Interview: Aurelie Perthuis

Meet Aurelie Perthuis (aka Lily) one of our favourite contributors at Sparkapolooza! She was born in Paris and currently resides in Sydney. She works part time as a designer for one of the largest publishing companies in Australia as well as pursuing her life as an artist. Lily's works have been featured in Semi-Permanent 2010, magazines and TOP design TV show. 

What did you want to be when you were younger? 
I grew up in the big city of Paris as an only child. I was a pretty quiet child, and painting as well as dancing was a way to escape my isolation. My parents had a little farm 50 kms from Paris, and it was the first time I was in contact with the animals. Here, I would spend long summer days playing and painting portraits of my new friends; they all had names, powers, a job... Those times were the happiest moments of my childhood. Since then I’ve always been interested in human-animal interaction in our modern society through the making of art. But my primary inspirations came from home, my grand-father ignited my interest in art. So you could say I’ve always wanted to be an “artist” but in all forms and shapes (paint, design, dance) There was a time when I was thinking of becoming a vet!

What do you love about being in a creative field? 
The journey. There is no routine and you meet a lot of interesting people. You explore new terrains, take risks, fail, recover, learn, then go on again, see something amazing... You take on new challenges, do your best, succeed... It’s the buzz you create and generate. It’s the idea that you CAN change something or pass a message, tell a story and reach many many people around the world. I would not see myself doing something else, really!

What do you think is the glamorous side of being a designer? And the non- glamorous? 
Well the non-glamorous part is we are often seen as ‘designer’ only, and so we sometimes have no say in the business decisions at a very early stage of a project. Another thing is we are perceived as people who mainly produce psds everyday, well a good designer will probably spend 45% in Photoshop but at least 55% thinking, researching, storyboarding, sketching but it has to be tangible and smart thinking. At one point, you have to deliver and hit deadlines. A designer should have the ability to tackle complex problems and provide a better solution, but the creative solution would have to be quite flexible so it can evolve over time. And that is the glamorous part of this job; THE PROBLEM. I love to take on challenges and especially with a team who are experts and enthusiasts. I also love the idea that design can often change things for the better and so does ART.

When did you decide to take your art more seriously?
When I was a kid, I had a choice to go to Beaux Arts or AUGUSTE RENOIR, a visual communication and art school. When I was about 15 I was told by my school counselor that it will be hard to live or sustain as an artist. I got scared and chose to go to RENOIR. It was not a bad idea after all because I had art classes, as well as photography, design, film, Art History, typography, design strategy, marketing, philosophy, science classes...  but I’m sad to think that we could potentially lose great artists because of this mentality. Fear can potentially lead us in the wrong direction but there is no need of fear, you just have to trust yourself. It’s not always easy, I’m still working on it. It may take months, years to take over the ridge, but nothing should stopping you. And so this year I decided to take that chance! I left news.com.au in July 2012, I got a part-time designer job at News Limited that allows me to maximize my focus on my art. Before I was a full time lead designer and I was doing commissions on the side but I had no time to really work on my own art projects. 





One of the biggest hurdles for creativity is time- how do you juggle your day job and your art?
Well time was definitely my biggest hurdle and I moved jobs recently so I can fully focus on my ART. This life can be sometimes a life of solitude, you can easily spend 4 days working and not seeing anyone! It’s a life that requires discipline, but I like the freedom of not having to answer to anyone and do what I want and when I want it. It’s a privilege. There's flexibility and opportunities in my part-time designer job that I can use to my advantage, like meeting new people, learning new things...

Was there a moment when you were able to call yourself an artist?
That is a great question! I don’t consider myself as an artist just yet, but this is the life i chose to live. Right now, I’m a painter, a drawer, a designer. I create. I want to create work that awakens, enlightens, and resonates with people. Being an artist is a complete way of life in itself. Maybe when I'm 60 years old I will look back on my life only at that moment I’ll be able to say ‘Ha yep, I’m an artist”.

Do you see your day to day work linked to your art, or do you try to keep them as separate streams? 
The subject of what are the differences between art and design has been debated for a long time. I think it’s a personal choice, it’s up to you how you approach things. Like the visual storytelling / data viz that I did for news.com.au really influenced my art, such as the “Endcount project”. Endcount is a flash-generated digital piece that creates artworks using current population of a few endangered species. We’re using data, action script and my vector illustrations in order to create those art works.

Are you ever stumped creatively? What do you do? 
Yes and it can be very frustrating but I think Sparkapolooza has the right recipe for it: start with a brief and a have a tight deadline. And so I started a project like 5 days ago, called #onedrawingaday. I committed myself to draw every day. It can be anything and I invite everyone to join me on Instagram @Lilyartist. Drawing everyday allows you to capture and play around with new ideas using different tools, then refer back to them whenever you need. It forces you to go beyond your comfort zone.

