I don't use the internet as inspiration...
I live life.
- Joshua Davis
Assignment 3: Designer Interview
Submitted By Carrie Shetler
MM430a | M. Cooper
8.30.04
Joshua Davis, designer of Praystation.com, is an innovative leader in web & graphic design. At the Art Institute, we constantly look to his work for its artistic and technical ability but even more so, because of his conceptual approach to design.Background
Davis started out with a formal background in Communication Design, majoring in Painting and Illustration. He attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He credits his self-taught programming skills to experimenting with Linux in it early stages, "using Linux, a 286, and 386 DX266. Over a period of time, my background in painting and this new exploration of programming would come closer and closer together. I often tell people... I'm still fundamentally the same artist, just computers and programming replaced the brush and the pigments."What Stays?
When asked how his life and art correlate, Joshua recalls a project for Getty Images and IDEA. "They asked several designers 'What stays?' and 'What changes?' I thought these two questions were a paradox...because for me, what stays, what remains constant, is change. Because in change lies inspiration... the flow of ideas. 'What changes' is the ability to SEE the change that stays. What seeps over us is complacency. What is lost is inspiration."Style
When describing his style, Davis says its "inspired by nature, generative programmatic chaos". This is evident in almost all of his work that I have seen. He uses a lot of organic shapes and random events to make his interactive pieces into works of art. He mentions a piece called Once Upon A Forest , saying "no one understand but me" and that it brings him more work than his portfolio. Updated yearly, OUAF is a progressive narrative with concept as the central theme. The concept seems to be whatever the viewer wants to see in the imagery displayed before them. This piece collectively transcends the web because it does not provide any information, it is purely interpretative art; eye-candy for some.Do what you love
The most beneficial piece of advice Davis ever followed: "If you have one foot in the past and one foot in tomorrow...you're pissing on today." He goes further, saying, "Everybody wants to talk about the future. Everybody wants to talk about the next build of software, but what are you doing right now? So many people think that the next build of Flash 9006 and Illustrator CRXP1024 master kick ass edition is going to make them better designers. The truth is hard work makes you a better designer -- and most people are unwilling to put in hard work every single day."
When asked about the challenges he faces as a designer and artist, Joshua expresses concern for the design generations to come. " I think education systems are a huge challenge - because they teach students on a foundation of looking at others and replicating. The hardest thing is to take a departure from that and try to dive into yourself to uncover some style/method of creating something that is truly unique."
Joshua's advice to students: "Do what you love. You'll get hired for the things that you love -- so don't build things that you think people who hire will want to see." That might seem like an easy statement to make, being that Davis is a well-established, respected designer, but he goes further by saying, "slowly my portfolio has become a reflection of my experimental work - and now people hire me to build what I love. I've often said when judging competitions... the winners win because they love the work, not because they thought it would win any awards."Major Effects
"My story is no secret,’Äù says Davis when asked how a major event has affected his work. "The greatest thing for me was getting sober. For the past 9 years I've been able to see things with total clarity -- but more importantly it showed me that if I worked hard enough I could accomplish anything."Clients
Davis was asked how does he separate creative work and client work. His response was simple: "I don't... my creative work is what clients hire me to do." But when asked what the difference between a good project and a great project, he says: "this one's easy... a great project is one you wish you didn't have to let go to a client." His portfolio (www.Joshuauadavis.com) features a piece for a client, Giant Octopus. The description on his website says it's a directory structured navigation driven by XML. What is unique is that the navigation behaves as if it is under water. The smooth motion feels bubbly and weightless.Client Bloopers: Sony & P. Diddy
"I was interviewed by this magazine, the industry standard, in which I had described a situation where our old studio had fired Sony... which kind of shocked the industry because it's a bit strange to fire a client who hires you (usually they fire you, rather than the other way around) but the interview later was read by CNN who did a special on us for their show 'Business Unusual' so this minor comment lands us on CNN for our fifteen minutes of fame."
"But my biggest client blooper was P.Diddy (aka, Puff Daddy / Sean Combs) canceled a scheduled meeting with us because he was being arraigned in court for gun charges. You know, when you're that rich and famous, have your assistant tell us you’Äôre at the dentist."Flash To the Core
His book, Flash to the Core, is one of the most comprehensive ActionScript/Flash books for any beginner to intermediate user because of his simplistic approach to tutoring useful, interactive elements of the program. "Publishing is very disappointing - my book has totally sold out and I barely made any money but my publisher made a killing. If I ever decide to create something again... I'll self publish and mail it from my basement to yours."
Davis is currently teaching beginner and advanced Flash classes at SVA in New York City. And while Davis inspires many of us aspiring web designers, he does not limit himself with web, "I don't use the internet as inspiration... I live life... see bizarre systems and try to replicate them in my work that happens to live on the net.’Äù
