Interview With Gavin Strange

Gavin Strange is a 24 year old professional graphic and web designer, street artist and toy customizer based in Bristol, United Kingdom. You may know Gavin Strange through his personal studio Jam Factory. Sandman got in touch with Gavin to ask a few questions…enjoy.

You’re a pretty young guy, at least in comparison to me, and it looks like you’re doing pretty good for yourself. Would you agree?

In the most modest way possible, year I’d have to agree. I still actually can’t believe I’ve done the stuff I’ve done, I’m a very very lucky boy indeed.

What is your ultimate goal in your career?

Oh man, that’s a tough one. I don’t have an ultimate goal at the moment, I think I’d just like to be able to continue doing this until I can’t use a computer or pick up a pen no more! I’d like to carry on and design / create / be a part of everything I’ve always wanted too!

How did you get started in the design field?

I was lucky, real lucky in fact. I did 2 years Graphic Design at college in my hometown of Leicester (Holla!) but I didn’t really have any interest in going to Uni, I just wanted to get out there and get involved. I was lucky enough to be offered a place working for a local Design Agency, which I gladly took. Not long after joining the firm I was offered the chance to be a Junior Web Designer as opposed to a Junior Graphic Designer. Having tinkered with the web a little bit in my own time, I said yes and that started it all!

In my spare time I doodled, drew, designed and just carried on the graphics side with the technical web side being learnt at the agency. 4 years later I plucked up the courage to go it alone and started JamFactory as my own company, being my own boss. 3 years later, I’m still here!

I love your bright, bold and many times, cute designs. I’ve been inspired by your work. Can you tell me what or who has influenced your style up to now?

Thanks man, very kind of you to say! Oh wow, influences… there’s so many! It ranges from people who I take a direct link of their style and people who I just think are incredible… My Bristol homeslices Mr Jago, Richt, Sums & Paris, Mister Cartoon, Estevan Oriol, TADO, Juice Foozle, Dist, Deseo One, David Lanham, Jeremy Fish, David Ellis, Will Barras, iso50, Jeff Soto, Mark Ryden, Miss Van, Pete Fowler, Rikcat, Tokidoki, WASTE, Christopher Lee, Chris Cunningham, David Fincher, Michel Gondry & Spike Jonze to my inspiration list!

There’s so many I’m forgetting. I just love it when I see anything awesome, I get so excited and feel proud that I’m ‘part’ of something, you know? It feels like there’s this whole subculture of artists, I love that, that’s inspirational itself!

You seem to have covered so many different “canvases” including skateboards and brick walls. What is your favorite surface to paint on?

Hmmm, another good one! I’m loving walls at the moment! Toys are awesome but they’s so fiddly and easy to mess up! Big flat smooth walls are really nice, Posca’s go on there so nice. I’m also a bit obsessed with doodling on windows, ever since the Rebelo show in Newcastle; I keep trying to convince different people to let me loose on their windows!

I’m all really new to this really though, it’s only within the last few years that I’ve had the opportunity to really do hands-on art stuff, as it’s previously been graphics and web stuff. I just kept my doodles as doodles, I only did my first canvas’s 3 or 4 years ago. I’m actually crap at proper painting. You give me a paint brush and tell me to paint you a ‘traditional’ painting and it’ll look pap, I leave that stuff to my brother - he’s the man with the proper skills!

Do you like doing stuff smaller, larger or does it matter?

It depends really, I don’t really have a preference! I love doing graphics stuff which gets printed big, thats always exciting! I did some graphics for Realmac Software a few months ago, 2 x 2 metres tall graphics for their booth at MacWorld and then a huge graphic for their new offices which spanned over 12 panes of glass, which is great feeling to have your stuff out there so big!

In terms of arty stuff I’m happy any size really although I reckon im more comfortable with a medium sized canvas or something 60 x 40cm or something like that! Saying that, give me anything any size and I’ll give it a go!

What is your favorite medium to work with?

The medium of dance, that’s always a good one.

ha-ha, not really. Ermmm I’d say I’m most comfortable on the computer, in Illustrator. I can work so much faster and smoother in that than anything else. But like I say, I’m so lucky to be doing different things, it feels ace to learn them all.

Pill Boy is such a cool character! I see from his flickr gallery that he’s very popular too. (added link for later in the post) What can you tell us about Pill Boy? How did you come up with him? What is his story?

Thanks! Yeah, I’m so so stoked with li’l PillBoy! He’s quite a trooper, he started out as a little idea I had in my sketchbook AGES ago, like years ago. I was flicking through it one day and thought ‘oh, i quite liked that idea’ and then started doodling again on that theme. I was at Duncan’s (Jago) flat at the time, just having a doodle session, and i remember being so inspired just being there, feeling creative with a hero of mine. I was really into it and thought I’d like to turn him into a vector creation.

That night I worked away and I’d not long fell in love with transparencies in Illy so that was my first real character which used shadows, which I was proud of. I’m not sure where or why I had the idea to open him up for download, I think I was just dead eager to be involved in the design community someway, so i thought I’d give it a go!

Well, 140+ customizations later, he’s still going strong! As far as I’m aware, there’s also a 2 foot vinyl sticker PillBoy on the wall of the I.D.E.A. Gallery in Los Angeles, courtesy of Pop Cling & Beautiful Decay! I’d also like to thank EVERYONE who’s ever took the time to create their own PillBoy, I heart you.

Who knows what’s next for him… I’d love to see him come to live in vinyl toy form… who knows!?

Well it looks like you’ve got a full plate right now, what can we look forward to in the next few weeks, months…. from you?

I have indeed got a full plate, which I love and am real grateful for. Expect websites, graphics, skateboards, clothing, shows and a couple more things i’ve got to keep under my hat but are very exciting too..

In closing, I want to thank you for taking time out of your seriously, umm how do you put it, “MAD busy”(?) schedule… to answer all of these questions. I am sure your fans will appreciate it and we definitely do at Urban Retro Lifestyle!

No, thank YOU for taking the time to ask me these questions, it’s been fun! Fans? Do I have fans? Surely not, im just a big kid that loves monsters and will scribble anything given half the chance, I’m more like an artistic parasite of sorts (a nice fluffy manga-looking parasite you understand).

Anyways, a massive thanks to you Matt, Urban Retro Lifestyle and everyone who’s took the time to read this shizzle, I love you all like a rap kid loves breaks.

Peas.