This week we interviewed the talented illustrator/graphic designer Robert Fori from Romania. Robert is creating wonderful artworks full of imagination and colors for 6 years now. His designs cover illustrations, apparel design, print, logo and experimental typography.

When did you start your career as a designer?

I started drawing when I was a little child, but life has it’s ups and downs and after a long pause of several years because life made me choose other directions, after graduation I rediscovered my passion for drawing with my first PC and Adobe Photoshop. After one year of learning graphic software I created a portfolio and sent it to agencies and started working as a graphic designer. Besides my day job I started to sell vector illustrations to various micro stock sites under the alias Gudron.

I worked around 3 years as a designer for different agencies in my country then I became a “full time freelancer”, concentrating on developing my style and creating works for various clients.

What is your educational background?

I’m a self-taught person, I never studied art or graphic design, I was passionate and I learned it by myself. I studied psychology at university and only after graduation I started learning some graphic software and since then I never stopped working.

You’ve surely worked on several projects so far. What would be the most relevant ones?

I always consider that the most relevant project is the one that I’m working on. I am involved to the maximum, and after I finish it I have a moment of satisfaction. Then I start all over again with the next project with the same implication and devotion.

My most relevant works aren’t necessary for clients, are personal works, experimental ones which give me the satisfaction of trying something new and being pleased about the result.

Can you name 3 designs from your portfolio you like the most?

Color Donors, Mechanic fauna, Victory with defect story.

Our readers would definitely love to know what hardware and software you use when you create your designs?

PC quad core 2,6 Ghz processor, 4 GB ram memory, 24 inch Dell monitor, Canon scanner, pen, iso graph, stencils, Photoshop, Corel Draw and Illustrator.

What are the things that inspire you? Can you name a few websites you use for inspiration?

Anything that surrounds me, everyday life, people who I meet, long walks, nature. I always listen to music when I work, preferable experimental electronic/ambient, science fiction movies. Regarding websites, there are a few that inspire me that I can mention: deviantart, behance network, illustration mundo, lettercult.

When you began your journey as a designer you probably had a few role models, would you name two of your favorite artists?

There are lots of inspirational artists, loads of amazing works, it’s hard to resume the list only to two names, but who comes in my mind right now are MC Bess and Si Scott.

Designing has its ups and downs, what is the most difficult problem you ever faced as a designer?

The most difficult thing as a designer is a short deadline, lots of things to do in a very short time. That has a negative influence over the quality of the output.

Nothing is more unproductive than having a lot of work in a very short time and clients who don’t have an aesthetic sense but consider themselves artists and want you to do an extraordinary job for less money, because they don’t really have the ability to appreciate your work. And I’d also like to mention the periods when you have a lack of creativity. That’s a signal that your processor, your brain, is overheated and needs to cool down, to take a break and to go out and do other things to recharge.

Looking a bit into the future, how do you think people will look at your designs in four years from now?

I don’t really know what to answer to this question, this is a domain where everything is in a continuous change, trends come and go, in 4 years lots can happen, so I don’t really know what to say.

What advice would you give to the newbie designers?

Work everyday, give the best out of you, be tenacious and do what you really like not what is fashionable, and enjoy your life.

What do you think your greatest achievement is so far?

My greatest achievement is that I can live by doing what I like the most. Nothing is more  uplifting than the sensation that you can make a living doing what you like. I’ve had other jobs before that didn’t offer any personal satisfaction at all and it was frustrating.

How much free time you have in a week and how do you usually spend that?

Being a freelancer is a bit different than the usually 9 to 5 work program. My life style is a bit reversed because I mostly work at night. During the night I am more creative, it’s different when the life volume is set to the minimum, my ideas just flow out.

I spend my free time having long walks in sunny days to empty my brain and get inspired, thinking about new ideas for work, watching movies and documentaries or going out with my friends and having a good time.

What is your favorite PC game and how many hours you spend playing it?

I’m not really into games, I don’t play any games. I think it’s a waste of time for me, I really enjoy working this is my game, and if it’s about playing something else, I prefer to go outside and make some exercises than staying in front of the monitor all day.

I really liked this design: What was your drive to create it?

It’s a personal project and it’s based on a dream of mine. I wanted to represent the dream atmosphere which was mystique. I was levitating being carried by air out of town, weightless, above the nature and a magical moment was when the night turned into day. It’s the representation of being free and enjoying the simple things in life.

Check out more of Robert‘s amazing works on deviantART.