Visit Karen McDade’s Website Here

Find her DeviantART Profile Here

Follow Karen McDade On Twitter

You may be interested in the following Interviews and related articles as well:

Interview With Creator of Nymphont!

Interview With Creator of FudgeGraphics!

Recently i got the chance to exchange a few messages with Karen Mcdade and I hope you enjoy her responses, please don’t forget to comment at the bottom of this article.

1. What did you study at university/college and was there a specific reason you chose to study these areas?
I studied Communications Science and English as majors, as well as Philosophy and Psychology as minors at the University of South Africa. I was also fortunate enough to get a scholarship to study Communication Science and Philosophy at Charles University in Prague. My initial interest was in the advertising aspect of Communication Science and that slowly migrated to more of the design aspect of advertising. I now work exclusively in the graphic arts field. I had been learning to use Photoshop even before I started studying and for the most part, I’m an entirely self-taught graphic designer.

2. You have a great educational background and nine years of design experience behind you, has there been a situation in your learning (and working) which has made you step back and think this is something which I am going to remember for the rest of my life?
I remember being so excited the first time I saw one of my designs published in an established graphic arts magazine. That would be a moment I remember fondly.

3. Is there a particular piece of work or group of design works, which really made you, think id love to do what that person can do?
I occasionally see amazing art where I think to myself, “wow, I wish I had thought of that”. I try not to get too focused on any particular artist or style of art as I want to try focus on developing my own style. I think it’s important for artists to try hone their own artistic form so they can distinguish themselves from the masses of other designers out there.

4. You cite Deviantart as your favorite online community to showcase your work, what makes Deviantart stand out the most for you?
I like the ease of communicating with other artists in DeviantART and it’s a great platform for getting honest feedback about your work. The community is very engaging, much more so than some other portfolio sites out there.

5. What has been the worst experience in the design industry for you?
Not getting paid! lol, I’m a freelancer – it happens. I’ve also had my art ripped off and sold without my consent. Luckily neither of these two happens too often. I’ve also had my share of difficult clients and times where I’ve had creative blocks but that comes with the territory, so I can’t complain.

6. You have also had the privilege to work with big name companies such as National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. How did these great jobs come about? Did you have one, which you think has been the most beneficial for you?
I get a lot of work through my website and one day I got an email from my site asking if I was interested in doing this kind of work. Having well-known brands can go along way to establishing your credibility as a designer, and especially as a freelancer. It’s good work if you can get it

7. What software/hardware do you use the most as a designer and do you have a particular favorite, which can find you spend hours on end working with?
I use the standard Adobe packages, most notably Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. My hardware set up consists of an iMac connected to a MacBook Pro and a Cintiq. I can spend hours doodling around in Photoshop on the Cintiq – it’s such a natural and intuitive tool for creating designs.

8. Do you think you can ever truly switch off as a designer, or do you find yourself thinking of the next idea all the time?
Hmmm…. well I think it’s good if you can switch off as a designer and give your brain a break. Whether that actually happens or not is another story. I can be arbitrarily standing in a queue in a shopping centre, staring at magazine covers – not necessarily reading the text, but trying to suss out how well the retoucher managed to retain the textures on the models skin. I also carry a small cybershot camera around with me in case I spot a great texture somewhere, or see a clever design I want to remember. That said, I think it’s good if you have other interests and hobbies. Diversifying yourself can only make you a more original artist.

9. Which people in the social media community (such as twitter) do you find the most useful and great points of reference when in need of inspiration or to source an opinion from?
I have lots of great contacts on Twitter who are full of useful information. A few of my favorites are @robertoblake @Designely @DavidCousens @JThompsondesign @designblend @FeryKloucek @TipSquirrel @Minervity @An1ken and @designthatrocks… I can go on, but we’ll be here all day.

10. If you had no clients to please and no work in your to-do pile, what would you do with all that free time?
I would work anyway. I like working. I would do free designs for charities and small start-ups that need corporate ID’s but couldn’t really afford it. I would also create cool-looking graphics for my fiancé – he’s a programmer and creates awesome games in his spare time. His latest project is an open source online MMO-style pseudo-hacking game ([link]). That one is going to be fun to design.

