Category: colectivo futurists

cachetejack is a colectivo futurist!

Cachetejack is the wonderful collaborative entity formed by Nuria Bellver & Raquel Fanjul, a spanish duo based out of Valencia and Prague. despite this long distance relationship, all of their illustrations and projects have a very uniform feel, characteristic of a perfect marriage of influences and styles. since starting work together a few years ago, they’ve worked on diverse projects ranging from editorials and freelance illustrations to self-designed books focusing on current social and political affairs, among other themes. their pieces are characterized by very bold colors, child-like caricatures, and lots and lots of hidden humour and irony. there is no doubt that by looking at their portfolio you will be inclined to chuckle and smile at least a few times. their outstanding body of work has been exhibited in various shows across Spain, with a recent highlight being their participation in London’s contemporary graphic art fair “Pick Me Up“, which kicks off this Thursday, March 22nd and runs until April 1st, 2012. we hope you enjoy our interview with the all-mighty cachetejack!

CACHETEJACK (Illustration Collective, Valencia & Prague)

website | flickr | twitter: @cachetejack

* tell us about how Cachetejack came to existence. when and why did you decide to join forces as a collective?

we met about 6 years ago, but it wasn’t really until a year and a half ago when we started working together. We are really grateful about how it all happened; we never really felt so strongly about something before. The idea started brewing on a sofa one night at about 11pm and all of the sudden we ran out on the streets yelling “we are cachetejack!” We had no clue what it meant, we just knew we had to do it.

* how do you handle the dynamics of working as a collective? do you separate tasks when working on a project or do you take a more collaborative approach?

Our work has always taken a collaborative approach, from the first idea up to the final result. We basically work for a “being” called Cachetejack. Ultimately the stamp or signature behind every project belongs to him.

* there seems to be a lot of irony present in your pieces, where does that come from and why do you prefer it as a means of communicating your ideas?

Irony comes from our genes, more so when getting together, just like everything else that’s good or bad, it’s multiplied by two.

* if you could soundtrack your work, what would you choose?

We’d pick “Move Your Feet” as it’s very much like us or rather like the energy generated when we are together.

* what is your favorite thing about living in Valencia / Prague?

We would have to say Skype! It’s really either the most hated or loved thing, but it’s really what keeps us together at the moment.

* what does the future hold in store for Cachetejack? are there any projects in particular you would like to work on?

Our destiny spells success! To be honest, we are happy to have a new project or collaboration each month, and maybe something more. This month we’ll be in London for the Pick Me Up Graphic Fair (22 March – 1 April) where we’ll be showcasing and selling our works. Regarding any project in particular, well we really have to say ANY AND ALL!! We have always said that it’s better to have than to wish for…

No Comments by miguel on March 20, 2012

filed in colectivo futurists

tagged cachete jack, collective, contemporary, graphic, illustration, pick me up london, prague, valencia

the pressure is a colectivo futurist!

now that 2012 is going into full gear, we’re bringing back our colectivo futurist section with overall bad-ass Adam R. Garcia aka The Pressure. a freelance creative director, designer, and illustrator in equal measures, he recently completed a residence at Nike’s Global Brand Design department doing all sorts of engaging projects. now based in Portland, Adam is looking to go at it alone with his design studio, alias the pressure, bringing together his many influences and experiences to provide clients with a unique take on their projects and brands. read our interview with the man behind the pressure after the jump.

ADAM R. GARCIA aka THE PRESSURE (Creative Director/Designer, Portland, USA)

website | blog | twitter: @adamrgarcia

* tell us a bit about yourself, how did you become a graphic designer/creative director? how would you define your influences?

My entire creative life kind of came from growing up playing roleplaying games with friends, and later immersing myself in the Minneapolis hip-hop scene. From roleplaying came an ability to tell stories, drawing, and a sense of playfulness. From rapping, dancing and throwing shows in Minneapolis I learned about engaging in a community, presenting and collecting ideas to make things happen. Design kind of just happened for me by helping my friends in the scene create visual identities for themselves. Later on, I went back to school at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, which focused on concept and process. I learned to experiment there. I worked at a CD manufacturing company for a few years while in school which was really interesting and a fantastic time. I designed hundreds of incredibly different (and many horrible-looking) album packages back then, but I cut my teeth on jewelcases and digipaks. After that, I started The Pressure as a freelance business but always had a day job – until a few months ago. I worked at Rhymesayers Entertainment for a while as an art director, but I really wasn’t ready yet. I decided I needed to learn more so moved to Philly from Minneapolis to work at the Branding / Ad agency 160over90. That place was amazing; I met a lot of great humans that were very influential on me and my process. Also, learning how to see a huge project through from concept to execution was a great experience. I learned to love presenting ideas to clients at 160, which was invaluable. After that, Nike snatched me up and I hightailed it across the states to Portland, Oregon, where I worked in footwear design for Nike Sportswear for a while, and then headed over to Nike Global Brand Design. Nike is phenomenal in many ways: working with some of the best talent in the world, actually having a budget and having a really design-based culture is a blessing. I decided to strike out on my own in November of 2011, and I’m currently in the process of getting my shit together, getting a studio and really making it “official” as a design business. It’s all a process. Life is a process, and my constant enthusiasm and lust for creating comes from that process. Whew!

