Alexander Radsby - feature & interview
Alexander Radsby (*1987) is a young and very talented digital artist and designer from Kalmar, Sweden. Currently he's studying Web Development and Accessibility at the University of Kalmar. Alexander is a member of the depthCORE collective and an editor at Digital Abstract.
His very respectable and quite unique portfolio was featured on spyline in summer 2007. He relaunched his portfolio for the May 1st Reboot in 2007. Alexander has his own blog on which he publishes some thoughts about his studies and current works.
Alexander is planning to attend Digital Media at Hyper Island this fall. So there is quite something going on with this young man and a lot to talk about.
His very respectable and quite unique portfolio was featured on spyline in summer 2007. He relaunched his portfolio for the May 1st Reboot in 2007. Alexander has his own blog on which he publishes some thoughts about his studies and current works.
Alexander is planning to attend Digital Media at Hyper Island this fall. So there is quite something going on with this young man and a lot to talk about.
Q: Hello Alex and thank you for your time and the really lovely artwork you contributed. Could you give us a brief update about your life and work?
Alex:
Hi Jan, thanks for having me. I am right now currently busy working with the final degree project for the University. I freelance when I have the time, but time is a big issue when you're a University student.
Most of my freelance work right now are web related. I do a lot of web design, xhtml & css at the moment. As for life, it's great. I feel great, I have a beautiful girlfriend who supports and loves me. And I have great friends. Graduation is near and work is just around the corner. It's great.
Most of my freelance work right now are web related. I do a lot of web design, xhtml & css at the moment. As for life, it's great. I feel great, I have a beautiful girlfriend who supports and loves me. And I have great friends. Graduation is near and work is just around the corner. It's great.
Q: Since you are still very young let me ask when did you start with designing and programming?
Alex: I began creating websites at the age of 12-13. I got inspired by James Widegren and decided that I wanted to follow the same path.
I started to fiddle around with some basic html and hand coded all my sites in notepad. Later I got hold of a copy of Adobe Photoshop from my father and I began experimenting with it. At that time there wasn't any tutorials online whatsoever, so I had to teach myself by trial & error which also led me to digital art. With the help from friends at depthcore I made a name for myself and people started to recognize me.
I did do a little bit of programming before the University. I made a couple of smaller actionscript 2.0 functions for my portfolio.
I started to fiddle around with some basic html and hand coded all my sites in notepad. Later I got hold of a copy of Adobe Photoshop from my father and I began experimenting with it. At that time there wasn't any tutorials online whatsoever, so I had to teach myself by trial & error which also led me to digital art. With the help from friends at depthcore I made a name for myself and people started to recognize me.
I did do a little bit of programming before the University. I made a couple of smaller actionscript 2.0 functions for my portfolio.
Q: What was your first artwork? And your first website?
Alex: I've always said that digital abstracts is my father and the web was my mother. My first artwork was a really bad old school abstract piece done with Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk 3d Studio Max. My first website was a personal website made in Frontpage.
Q: Do you prefer the designing/ artworking role or the programming / developer role?
Alex: I believe that they are in both ways very different from each other but at the same time almost the same thing. Design and programming are both based on problem solving and structure. Design and art are both aesthetic freedom.
If I had to choose I would probably choose design because it gives you freedom. You can work with almost anything. But in reality I can't choose. They are all part of what I want to do in the future.
If I had to choose I would probably choose design because it gives you freedom. You can work with almost anything. But in reality I can't choose. They are all part of what I want to do in the future.
Q: Where do you want to be in let's say 5 years?
Alex: I want to be surrounded with creative people in a creative atmosphere. Hopefully at a design agency abroad. I have a internship waiting for me in New York City. So I will probably be working in the US.
Q: Why did you choose to study Web Development and Accessibility? How about studying Art or Design?
Alex: Art & Design, I guess I'm self-taught in that area. I study it on my free time.
I read books about grid systems and typography all the time. And I studied Media Communications/ Productions with emphasis on Multimedia at my high school.
So I guess that I felt that I already had that knowledge in me and that's why programming/ development was the next natural step for me. I didn't want to depend on having a programmer by my side every time I wanted to make a dynamic site.
I wanted to be able to take care of myself.
I read books about grid systems and typography all the time. And I studied Media Communications/ Productions with emphasis on Multimedia at my high school.
So I guess that I felt that I already had that knowledge in me and that's why programming/ development was the next natural step for me. I didn't want to depend on having a programmer by my side every time I wanted to make a dynamic site.
I wanted to be able to take care of myself.
Q: What are your expectations and hopes for attending Hyper Island this fall?
Alex: I hope that Hyper Island can give me a major boost into the industry of digital media and I also believe that Hyper Island can give me more in-depth project management skills.
It will be great to get to know people that have the same interest as I do.
It will be great to get to know people that have the same interest as I do.
Q: How would you describe your daily routine? What do you like to do in your spare time?
Alex: On a typical day I wake up early, check my emails and then eat breakfast. I go to school around 9 am and get home at 4 pm - 6 pm. I eat dinner and then I either study or work until 3 am in the morning, then I go to bed.
