OUGD502 - Creative Report - Reply from Supermundane

I was thrilled to receive answers to the questions that I sent to Supermundane via email. His replies were excellent, detailed and full of advice and tips for a student such as myself. I formatted our conversation into a simple A4 publication containing examples of his work and a bit of background information as well as the reasons I got into contact with him in the first place. I emailed him back asking about the possibility of work experience and I also asked him for a number of names that I could potentially get into contact with for further discussion. 

How would you define your creative practice?

It's pretty wide ranging and takes in illustration, graphic design, art and writing. 

But at the moment I think of myself primarily as a graphic artist. 

I'm pretty much obsessed by line and colour. I use both of them to play around with movement and hierarchical depth, creating subtle optical effects and bring the viewer in to be part of the artwork.

What drove you to create the wonderful Anorak magazine? 


I had been the art director of Good For Nothing magazine (a free lifestyle magazine in London)

that ended after eight issues and I was looking for more work. 

A friend told me about a friend who wanted to start an alternative children's magazine.

I met up with Cathy (Olmedillas) and we got on and had similar ideas of what it could be.

So it all started from there. I haven't worked on the magazine since 2012 but it's still going and still a wonderful thing.

The main drive was Cathy having a child and the fact there wasn't any good magazines for children at the time.

Could you name someone in the art/design world to keep an eye out for in 2016?

I'm not sure who is up and coming at the moment. I haven't been keeping up! 

Where do you go to in London when you’re feeling low on inspiration?

I go drawing in the Conservatory of the Barbican quite a bit, I love the mixture of lush foliage and brutalist architecture. The British Museum and the Tate are also places I got to regularly. I live near a great museum and garden called the Horniman which I can go to if I need a break from my studio, which is also where I live so I can get cabin fever sometimes.

What would be your best piece of advice to anyone graduating with an arts degree looking to enter into the creative industry?

I think it's important to be always creating and experimenting and make sure people see it.

I'm a big fan of instagram – I have been commissioned more and more because of work I have posted on there. 

Also, it takes time to find your own voice and I think people try to rush it and when it doesn't seem to be working give up too quickly.

I spent 10 years working in design jobs, that were ok but not what I really wanted to do, until people noticed my personal work. 

If you believe in yourself and keep at it the chances are you will make it.

How do you see visual culture/the creative industries changing in the next 10 years? 

I honestly don't know. It's hard to tell how things will change. I've been working for 20 years and the creative world has changed a lot.

The way I present myself to the world now wouldn't have made sense when I first started, people were expected to be specialists. 

As far as changes, they mostly come about as a reaction to what has come before – it's hard to imagine now people wearing flared jeans (or ever wanting to) but I did in the 90s and I can feel them coming back as we reached peak tightness in jeans last year (or maybe even earlier). 10 years is a long time and things could change massively or not. Anorak started 10 years ago and if you look at the first issue it could have been designed today.