Sign in
ExploreI’ve been wanting to talk with Expo ever since the day I joined the Design by Humans community. I’ve been stalking his profile for new designs and a chance to speak with him for almost 2 years now. And today I finally got my chance to interview him. Here’s what we spoke of:
TH: Tell us who hides behind the name EXPO.
Just a normal guy who loves music and graphics. My name is Jorge Lopez but I’m better known as Expo.
TH: When and how did you first start getting into design?
It was around 1996 when I have my first contact with graphic design in a friends computer, then around 1999 I got my own and start practicing doing party flyers for friends.
TH: Do you have any formal background in graphic design or are you a self-taught artist?
Self-taught artist, I like to paint and draw since I was like 6 years old.
TH: What does it take to be a good designer?
It takes passion and patience, you need to like and love to do it and to keep trying and trying to do better things till you get noticed, I guess it helps a lot going to school but since I didn’t went , I think its not totally necessary but you need to practice a lot.
TH: How long did it take to start getting noticed and actually selling your artwork?
To get noticed was quick because people liked the flyers, but to start selling and to get paid for those flyers around 1 or 2 years I think, I had to do a lot for free.
TH: Do you design full time or do you also have a day job?
I design full time but not totally full time as I like to do other things, my day job is to have fun in whatever I do.
TH: If you were to pick a favorite design you have created, which one would it be and why? ( show us some pics )
That can change at some point but there’s two favorites at the moment.
I like it because the composition and all the meaning behind, insipred by the Pink Floyd song “Breathe” and the full album The Dark Side Of The Moon.
I like it because the composition and the visual impact, Insipred by Alan Parsons Project song “The Eye In The Sky”
TH: How do you get inspiration for your T-Shirt designs?
From everywhere, imagination, music, movies, other people and personal experiences.
TH: Describe the general process you go through to design and realize a piece of work.
There are no rules for that, it can start with a simple sketch or just an idea in my mind, pencil, ink, an scan or directly from scratch in Photoshop, anything works and everything ends in Photoshop anyway, that’s the final stage.
TH: When you aren’t designing T-Shirts, what are you up to?
Doing music with vintage analog synthesizers and drum machines, playing video games and also love to spend time with my family which is the most important thing for me.
TH: Do you have any wisdom you’ve learned along the way you’d like to share with other aspiring artists?
Be patient and practice a lot, know your tools and be yourself.
This was my talk with Expo. If you want to find out more about him and his work visit his DbH Store or leave a question for him in the comment section.