How do you approach a creative brief? Do you have any tips for people in approaching Sparkapolooza briefs?
Think outside the box and don’t be afraid to explore ideas and tools, and don’t take things too seriously. If it’s not the best work you’ve done, that’s not a BIG deal but don’t be afraid to show your work.

What do you think is underrated in life?
- Dipping bread in your coffee
- Hugs
- All living species (reptiles, fishes, birds, mammals, plants..)
- Hot showers
- Water
- Veggies
- Health & wellbeing
- Visit loved ones
- Laugh often

Have you ever had read or heard words of advice that stuck with you? What were they?
- If you want to change the world for the better, the best way to do it is to use whatever talents you have at your disposal.
- Get your work out of the studio as much as possible so people can see it and interact with it.
- Write and draw everyday.
- Look UP and AROUND you.
- Creating great art is about challenging yourself. If you do everything the same today as you do 10 years from now then you are not pushing yourself enough.
 - Give yourself permission to fail. “If you haven’t failed, you’re not trying hard enough.”

What are some of your favourite websites for inspiration? 
I can say that my artworks are a reflection of the daily observation: things I see, the people I met, my travellings. So best advice is LOOK AROUND YOU. Other than that I like the FWA, Fastcode design, AEON mag, the coolhunter, artistprofile, The Guardian (Art and Design), Scoop.it, artserved.com, ideo.com, cowbird.com, WIRED, Sparkapolooza ;)

Keep in touch with Lily: www.lilyartist.com her shop: http://society6.com/LilyPerthuis twitter: @lilyartist email: info@lilyartist.com (PS: she knows she used the word ‘artist’!)

Interview: Kate Toon

Kate is a writer, poet and copywriter who is an inspiration to us all. As well as juggling a child, dog and husband, she squeezes in writing plays which have now been performed across the world including Australia, the US, Europe, and the UK (some have even been turned into films). If all that wasn't enough she's won a few awards along the way and written the poetry book "Gone Dotty". 

We chat to her about her about writer's block, Andy Warhol and her latest project.

What was the inspiration behind the book?
I have Sparkapolooza to thank for sparking my interest in poetry. I’ve been writing for a while but had never tried poetry, then I saw one of the very early creative briefs and thought, why the heck not. The book is a collection of poems I’ve written since then.

What finally made you go, "sod it, I'm gonna do this"?
I don’t know really, I’m quite random. I fancied having a project on Pozible and thought of this. I set it all up in about ten minutes, then realised, ‘Bugger I’m really going to have to do this now.’ I gave myself a kick up the bum.

How did you know how to create a book, or even know where to start?
I had no idea. I did a lot of Googling and also spoke to my friend, Jennifer Lam, who self-published a Foodie travel book a few years back, but really it was a case of trial and error. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.

What surprised you the most about creating "Gone Dotty"?
How supportive everyone was: I raised nearly $3k towards the cost of publishing via Pozible (where people support creative projects in return for rewards) and some of the biggest donations were from complete strangers. Also, the amount of proof reading that was required. So many people read and corrected the book before it went to the typesetter but there were still heaps of last minute edits. I think my publishers, Vivid, were totally sick of me by the end of it!

What's your favourite poem and why?
I’m fond of Andy Warhole – as it’s my first ever poem, Gone Dotty, the title poem as it’s written about my grandma and Happy Little Bogan as it causes such a strong reaction from readers. Some love it and some hate it so much they’ve sent me hate mail.

Do you ever get writers block, and if so what do you do?
I write advertising copy for a living so I’ve learned the discipline of writing even when I’m totally uninspired. You simply have to crack on. Make yourself a cup of tea, grab a few biscuits, sit down and write. Just get something down even if it’s total crap, you can always edit it later. Oh, and of course booze sometimes helps.

What are your tips for taking on a Sparkapolooza brief?
Without wanting to repeat myself, I think it’s just having a go. Don’t wait for an amazing idea to strike, start with the first thing that comes into your head and pursue it. Don’t be too self-critical and have some confidence in your own creative ability. You’ll be amazed at the positive reaction you’ll get from friends and strangers. Most people will just beso impressed that you’ve done something!

What are three of your favourite creative sites?
I find Facebook an endless source of creative ideas. Other people’s lives are so interesting, even when they’re boring. I like Warholian and also The Cool Hunter, a browse round Etsy always cheers me up and of course Pinterest is poetry for the eyes.

For more info on the world of Kate Toon or Gone Dotty, check out her site here.

Interview: David Lewis

He's currently working as a front end architect in an online publishing company (or at least for another week, before he departs to his next adventure). But outside work, he's the brain child of a recently launched ipad and iphone game called Doodle Duel, where he did all the creative work - ideas, design, illustrations - as well as coding it. Meet David Lewis, one developer with a great creative mind. 

