Hi, my name is Andrew Kelsall, a creative designer and Illustrator from Northern England, UK. I run a few websites including Andrew Kelsall Design, Design Soak Magazine and Pure Christian Graphic Design. I mainly design Logos, Posters, Flyers and CD Sleeves, but I also undertake web projects and intricate illustrative work (like company presentation illustrations and schematics, plus large-format works as well). I also like to illustrate, and oftentimes include my own illustrations within my design work.
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How did you get started in design? What is your background?
I’ve always been interested in design, and was gifted from an early age. I excelled in Art class in School, but at the expense of my English and Math grades, I must admit! However, after 'A grades' in Art and design, I re-took English and then studied Art & Design Foundation in Wakefield (a City nearby), before been offered an unconditional place for a Degree in Graphic Design at the Coventry University School of Art & Design.
When I graduated, with Honours, I worked in three design positions in various places for only a very short time, before realising that I did not want to work for a design company at all. I felt as though I was being rushed, and I like to take my time while designing. So, I started to freelance instead, and this suited me perfectly. At the time, I took a job as a supermarket full-time duty manager to pay the bills, and freelanced in the evenings.
Over the years, my I got married and had two children, and freelancing in the evening became harder due to time constraints. I thought about getting a full time design job in a nearly city, but my heart wasn’t in it. I wanted to spend time with my kids at home, so I ploughed on and as work became more frequent, I started to work part time and do more project work. It’s quite unorthodox, but it works for me. I can pick and choose what projects I want to work on while still paying the bills and having a great family life. I have no plans to change this setup.
What are you working on now?
The projects I work on can vary wildly. Sometimes I’m working on illustrative schematics and illustrating sensitive presentation material for massive corporations here in England, and at other times I’m doing a Christian-based projects for small companies and churches across the globe.
At the moment, I’ve just completed some work for a Nuclear Equipment Supply Company (sorry, but I can’t reveal more!), but now I’m just polishing off some changes to a Singer/Songwriting website, as well as design some foil-block cards for a USA based card company. Oh, I’ve just completed an CD Sleeve for a client who lives in Japan, and well as a client in Australia. I truly run a world-wide business!
What tools and software do you use for your work?
Like most designers, I use the Adobe Apps such as Photoshop and Illustrator, but I also like to sketch ideas in my notebooks, too. I also use a large Wacom graphics tablet with a 27” iMac.
What is your ideal work environment?
My ideal working environment would be sketching outside in the sun, which I sometimes I opportunity to do!
Where are your favorite places for art?
To be honest, I rarely go to art galleries, although I’m into museums much more. In regards to viewing other designers’ art, I tend to look on sites such as Behance and Dribbble.
Who are the designers, artists you admire most?
When I first started blogging on my main site, Andrew Kelsall Design, my main inspiration was a designer/blogger named David Airey, who was one of the first designers I discovered who had successfully dominated the blogger/designer sphere online. I like some of the work by Banksy, but overall, I’m terrible at remembering designers’ names — I just know I like their work!