Artfully Dodging
By Kara Pecknold
4 August 2007
1. What kind of designer are you? Graphic mostly. But I'm about to start my MA in Applied Arts (Design) so I'm sure it will expand as I collaborate with designers in other disciplines.
2. What did you want to do for a living when you were a kid? I had aspirations of being a rock star like many I know (Yes, I too used to create my own songs standing in front of our fireplace while holding a brush in lieu of a microphone). I ran a lemonade stand for a stint. I also started my own weekend play school for my sister's friends. Photocopied worksheets and nature walks actually caused one mother to ask what I charged for my services. From there, I moved on to my own cleaning business with a friend. We handcrafted our business cards with the title, "The Kara-Lara Homehelpers". Highlight service we offered? Hamster cage cleaning. I figure I always had notions of something "creative" but focused on a BA in English Literature with hopes of being a teacher. As an adult, I returned to design school to meet my entrepreneurial inclinations and provide a means to unleash the visual aspects of my communication cravings.
3. What is it about your design work that makes your photography better? And vice versa? Where do you see parallels between the two?
I think design has allowed me to strengthen "how I see" when I shoot something. The use of the linear, the power of negative space and the opportunity to meld my design style with what I shoot into something "other" lets me dance on both sides of this creative floor. I can't imagine being a designer without being exposed to or involved with photography. Even when I had no camera I wanted to use the imagery from old pictures to create something unique to somehow express what I was feeling. I called it my "Artful Dodger" work. I realized after the fact that this name was already taken (in various capacities) but I've kept titling this creative banter as such because it seems to encapsulate my reality as I involve myself in both design and photography. Some would say you must choose one or the other but I find it hard to let go of the power that each holds. So I brashly step forward, much like the original Dodger in the Dicken's story of Oliver Twist who avoided the consequences of his or actions, by choosing to "steal" the values found in each. For now, at least.
4. What do you find most challenging about your work? Determining fees for service in my freelance work and having the guts to go beyond my own expectations (never mind the clients!)
5. Do you have design heroes? Neville Brody and Mies van der Rohe (plus others from the Bauhaus era). I have been so fascinated by the way they attempted to create a community under dire circumstances. Photography heroes? Zack Arias and Jeremy Cowart are a few that come to mind. Their photography is amazing and their humanity comes through in their work and style.
6. Name some unexpected sources of inspiration you've had. Flickr has provided me a source of individual styles that have opened my eyes to other ways of seeing. The plethora of photographers who shoot using a Holga, Polaroid or film camera make me wish for simpler times and add to my inspiration in a digital world. I'm also motivated by cinema more than I realized. I used to just watch films for the story; now I watch the graphics and the style of shooting. It's taken me deeper, I suppose?
7. Do you have any regular habits/exercises that make you a better designer? I read the significant magazines, books and websites. But often I find myself trying to get better by figuring out my own "voice" in the process rather than replicating someone else's style. Regardless, I'm influenced and impacted by those who have pushed the envelope in their own design. Photographer? I work part-time with a photographer who is more talented than I, so I get to learn much from him through osmosis. But most days, it is really about throwing myself into the unknowns to see what I can learn and develop in spite of my technical skill or access to equipment. The notion of figuring out what I can do with less continues to be both a challenge and inspiration in my work and play. Sometimes I find that it is just as worthwhile to go for a walk without my camera in tow. I'm more focused on seeing and this enhances my desire to figure out how I could technically create what I see.
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