Long nights and early mornings, the life of a student freelance designer/developer. I hope that this will change when I start working for real.
Long nights and early mornings, the life of a student freelance designer/developer. I hope that this will change when I start working for real.
Q: What are your favorite applications? What is your favorite programming language?
Alex: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. My favorite programming language would probably be Actionscript, but I guess that I have better skills in PHP at the time being.
Q: Let's talk about inspiration: Could you name any designers / illustrators that influenced your work or motivated you to do better, to try harder?
Alex: All my friends at Depthcore inspire me every day. We are all great friends and we always push each other to raise the bar every time we make something new.
Q: You are a quite talented interactive designer, too. Could you name some of your favorite websites of all time (portfolios, campaigns ...)?
Alex: I usually don't have favorites of all time but I think that the Nike Air Campaign made by Big Spaceship is pretty amazing. Their website is also really good.
As for portfolios, I have a lot of favorites, no all time favorites though. I guess SectionSeven (one of spyline's all-time favorites) is worth mentioning and my friend Pawel Nolbert has a great site. It's simple and very user friendly, I really like the fact that he made the works re-structure themselves after the size of the browser window. A really nice touch. He is a great designer and programmer.
As for portfolios, I have a lot of favorites, no all time favorites though. I guess SectionSeven (one of spyline's all-time favorites) is worth mentioning and my friend Pawel Nolbert has a great site. It's simple and very user friendly, I really like the fact that he made the works re-structure themselves after the size of the browser window. A really nice touch. He is a great designer and programmer.
Q: Which websites do you visit daily / weekly to keep up with the global trends and workflow?
Q: How do you think about AJAX and Flash?
Alex: They are tools just as anything else we use. We use them when they are needed, it all depends on the situation.
Personally I like both and I think that they both have excellent futures. Adobe Flash is great with the new Actionscript 3.0. It really makes it easier for us developers. The thing I love about Flash is that you'll have to think about the interactivity and animations too. It's creative both as a designer and as a developer.
AJAX is interesting too, it makes definitely regular websites more interesting. Combining AJAX with a javascript effects library like Moo.Fx or script.aculo.us. Can almost achieve the same effect as Flash.
Looking at a accessibility point of view, none of them are especially good. But they serve their purpose. It's not what you use, it's how you use it.
Personally I like both and I think that they both have excellent futures. Adobe Flash is great with the new Actionscript 3.0. It really makes it easier for us developers. The thing I love about Flash is that you'll have to think about the interactivity and animations too. It's creative both as a designer and as a developer.
AJAX is interesting too, it makes definitely regular websites more interesting. Combining AJAX with a javascript effects library like Moo.Fx or script.aculo.us. Can almost achieve the same effect as Flash.
Looking at a accessibility point of view, none of them are especially good. But they serve their purpose. It's not what you use, it's how you use it.
Q: How would you describe the typical swedish / scandinavian design?
Alex: Since the 60's Swedish design has been dominated by minimalism and clean colors and shapes. This has its origin in what we call "folkhemmet", the movement that after the world war two was to create a new way of living. IKEA has its foundations in Folkhemmet and has created a market for basic simplistic design. This is a theme that goes through swedish fashion; Acne, Filippa K and Cheap Monday all represent modern but yet basic clothes. In graphic design what you can see is clean, simple and minimalistic. Good use of the grid and good use of typography.
Q: Sweden has become something like the creative stronghold of Europe in Interactive Design with world-class studios like Fi, North Kingdom, Great Works... programs like Hyper Island and lots of outstanding design portfolios. Do you have an explanation for this development (education, media culture, mentality)?
Alex: The students in sweden have from the age of 15 great power of their education. For high school we can choose dozens of directions and at that young age we can study media, design, and several other creative professions. With that in our pocket we can go off to the university and if the talent, the creativity and the ambitions are there, then we have every reason to success.
Q: Let's just imagine you could choose between some fine studios to work at. Would you prefer to stay in beautiful Sweden or are you thrilled by other countries / continents?
Alex: I would probably want to work in NYC or in San Francisco for a couple of years, the experience would be priceless. But I would at some point want to come back to Sweden and work at a studio here. But only time can tell, a lot can change in the future. Who knows? I might stay in the US.
Q: One last question: Do you have any career advices for young talents to work their way to recognition and success?
Alex: Work your ass off and throw away your social life for three years. Haha. I'm kidding. Being social and create network is very important. Don't be afraid of constructive feedback, don't be afraid to ask questions. Work hard and always try to raise the bar with every project you do, so you don't get stuck with doing the same thing over and over again. You can't develop new skills if you don't try new things out. Broadening your field can be a good idea.
Q: Alex, thanks a lot for your time. Tack så mycket and hopefully (and very likely) we will see you soon in / on a Hyper Island Crew website.
Alex: Thanks for the opportunity. Keep up the good work with the site! And for you guys reading this, if you have any questions or just want to talk don't be afraid to drop me a email at alex.radsby[at]gmail.com
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