It’s been brilliant to get a response from such a great artist as Karen McDade, I have been a fan of her work for a while now. No doubt I will continue to be so in the future and would like to thank her immensely for her time and input. Especially under such a large workload and other problems!

Thanks Karen, hope everyone has enjoyed this interview.

Don’t Forget To Leave Your comments below!

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Check out his Design Portfolio here!

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS Feed for the best in design blog posts every week of the year!

Check my DeviantART profile out here

Follow me on Twitter

Photography:

‘Miss Mutation’ Ophelias Overdose

‘Chess Wonder’ by Hoschie

‘Minnie said Cheese’ by Crazy Kcee

‘I Want Magic’ by The 1st Grape

Typography:

‘Sixteen’ by BeriMae

‘Life Passes Most People by’ by Dreamt too late

‘As you can see’ by BeriMae

‘Bulletproof Heart’ by Scorpion Kiss

‘Sick’ by Hulis

’1st Rule of Fight Club’ by JanSzpakowski

‘Creativity: Typography’ by MadDesign

‘It might be you’ by BeriMae

Digital Art:

‘Apocolyptica’ by Karen Mcdade

‘Dubai Butterfly’ by Light from emirates

‘LMS Alice’ by adonihs

‘Mark it Zero’ by Skyringbreath

‘Commission: Yuritsuki’ by Scrotumnose

‘Mark unknown’ by Maca28

‘Mind Works’ By Rose on Grey

Traditional Art:

‘Kitsune’ by Treeworshipper

by Setik 01

Wallpaper:

‘December 09 wallpaper’ Fudgegraphics

‘Greeen’ by DeviantVicky

‘Cubed’ by DeviantVicky

‘Nalden Wallpaper no2′ by Endemo

‘Old Crows’ by MailboxArsonal

Fonts:

‘Happy Phantom Font family’ by Nymphont

‘Circled Font‘ by Lovelielife

‘Thatbad typeface’ by farissen

‘Facepunch’ by Shonenpunk

Don’t Forget To Leave Your comments below!

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles. Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Check out his Design Portfolio here!

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS Feed for the best in design blog posts every week of the year!

His Behance network profile is here,

His Personal Website can be found here.

His typography inspired designs and amazing illustrations are what make design as appealing and inspirational each and every day. Take 5 minutes to look at his work and be inspired for the rest of your day.

Leave Your comments below!

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

Check out his Design Portfolio here!

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS Feed for the best in design blog posts every week of the year!

Halloween is just a day away and i’m sure many of us have parties to go to and fancy dress costumes to make and prepare all for a few hours of drinks, fun and games.

Looking to be inspired to make your Halloween Costume this weekend? Then look no further in checking out 12 of the best found on Toxel.com

Found over on Design Week, design group pinched post have created there own pumpkin font which has been based upon the matrix system. The typeface has been made by puncturing into the pumpkins.

My top 10 Ghostly Wallpapers to darken your Desktop

Whether you want a terrifying pumpkin, something abstract or a bloody hand they are all here.

‘Halloween’

‘Trick or Treat’

‘Think Halloween’

‘Poze Horor Desktop’

‘Happy Halloween’

‘GrimReaper Halloween’

‘Halloween’

‘Abstract Halloween’

‘Oh no s’

‘Halloween’

Two Brilliant Free WordPress Halloween Themes

Give your WordPress blog/website a few cobwebs this Halloween.

Halloween

Halloween in Blue

You’ll love these pieces of Halloween Digital Art:

Be sure to visit DeviantART for more great digital art, customisation, photography and much more, my DeviantART profile can be found here + dj23′s here.

Queen of Halloween

Happy Halloween

Halloween Witch Fairy

Halloween Natalia

Halloween

The best in Halloween Party Flyers:

Get your party promotion all spooky and scary with inspiration from these great flyer designs.