* how important and how much of a learning experience was it to work at Nike’s Global Brand Design department? Which sort of projects were you involved with there?

I was only in Nike Global Brand Design for about 6 months. My team was focused on working on Nike’s presence in the London 2012 Olympics, Nike Digital Sport, and a lot of random stuff, like internal events. My biggest takeaway, besides meeting incredibly talented people that I had the honor of working with, was learning to set a higher bar for quality. I also got some great art direction experience, managed projects and worked with a global team.

* you’re obviously a multifaceted designer and you’ve worked on a host of very different projects. if you had to pick a favorite one, which would it be and why?

Honestly, I don’t think that I’ve created my favorite project yet. I really had fun doing the TRUST ME! exhibit, but I should have pushed it a lot further. Also, designing shoes was very rewarding. I think that my favorite work is work that resonates with others, work with value, and I’m not sure if that’s for us to judge.

* if you could soundtrack your work, what would you choose?

Oh jeez. That is the most difficult question ever.

* what is your favorite thing about living in Portland?

Portland is awesome! I feel as though this place is like a petri dish for creativity. Like anything is possible. It’s got a strong sense of community, and a huge bookstore that I would live in if I had the chance. Also, the food here is just delicious. You can tell by the pounds I’ve put on since moving.

* what are you currently working on? what can you tell us about your future plans?

I’m currently working on some album packaging that’s inspired by Ballantine Book covers which will be fun. Also, working on the identity for a music festival, some other branding work, book design, editorial illustration and some random lettering projects. Doing more gallery shows and looking to curate some gallery shows this summer. I’ve got a site called Illustrated Etymology (http://illustratedetymology.com) that I put together, bringing together my love words, collaboration and history. Doing some design talks and lectures that I’m looking forward to, also. Should be a fun year! Thanks so much for the interview!

No Comments by miguel on February 8, 2012

filed in colectivo futurists

tagged adam r. garcia, colectivo futurist, graphic design, illustration, nike, portland, the pressure

hell’o monsters are colectivo futurists!

we turn our attention of the colectivo futurist series to our first illustration collective feature. based in Brussels, the Hell’O Monsters are a three-piece group formed by graphic artists Jérôme Meynen, François Dieltiens and Antoine Detaille. the three have been working together for the past ten years and have amassed a stunning collection of drawings featuring curious creatures and monsters that are inspired by the astute words of argentine writer Borges in The Book Of Imaginary Beings and “the creative wonder of childhood”. for the most part their creations can feel a bit naive from a distance, but taking a closer look there’s a lot of symbolism and serious subjects to be found in their ultimately sophisticated drawings. check out some of our favorite pieces and read a short interview about their past, present, and future below.

HELL’O MONSTERS (illustration collective, Brussels)

website | facebook

* how did the three of you come together to form Hell’o Monsters?

Ten years ago we all met for the first time in front of a wall for a painting, we became friends by affinity of ideas and a strange sense of humor. We then started to work more together with really good osmosis. Three years later we decided to create a more coherent structure for our work and hell’o monsters was born. Initially our style was very similar and it became more inseparable to the point where people couldn’t recognize who was doing what. In this way we created a type of unique form for our idea, three people united as one.

* what is your work process like? do you come up with a concept and then start drawing together? or do you separate tasks to achieve the final piece?

We don’t always follow the same process, but usually one of us comes up with a general concept for a drawing or a whole series. Afterwards, everyone brings their own personal ideas and tries to confront and create dialogs with the others. Usually our drawings are composed by a lot of little things (and creatures) which together create one big theme. We don’t necessarily tend to separate tasks, instead each one of us does whatever is necessary in order to complete a piece.

* so far you have put your assortment of monsters on posters, books, shirts, and walls. which of these mediums is your favorite? which new surface would you like to explore in the future?

For sure drawing on paper in black and white with Indian ink is our favorite medium, it’s like the base for all the other things we do. At the moment, we are a little bit scared about colors because we have used them too much in the past, now we try to use it more carefully with a lot of attention to detail; but we love to explore a lot of different techniques and mediums, such as collages, painting on wood, etc. We are really interested in doing more three-dimensional things like sculptures and installations without necessarily ignoring the drawing side. Instead we are trying to find the best way to associate the two naturally.

* if you could soundtrack your work, what would you choose?

* what is your favorite thing about living in Brussels?

Brussels is a quiet city to live in, but with lots of cultural things to do. It is very stimulating to do our work here. We also enjoy our friends of course.

* which projects are you currently working on? what do you expect to be working on in the future?

Currently we are busy preparing two exhibitions, which will be opening soon. The first one opened this past weekend at the MOHS exhibit in Copenhagen. This is naturally consuming a lot of our time because we’ve been preparing a lot of new artworks: paintings to be exact. In the short future we want to realize a series of different sculptures; while looking further ahead, we expect to continue to work together in the same way or even better because so far our method has worked well.