ProfessionalInterviews

February 23, 2010

Judge Interview: Chris Bishop

Tell us about your graphic design career. How did you break into graphic design, and how did you advance to where you are today?

I got my big break when Overstock.com hired me to be their one and only print designer. My main task was to create magazine ads for them as well as any other printed material they would need. Those things ranged from simple branding items (pen shirts, and other stuff like it) all the way to booth designs and alternative logos for different departments within the company. After a year, Overstock.com partnered up with NBC for a short lived Women's TV show called iVillage Live. My worked was featured on TV so that was a huge accomplishment for me.

After I worked there, I worked for a commercial real estate company and now a web application development company where I work with such clients as LG, HTC, and Option.

I also do a little freelance on the side, but that is mostly for fun.

What do you enjoy most about your career?

What I enjoy most is learning new things. There is never a short supply of things to learn. I also love the challenge of creating new things graphically.

What was your greatest success? Biggest setback?

Well my greatest success was when I first saw one of my designs professionally printed and distributed. It was a mailer for Overstock.com and about 500,000 were printed and sent out. I was just in awe that so many people would see what I created.

My biggest setback was when I had lost my job a couple of years ago due to company fallbacks. I knew it didn't have anything to do with me, but you can't help but feel like a failure.

What are some of your favorite projects that you've completed and why?

It's not completed yet but there are a couple of projects in the workds for LG that will be the biggest of my career. One of them is believed to become a trend-setter (though only time will tell). Due to the sensitive nature of the projects, I can't say what they are, but they are going to be huge.

What are some of your personal and/or professional goals for the future?

One of my goals is to understand user interaction on the web and apply it to my designs. I think figuring out how the user's mind works, and then creating a design that works with the application can really lift a webpage over the rest..

What other advice can you give for starting a career in graphic design?

My advice is to never give up, and to never stop learning. The more you learn, the more experiences you will have. If you have the time, learn both web and print. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't take the time to learn web development on top of my print knowledge.