date posted
August 13 2015
Author
Nate Down
Meet our designers: Kat Gunter
At Vi HQ we are big believers in regularly creating top quality products for our customers. In order to do this we collaborate with some fantastic external designers to build collections of on-trend and unique designs that are perfect for homes and offices.
One of these designers is Kat, who is the owner of The JoyPress. Kat is responsible for the entirety of our Hand Drawn collection and is currently designing a range of amazing wallpapers, so watch this space!
Kat has been very kind and has agreed to answer a few questions about her designs, how she works as well as how she became involved with us designing wall decals and stickers.
So, to the questions!
First off, tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Kat, I live in Sussex with my husband, I enjoy riding my bike, knitting, spending time with friends and family and playing games.
What things are essential for you to have in your space and why?
The most important thing to me is having a clean desk, tidy floor, plenty of light and all the tools I need close at hand. The one thing that really stifles my creativity is being in a pristine environment where it would matter if I dropped my paintbrush or splattered some ink; my desk is white but wipes clean easily!
What is your design process?
It varies, but it generally starts with some kind of inspiration, seeing something I like (I’m quite into houses and flowers) and then is closely followed by a pen drawing, which ends up becoming a more polished illustration, a print or graphic design. The complexity of the drawing or subject matter generally determines the chosen media but not always, I have been known to hand draw hundreds of repeating elements!
What is your favourite part of the design process?
The bit where ideas become initial illustrations, they’re rough and sketchy but they’re the funniest bit, pulling together ideas and playing about with the layout, I also really like the finishing bit. I think I’d have liked to have been an Old Master who had students to do the repetitive middle bits of the artwork!
Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere; in the summer I spend more time outside and visiting new places, ideas come more naturally then. In the winter, I probably spend more time influenced by other artists and the wonderful Pinterest!
Who is your greatest influence?
I absolutely love the work of Children’s illustrators Oliver Jeffers and Leigh Hodgkinson. Michael Gage taught me to print and I still love his amazing work. I ‘like’ a lot of incredible artists on Etsy and Instagram too who all contribute to influencing my idea process and art practice.
What is your favourite tool or piece of kit?
My sketchbook, fine liners and my printmaking equipment, physical mark making is my favourite thing to do; I enjoy using computer software and I’ve loved getting to grips with the Wacom tablet but nothing beats actual drawing and printing.
Favourite project to date?
At Vinyl Impression I really enjoyed the house illustrations I drew for Fi-Nest, the large flower murals and more recently the pattern work I have done for wallpapers.
Aside from Vinyl Impression my favourite creative project was probably my wedding as I got to set my own brief and do whatever the heck I wanted, we got married in a working barn so it was very much a blank canvas. I’ve also really enjoyed creating a series of pen and ink feather illustrations, which I’ve exhibited.
What is your drink of choice when designing?
Tea and not just when I’m designing - all the time!
How did you get involved with Vinyl Impression?
Ed, Nate and I have been friends for a number of years. I loved hearing about what Ed was doing and was a supporter from the start. Ed asked me to do some designs for them but I was hesitant as I knew I wanted to be doing hands on printmaking and illustration and not all computer based graphics. When I left my full-time job I did some designs to print on my Gocco printer and Ed asked to make them into wallstickers, I was then hooked!
Kat can be hired to create bespoke wall art, murals, window graphics and graphics for office branding fit out projects. If you would like to know more about Kat and how she could help with your project, get in touch using the contact form.