Written by Vincent Klaiber on August 30th with No Comments

We have had the great honor of interviewing James White, which we are very proud of! We get an insight into the illustrator’s life and what to come from him in the future. Take a look!

If you don´t get enough of the creative James White, we have an article showing some of his best works.

Welcome to Wordrom, please introduce yourself. Give us a little background bio about yourself, tell us where you’re from.

My name is James White and I’m a visual artist and designer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I own and run Signalnoise.com which is my online portfolio, blog and inspirational launch pad where I talk about things I create, things I like and cool stuff other people are doing. I also run a weekly Signalnoise Broadcast which is a live Q and A period I do via webcam, it’s a great connection to me readership and like-minded creative folks. Also within the past couple of months I have launched a line of Signalnoise t-shirts which is a growing collection of funny shirts I create and print.

Your work is pretty unique and full of creativity. Where does your inspiration come from?

I get inspiration from a lot of places, so it’s hard to say where it all comes from. I do a lot of searching online for new works and artists, places like Ffffound.com and Abduzeedo.com are a constant stream of new inspiration. But I’m not limited to just the digital realm when it comes to that, I’m inspired by all kinds of genres outside of what I actually do. For example I love Michelangelos “Dying Slave” statue, but have never felt compelled to pick up a chisel. It’s just a matter of staying positive and having fun with what you do. Everything else falls into place.

Could you tell us about your process? What does your workflow look like?

Every project I work on starts with the sketchbook. I’ll draw out some rough thumbnails as I explore the basic concept I have in my head, sometimes upwards of 30 sketches before I land on something I think might work. After that I’ll move to Illustrator and whip up some vector sketches using basic shapes and colors. These will give me a good idea of what direction to go in before I move into Photoshop. I’ll then make the elements I need (if any) in Illustrator then start building the final design in Photoshop where I’ll explore color, texture and effects. I keep my entire process very organic as I go, leaving room for the happy mistake which might change the overall outcome of the piece.

What do you consider your major influences to be? What are your favorite sources of inspiration? Do you find yourself browsing any online design communitIes or websites?

I browse online communities and sites every day. I might not be looking for ideas or styles, but the ambition and portfolio of others is a huge motivator for me to constantly do new things if not just to play a part in the community as a whole. My main influences (if I needed to pick them) would be all things vintage and retro. I love old network IDs from the late 70s, like the NBC peacock or the PBS logo. So simple and rough, yet beautiful. The thing that gets me about those old logos is that they pre-date computer software so they had to make them by hand. So amazing.

Some good points of reference and inspiration are Abduzeedo.com, ISO50.com, Draplin.com and the Canadian Design Resource.

Do you work in a office? What does your workstation look like? What tools and applications do you mainly use?

I currently work out of my home, but tend to grab the laptop and hang out in coffee shops some days. Sometimes I like working by myself in my underwear, other times it’s nice to be around people who are having conversations around me (like right now). I’m not a big gadget guy, nor do I keep up on all the latest hardware and software. I use a MacBook Pro that I bought a year and a half ago, with an 8×6 Wacom tablet. At home I have an Apple Time Capsule for wireless back-up action as well as a little 120 GB portable drive for . . . well, whatever I need it to do. I mostly use Photoshop and Illustrator CS4.

Are you a 9-5 worker or a night-owl? Do you have a normal or peculiar structure to your workday? How does a typical day looks like for you?

I try to keep a 9-5 schedule in place, but sometimes it slips on either end. Sometimes I’ll wake up later and work later. I’ve found a set schedule to be really helpful in keeping a loose structure around my life, so I don’t lose track of what day it is. I like having things in order, where I feel once 5pm rolls around I can leave and hang out with friends, or play videogames, or read comics. But that being said, within that 9-5 I don’t really have a schedule that I set for myself. I’ll reply to emails, update the blog and work on things at various times throughout the day. Whatever works for meeting my deadlines.

What’s been your most challenging project so far in your career? What was challenging about it? And how did you overcome those challenges?

I was hired by MTV to create some digital motion boards for the launch of their new VH1 Latin America brand. It was super fun to work on, but it was the first time had to design sequential boards for motion designers. Not only did I need the boards to make sense, but I needed to lay out the PSDs to deliver intact so they could pull elements to animate. My complex color and element work tends to get really heavy, so trying to create these files so they made sense was a big challenge. Thankfully, I had some great people at VH1 to coach me along the way. They were very patient dealing with this print designer faking it as a motion guy. :)

Which is your favorite piece of work that you have created so far and why? What was the inspiration and idea behind it?

Probably my Network poster is my favorite. The idea relates to the 1974 film of the same name, and it’s the only sarcastic piece of work I have ever done. It basically depicts television as being wonderful with the rainbows and good lookin’ girls, but ultimately tv is used to manipulate and persuade the audience to buy into Glee, or get the new car because it appeared on Jersey Shore or whatever. My poster takes a jab at that idea.

What kind of developments do you see in the future, regarding the type of work you do?

I’m moving more into t-shirt design, and things that are a bit more functional and tangible. I love designing posters, but that form of art limits itself to a gallery or someone’s living room, which is totally fine. But I want to make things that can go outside of those confines which is why the t-shirt was such a nice medium. It’s mobile, functional, and can be very funny when done right. It leads to conversation and the word of mouth is much higher which means higher exposure.

Thanks again for providing Wordrom with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?

Never stop creating things! Set aside time to realize those crazy ideas you think up, and NEVER say you are too busy to attain your goals.

Where can we find you in the cyberspace?

My website – www.signalnoise.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/Signalnoise
My Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/signalnoiseart/
My Behance – http://www.behance.net/signalnoise

About Vincent Klaiber

A few years ago, Vincent became interested in design and constructing web. He founded and built up Wordrom with the idea to share good ideas and inspiration, he will also do his best to make Wordrom an interesting place. Thanks!

James White Interview