From: YPFDJ Media (media@youngpfdj.com)
Date: Wed Sep 23 2009 - 08:44:23 EDT
http://youngpfdj.org/index.php/articles/interviews/102-i-was-surrounded-by-e
xceptional-young-and-gifted-eritrean-creative-professionals
Interview with Sam Yosief, Young Eritrean Graphic Designer, "I was
surrounded by exceptional young and gifted Eritrean creative
professionals.."
YPFDJ Media is conducting a series of interviews with Eritreans youth who
are working to better their community, country and themselves through
education and chosen career. Here is an interview with Sam Yosief, a
professional graphic designer, who visited Eritrea to work at the Eritrean
Ministry of Information, using his profession voluntarily.
YPFDJ Media - Please tell us about your childhood and educational
background?
Sam - I was born in Ethiopia from Eritrean parentage and lived in Addis
Ababa till the age of 12 years old, then I left Addis in the early 80s to
come to England . From an early age I loved drawing and making things, I was
a very inquisitive young boy who also loved football and music. My education
background includes completing secondary education and my passion for the
arts never left me, subjects like craft design technology and art class
where my favorite not to forget I also took music as a GCSE subject.
After completing my secondary education I decided that a foundation course
in art and design would be the best root for me, I received a diploma in art
and design with distinction. While at college I had real passion for graphic
design and decided that I would enroll for a degree course, I got accepted
at the University of Westminster and graduated with a BA Honors.
YPFDJ Media - What was it that got / influenced you into graphic design?
Sam - I could not imagine my self not doing any thing else except drawing or
painting or making things that inspired me. I was always good with my hands
and it was a natural progression just wanting to know more about the arts as
a subject.
YPFDJ Media - You recently visited Eritrea to contribute in your profession,
how was it? What did it involve?
Sam - My visit to Eritrea was filled with great excitement and knowing it
was not going to be like any other visit, I was not going there to be a
tourist or go sight seeing unlike other times, this visit was purely on a
professional level as a graphic designer. I could not have wished to be in
any other place; I was surrounded by exceptional young and gifted Eritrean
creative professionals and found it enlightening, morally uplifting and full
of energy. This experience has no doubt shaped my view of what great
potential there is for our country on all levels.
In order to deliver the post as a graphic design teacher I had to understand
and assess the needs of those students who where assigned to take the class.
It involved a four day case study and research to evaluate how best to go
about delivering and putting a course structure in order to further develop
their understanding of what it meant to be a graphic designer and what it
involved to play that roll.
I could not put a price nor replicate this first time experience, what I
have gained in this first visit as a professional will no doubt be a blue
print for many more wonderful visits to come in the future. What I gained
was not only on a professional level but on an intellectual, human and
emotional level; it really does open you up to the possibility of what this
great country has to offer. Not only do I want to recommend this to others
but help to make it a possibility that others can make this visit and be
more enlightened and take that experience to grow as an individual.
YPFDJ Media - How would you describe your work, your style, your approach
to design ?
Sam - If I was to describe my work it would be partly on an experimental
level, always trying to push the boundaries to see if I can approach a
design brief from a different angle, one that awes me to do what I want but
still making the client happy. There is no such thing as style but there is
a final line as far as what works and what does not work as a piece of
design, it's a fine balance between aesthetically pleasing but at the same
time it delivers the message with clarity.
YPFDJ Media - What is your favorite part of the design process and why?
Sam - One important concept you have to grasp is to understand the brief;
once you understand what you are supposed to deliver you start to sketch out
initial ideas and take the best 3 or 4 and present it to the client, once a
piece of design is chosen you further develop the idea to a finished level
and if all goes well you take it to the printing stage.
YPFDJ Media - What tools or programs do you use for your designs?
Sam - The tools that you use for graphic design are a sketch pad and a pen
or pencil as far as programs all you need is Adobe Creative CS3 or CS4.
YPFDJ Media - Where, or from what, do you get inspiration for your work?
Sam - There is no specific area where you can get inspiration from, but
there are some that I tap into, which include my education, the ability to
tap in to my imagination, friends inspire me, humor, music, art , life,
traveling, books, magazines, cinema, dance, nature, and culture.
YPFDJ Media - Could you tell us a bit about creating designs and tips on
idea generation?
Sam - The most important part of any design process is to understand your
client and having a good rapport, learning what are his or her needs, can my
design improve his or her image as a business, will it make him or her stand
out from the rest. Once that has been established the rest comes down to
generating ideas and hopefully one design will be picked to develop further.
YPFDJ Media - Who are your Mentors or people you look up to?
Sam - As a student my mentors where my teachers and one or two graphic
design gurus and their work inspired me to the point of imitating their
design work. One special person was a man called Navel Broody a British
designer that was making big waves in the design world, he studied at London
Collage of Printing LCP, and others include an American David Carson who was
one of the most influential graphic designers that the United States had to
offer.
YPFDJ Media - Thank-you for participating in this interview! Any final
remarks?
Sam - My final remarks would be if there are any young Eritrean looking to
get into this subject, its important that you enjoy drawing, painting, the
arts is a broad subject, and it would be difficult to know what you're good
at until you enroll on a foundation course in art and design. It takes about
6 years to become a qualified graphic designer. If you happen to be
qualified in any subject, make it your priority to share your know how with
your fellow Eritrean back home, its more rewarding than you could ever
imagine.