UBD BlogBack to inbox

UBD Network talks to Terry Sommerville

Previous Next

After seeing Terry’s work in the Somerset College Graduate book, we loved his designs and decided to delve deeper in to his life as a designer and what makes him tick….

Q1 How would you best describe your style of design and how do you achieve this?

My styles of design are quite varied.  Some of them are modern and clean; others are more unconventional and specific. My design is very much influenced by what im feeling, trying to learn or what the brief demands. I Love to play and experiment with photos, colours and techniques. I manipulate imagery to produce surreal photomontages and interesting pieces of art. I use all different sorts of methods to achieve my designs, be it stock imagery, screen-printing, vector or type then edited on the Mac. I use Photoshop extensively to produce my designs, taking care of lighting and small details. Even though many of my artworks are very surreal and unusual I still want them to look like they actually exist and are happening at that moment in time.

Q2 What inspires you as a designer?

As a designer im inspired by many things. A few of the main ones are current trends and blogs. If I see something I like, I will try to incorporate it in to my design but in a new and different way. I love looking at old American design from the 40’s and 50’s. The pastel colour shades are something im really liking at the moment. I draw inspiration from a couple of artists, in particular Emeric Trahand, Non-Format, Vince Frost and Rankin. They all have that timeless style you just would look at for hours.

Q3 When creating graphics, what do you feel is the most important aspect: Planning, design or implementation ... And why?

It really depends what the project is and what you are trying to achieve. Sometimes its good to just design for the moment and being under pressure can also produce good results. It makes you concentrate harder. But on the other hand sometimes it’s imperative that you do plan and research before you design. I think no matter what though, the implementation of your artwork must be key. You could have an amazing idea, but if it’s not art directed properly, composed and produced to a high standard it will look hap hazardous and shoddy.

Q4 Have you been interested in design from an early age, and did you always plan to go to university?

When I left school I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. My friend was going to college to do a graphics course so I thought I would follow, as I loved art. To be honest I didn’t properly know what graphics was at the time. As I studied it I became more engrossed in the graphics world and immediately became very passionate. After college, university seemed a natural progression for me. Now Im a full on graphics nerd, spotting retouch mistakes and badly kerned type everywhere. It fascinates me that a good piece of design can sell a product, making profit and helping an economy to grow. You ask someone why they bought that perticular item and 9 times out of 10 they will probably say because it looks good.

Q5 Now that you have graduated what are your plans for the future?

My plans for the future are to continue going on placements and gaining valuable experiences. I have one in Dubai later this year, which will be an amazing opportunity. With these experiences I hope to improve my skills and to be able to produce higher standards of work so one day I can properly break into the industry, work my way up and become an art director. One of my life’s ambitions is to work in New York for a big agency. Also I been doing freelance work for companies and hope to carry on with this. I just really want to get out there and produce good graphics.

You can see Terry’s full portfolio here

by Sasha
Tuesday 17th August 2010