About a month ago I was ask by one of my Visual Communication teachers to do an interview for her blog. Check out her blog at http://sexypink.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/d-e-s-i-g-n-e-r-interviews-anderson-mitchell/


D E S I G N E R Interviews: Anderson Mitchell


Q: Your email and other affects have the words, bleed art on them. Tell me what art and design means to you.

A. Art is everything and design is its subset. Design is as much of everything as you want it to be, and also much of other things.
Good design in the realm of advertising includes risk.
“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”
–Woody Allen
Most tend to think they know what “cutting edge”, “innovative” or “groundbreaking” means, but they really don’t cause they are not willing to take the risk and therefore… very little is “cutting edge”, “innovative” or “groundbreaking”, and therefore much of that fails.


Q: You have always been driven, from your high school days and then at John D, what would you tell the young artist about working that you wished someone could have told you?

A: … nothing …
You have to realise your own design practice. All the good advise I got in school, didn’t make sense to me till I realised it on my own, through WORK.
Education is important, but when you go to art school no one teaches you ART or DESIGN. Teachers show you practices or techniques that allow you to discover YOURSELF.
… but … not that it matters…
1. Learn design. It is a practice and it can be learnt.
2. Design exists in art, wether you realise it or not.
3. It’s HARD!
4. and go to school

Q: Tanya, Marlon and yourself are a group. Give me the history and the plans that you have for yourselves.

A: Right now most of my colleagues are making headway in totally different directions, which I like.
Tanya has been doing her thing at Above studios and is extending her industry knowledge and design portfolio.
Marlon recently did his installation and NEXT exhibition in New Orleans, while progressing his knowledge in Industrial design.
And I have been working primarily in web animation and interactive design. A major problem that exists in Trinidad and Tobago, is the lack of collaboration. Every one feels that they can do EVERY thing for themselves. Specialization has proven to be very useful in the growth of most industries. We intend to make that happen as long as we aspire to be the best at what we do.

Q: What projects are you working on separately?

A: I don’t know what “they” are working on… I’d say, that we have headed our separate ways together…
But I have been doing a lot of work with Spice Carnival, Photographer Mariamma, and several other clients that desire web animation and web design… and of course I work in advertising (bleah!!!).
Spice Carnival Band… I hate that industry, but when given the opportunity to make a difference, I had to take it. This was a group of young people who knew what “cutting edge”, “innovative” and “groundbreaking” meant and intended not to be a Tribe or Island people band. As a result I was able to show them how far GOOD design can push a GOOD product, and now they will settle for nothing less…


Q: What are your views on design in Trinidad and Tobago?

A: I think that Design in advertising has suffered for years through improper practices and flawed theories invented by persons who have no right to make “Design decisions” in the first place. Unfortunately, designers tend to make the best stable salary through Advertising.
I think that we are heading in the right direction. The availability of information (i.e. COSTTAT, UTT and also informal sources like the internet and libraries) is allowing us to get more sophisticated in the world of design.


Q: What sort of design interests you now and why?

A: 3D design, Comic art, interface design, web animation and photography.
The public has developed a huge misconception that designers are “tech” people. LOL :) I think that most will find that lots of REAL designers hate the limitations of their computers. Basically, designers are technophobes, which is the reason why most of them tend to stay away from web design and other technology based forms of design. My love for technology and the internet is currently being used to try to keep design responsibility away from the computer technician.