‘Bam Magazine flyer’

‘Eskepe Halloween flyer’

‘Illbotz Halloween Show Flyer’

‘Halloween Party Flyer’

‘Adv Flyer for Lucifer’

Leave Your comments below!

Article written by Jared Thompson

Head writer of Design Something Blog, currently studying Product design at the University of Central Lancashire in his final year. He has interest in minimal, clean and simplistic design styles.

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter! Check out his Design Portfolio here!

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS Feed for the best in design blog posts every week of the year!

Some great Halloween themed links from great design blogs:

• 55+ Amazing Halloween wallpapers to charm up your desktop: Via Instant Shift
• 200+ Truly Useful Free Halloween icons
• 35+ Free High quality photoshop brush sets for halloween
• 25 Last Minute Traditional and Downloadable Halloween Masks

• DeviantART
• Flickr

Visit the Flickr group page here

1. I was amazed to learn that the design blog is only 17 months old, what was the first mission statement to yourself when beginning your blog? Did you have a definite goal you wanted to achieve when setting the blog up?

I did not have a mission plan or goal when I started the blog. It was a personal experiment to see whether I could do it. I wanted a challenge and an outlet for my creativity. Creating the blog was a very impulsive decision, which I have never regretted.

2. What did you study at university/college and was there a specific reason you chose to study these areas?

I’ve just graduated with a Masters in Physics from University College London. I was always good at mathematics, but wanted to study a more practical subject. Physics seemed like the perfect choice. I always compare the relation between physics and mathematics to the relation between art and graphic design. Furthermore I knew that a physics degree would give me plenty of career options (even though design wasn’t one of them.)

3. Where did fudge graphics as a brand name come from? Or does it stem from your love of chocolate cereals?

I wanted to come up with a brand name starting with ‘F’ to tie in with my name. That was the only premise. It was essentially the saying “what the fudge?” which made me choose the name. A quick Google search later I discovered that Fudgegraphics was still up for grabs and so I simply registered the name. I would love to have a great story about how I love chocolate fudge (which I do) and that it is the reason behind the name, but it’s not. It was just a random name I came up with and loved instantly.

4. Having previously resided in Luxembourg was it a conscious decision to move to London for graphic design work? Or was the move more personally motivated?

I moved to London for university. At the time I had no idea that I would pursue a design career later on. I’ve just always loved the city and hence applied to London-based universities. Now that I’ve graduated I can say that I’ll stay in London due to design. The city inspires me and I got most of my clients based in the capital. I know that Luxembourg can’t offer me any of it.

5. Has the move to the UK been positive? Or are there some horror stories about living in the nation’s capital?

It’s been very positive. Although 2 years ago my flat got broken into and they stole my laptop I feel very safe here. The people are incredible and I particularly love the vibrant live music scene. I can only speak for myself, but I felt at home right away. The city is very open-minded.

6. You say you like Indie music how wide is your music taste and does this music inspire you when designing work for clients? Is there a particular band/style of music you love to listen to when designing?

Music plays a major role in my design process. As soon as I start up my computer I open iTunes. I often design for bands so it helps to listen to their music while working on their projects. It allows me to grasp the essence of the job. While working on other projects I like listening to folk and Indie rock. Lately I’ve been listening a lot to Jose Gonzalez, Iron & Wine and Damien Rice.

7. How much of a role does blogging take in your average working week, is there a specific time of day/week that you set aside to work online? Or do you just play it as it goes?

I don’t have a specific blogging schedule. Whenever I come up with a new idea for an article I’ll write it down in my moleskin immediately and work on it as soon as I find time. The time spent on the blog varies depending on my workload and inspiration.

8. You signal in your bio; Scott Hansen and James White as your two favorite artists of all time, was there a particular piece of work or group of works which really turned you onto design and decided to study and eventually make it your career?

I love every single piece of design by these two artists and discover so many outstanding designers while researching new featured artists for the blog that it is impossible to pick a specific piece as turning point. Everything just added up and gradually I fell in love with design.