1. How did you start creating ipad / iphone apps, how long did it take you from ideas to realisation?

For me, creating apps was a natural progression from making websites. They can both use very similar skills, but how those skills are applied is a little different. Understanding this difference was the reason for me to start creating apps.

For Doodle Duel I had the idea on a train when coming back from a concert, 3 weeks later it was in the App Store. This sounds impressive, but I was able to build it so quickly because of what I learned in 2011 from my unfinished game, Barnyard Balance.

Illustrations from Barnyard Balance

2. Did you find your full time job helpful for your personal work?
My fulltime job is very helpful for my personal work, the only difference between the 2 is that in my personal work I also do a lot of work on the creation of the idea and its design. My full time work gives me the technical skills required to implement my ideas.

3. How do you find balance between your job, personal work and your life?
The only way I can find balance is to throw myself at my personal work for a set amount of time, then leave it whilst I do things that are a little more social. When I work on a personal project I’m very single minded.

4. If you could do anything else, what would it be?
I don’t think there is anything else I would like to do. When I was at school and the career counselor asked me what I wanted to do, i said that I wanted to work with computers but I didn’t know what it would be. The counselor told me that there weren’t any jobs that just let you play around with making things on computers and I should probably think about banking. Fortunately for me, the internet came along and things really opened up.

Doodle Duel iPhone and iPad app

5. Are you ever stumped creatively? What do you do?
I’ve found that if I’m ever stumped creatively I can do a few things to help me get through. I can throw myself into the technical side of my job and work with creative people, they always inspire something in me for later. or I can go for a really long walk and take in everything around me.

6. How do you keep yourself motivated?
My motivation goes up and down, I’ve learned that if my motivation is dropping it’s because I feel alone, so the simple answer is to find people who are passionate about similar things to me, and to talk to them. It can be as simple as taking someone you have a lot of respect for out to lunch, and letting them tell you about the things that they love.

Oh, and David is also a photogenic lad who once modelled for this news article.

7. Any tips or words of advice for people approaching creative briefs for Sparkapolooza?

Get a strong idea to start from, but don’t expect that you’ll find that idea from a google search. Leave your phone at home and go for a walk around your suburb, something will come to you that you never expect.

8. Favourite websites for inspirations?

I don’t have any specific websites that I go for for inspiration. But I tend to spend a lot of time on websites that cover 1970s and 80s video games.

9. What’s next from here?

My transition in the last few months has been from working on desktop websites to doing things on phones and tablets. I think that will continue and I’ll branch out into more devices, like TV and e-readers. I’ll do one more update to Doodle Duel, and move onto my next game which will reflect this transition.

Interview: Nicolas Cogels

Nicolas Cogels is a Belgium born creative who now calls Sydney home. Art Director by day, but musician at heart, Nic’s band Cogel has been featured on Triple J and toured Australia. They recently launched the beautiful single “Aquarium” with an equally at beautiful video clip. Nic also tells me there’s a photo of his butt “somewhere on the internet”. Google away girls.



1. What do you love about being in a creative field?
Being happy to go to work. I can wear the clothes I’m actually happy to wear. Challenging my imagination. Working with directors, photographers and designers. It helps me developing my sense of audio/visual which is useful for what I do on the side with my band or photography.

2. What do you think are some of the common myths about working in advertising?
Everyone is on coke. We all play foosball –
Also, I think people see an ad on TV and think “I could have come up with a better idea” – the fact is : the client pretty much 85% of the time research our scripts/ideas and there is a lot of great stuff that we need to strip back to get to a status quo and please everybody. It’s like trying to build a mountain (have a point of difference in the ad) but keeping it flat to please everyone.
And yeah sometimes the idea is crap as well.

3. What are your biggest creative challenges in your day to day work?
Selling an idea. Selling an idea. Selling an idea.

4. Are you ever stumped creatively? What do you do?
Yes. Then I walk and do something else, then come back to it.



5. How do you approach a creative brief?/ Do you have any tips for people in approaching Sparkapolooza briefs?
Always try to beat your first ideas. It’s never perfect; there is always a better idea. Looking everywhere, I mean, opening a magazine, talking to people, watching a film, just keeping an open mind and try to absorb things from all corners.
It’s also good to store ideas even when you’re not working on a brief. It’s a 24/7 job!

6. What’s your favorite medium?
Music.


7. Do you do any of your own work outside of your job? What is it and how do you find a balance?
If I can call this work, then yes : I work on my music/band. Balance sometimes hard but try to fit in the gaps whenever I’m not too busy with work + week-ends

8. If you could be doing anything else what would it be?
Music.

9. What are some of your favourite websites for inspiration?
http://www.notcot.org
YouTube is awesome, so random and rich – Random is good !
And trying to avoid Ads of the Worlds !