city will suffice. I’m an avid people-watcher and I get inspiration from the wildest aspects of city life. Upstate, I bring my sketchbook everywhere I go, just in case something strikes a chord and I want to sketch it out. Drawing is the freest form of art; you can just dump out your brain onto the pages without clicking a mouse.

Drawing is the freest form of art; you can just dump out your brain onto the pages without clicking a mouse.

How did you get started as a designer?

I actually had no idea what it was until I saw a class in high school called Computer Art. I dabbled with it and completely fell in love. From then on out, [early versions of] Photoshop and Illustrator consumed my days and I read every tutorial under the sun. I’m still obsessed with it, just as much as I was back then.

We find that creative processes vary depending on the person and the time of day. What time of day are you most creative?

I'm a night owl, so I whip up some coffee or snake a cold cruiser (beer 😊) at around 6 or 7pm and work until the early morning hours. I love how peaceful and quiet it is.

Principles of design are becoming increasingly prevalent in mobile and web technology. Do you hold yourself to a set of principles or let yourself be experimental?

Principles are always in the back of my head, but there is no need, at all, to be so stale with your work. Being free from guides and rules is the best way to be experimental and learn things you didn't think were possible.

Being free from guides and rules is the best way to be experimental and learn things you didn't think were possible.

Your client portfolio shows a lot of artistic styles and bold details. Do you find that working under a set of parameters accelerates your creative drive?

Client work is truly the best. I love translating someone’s vision and dream into reality. They have such a distinct vision in their mind, and I'm there to take that vision and make it bold and memorable! I love hearing what the client says after seeing what I came up with for them. I always say: the details are what makes EVERYTHING. Spend an extra hour on the details and everything will look better.

If your work were a human, what would it say or do?

Hi all!

Our summer 2015 issue, Tribes, is complete and released (read it here if you haven’t already!).

We’re now seeking pitches and submissions for writing (journalistic/creative), photography, and art for our September 2015 issue, Home—an exploration of the concept of “home,” both physical and spiritual.