9. With such a successful site, do you have other people, which help you in its day-to-day workings? Or do you undertake most of the work yourself?

No I don’t. Fudge graphics is entirely run and managed by myself. Except for Alec Schmidt who has written a couple of guest articles including the very first tutorial published on the blog. By taking control of everything, including the areas I had no experience in, I gained invaluable knowledge. Sure it took longer to get the WordPress theme up and running, but it helped broaden my design and development skills.

10. What software do you use the most as a designer and do you have a particular favorite, which can find you spend hours on end working with?

That would be Photoshop and Illustrator. Many of my designs start of in AI as simple geometric shapes. Once the main layout of the piece is done everything is imported into Photoshop where I tweak the colours and add textures to give it a more organic look. Apart from the Adobe Suite I am a big fan of Billings, which lets you track your time and send invoices. Last but not least I use iTunes every day. Music and design go hand in hand for me.

11. What would you do on your vacation time, if there was no list client to complete work for and a free calendar was all you could see?

In that case I would travel. I didn’t have a real holiday for some time, just lying on the beach and enjoying myself. Also many of my friends are spread all across Europe due to university so I would go visit them.

Fudgegraphics is Franz Jeitz, who is from Luxembourg and is currently located in London where he work’s as a freelance graphic designer. Fudgegraphics was born in April 2008 and can be described as a design inspirational blog. It is a source of freebies such as photoshop brushes, textures and vectors.

Visit FudgeGraphics Here

Follow FudgeGraphics On Twitter

Article written by Jared Thompson

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!

@kateconsumption:

Designed by herself, I just love all the detail in the drawings!

@emilychang

Love the little character on this digital photo background.

@TadCarpenter

Some great illustrations here.

@arronlock

Simple, great typography and personally designed.

@bongobrian

Designed by the man himself, great colour scheme here.

@dasgrafik

This man has some strong photoshop skills, even if he did say so himself.

@novelhunter

Love the colour scheme and simplicity not too overcrowded. (made by @nymphont)

@fuelyourapps

Simple, clean and concise; you don’t need much more than that.

@twofivethreetwo

The avatar was drawn by @happymonkeyshoe, but the background as a whole I’m loving.

@Designfeedr

Some great illustration the eye for detail on this background is awesome.

@DesignerDepot

Brilliant colour scheme all works so well together.

@FredzGraphiks

Simple yet so effective, the colors of the background and text in the main page intertwine into one great page.

@jeff_finley

Good use of darkness in this background and allows the picture and text to stand out more.

@gracesmith

Love the photography in the hand being part of the design with the text taking over the left side.

@nymphont

Lovely texture down the right hand side with a simple picture and sticky note text.

@OuttheOtherSide

Love the angel from one of Christy’s illustrative works, concise and great use of colour to make parts stand out better.

@zixpk

Creative typography background behind the image and text with lovely use of opacity.

@prettycooltimes

Love the logo the most in this piece.

@dani

This maybe my favorite design of the lot with just everything positive and bright. Really appeals to my abstract design which is seen a lot now a days with hardcore/emo/alternative bands across the board.

@AisleOne

Minimal + Typography at its best.

@instantshift

Matches up with the instant shift website brilliantly, whilst having its own personality.

@JasonBradbury

The Gadget Show’s finest presenter shows of a great background design here.

@naldzgraphics

Again fits in so well with the same website of the creator, be sure to check that out also!

@fudgegraphics

Brilliant, i loved the revamp when the website was done up and this echo’s the same design quality.

@yankodesign

A different approach to twitter background design, who wouldn’t love the bird icon.

@boogiesbc

Love the paint dripping affect, which dominates the top part of this design.

@chrisspooner

Awesome, be sure to check out his design blog for some amazing work everytime.

Don’t Forget to check these people out and twitter and myself @jthompsondesign.

Thanks for checking out this post!

Please feel free to leave comments below.

Article written by Jared Thompson

Follow Jared (@Jthompsondesign) on twitter!