our creative extended family III

Who he is: Shingo Shimizu

What he does: Illustration, design and a little DJ-ing on the side

Hermann & Audrey: What’s inspiring you lately?

Record sleeves and photographs.

It’s amazing to see that a lot of musicians that still release 12” records with awesome sleeve artwork. Sadly I haven’t been able to swing by the record store in a while. I’ve been buying online lately. I do miss that feeling of flipping through a whole section of vinyl and then you stop at a crazy slick record cover artwork that excites you, which you set aside for your listening pile. Who cares who it is really. I just want to know what it sounds like, or buy it because of the artwork. I remember buying a record two years ago, The Late of the Pier’s ‘The Bears Are Coming’ 12”. It came with a pair of 3-D glasses! That was pretty exciting. Now that feeling is reduced to a ‘pack shot’ on screen. It’s a shame that all that great artwork can’t be fully appreciated. Even then, there’s nice stuff coming out lately. Perhaps it’s more about the music video nowadays.

Also, photography blogs are a great source for inspiration and reference material as well. Not sure if it saves time… it’s easy to get distracted from work on blogs. Except Hermann & Audrey of course.

H&A: What makes excellence in design?

Depends on what it is. Its got to have an exciting first impression, and one that stands the test of time.

H&A: What is the piece of work you are most proud of, why?

Not really sure. It’s usually something I just finished. Then I’d be like, ‘What was I thinking?’ Speaking of which, I just finished this custom type logo for my DJ posse, ‘Hot Sauce’ (http:morehotsauce.wordpress.com). After a week, I still like it, so that’s good. We’re hoping to get some shirts and tote bags out this year.

H&A: What do you see as upcoming trends in the art/illustration world?

I think we’ll see more juxtaposition of hand-rendered styles with vector possibly. I love the hand-rendered stuff out there, the beautiful ones I’m talking about, and not the sloppy looking stuff. I’m a little tired of that. Hopefully that’s on its way out the door.

Also, been loving hand-rendered type. There’s a lot of great things happening with that.

At the moment, a lot of stock illustration houses may be sprouting up here and there, which is great for clients on a budget, but the work gets a bit stale. It’s also very hard for Illustrators and definitely Photographers who will have to win clients more on their skills even more so rather than price point. Now with artists having to step up their game, it’s going to be an exciting year for creative. Right now, I’m experimenting with type and more graphic-type illustrations.

H&A: What is the philosophy behind your work?

It’s nice to be enthusiastic when creating an image. The enthusiasm comes from things new and old. What I mean by ‘new’, is by pushing myself, experimenting and being receptive to new ideas. Sometimes it can be difficult, especially when approaches become routine. And old things, by adding touches of nostalgia to bring the artwork back a bit, back to earth.

Also with the music reference again…there’s this great energy coming from all the amazing music that’s out there today. Especially those pushing the envelope crossing genres especially, and tapping into everything they like for inspiration. I respect that a lot, since I like to do a bit of everything myself. People are stepping up their game, and that’s inspiring.

You can check out  Shingo’s work and learn more about the artist at www.shingo.ca

portrait shot by Jalani Morgan