Art & Cetera

Combinophy, Cristiana Costin

Cristiana Costin is a Graphic Design student based in Bucharest, Romania. Combinophy is a series of pieces in which Costin combines analog photography and digital illustration to create dynamic pieces that spark the imagination in the monotony of daily life.

My main goal is to make something meaningful, that contains a strong message. I want to create things and messages for people’s needs, not for their desires. I want to become a good graphic designer. I don’t even know if I make art or not…

Interview with Cristiana Costin

1. What are your goals as an artist?

My main goal is to make something meaningful, that contains a strong message. I want to create things and messages for people’s needs, not for their desires. I want to become a good graphic designer. I don’t even know if I make art or not…

2. What is the biggest challenge you face with your work?

Well, the biggest challenge for me is finding the right concept for a specific brief. Also, it’s the funniest part because you make little sketches and you try to find creative relationships between different concepts.

3. How has your relationship with art evolved over time?

At first, I learned how to draw and then I tried to apply my understanding of the 3-D space in another way, through poster design, logo and illustration. Now I am in my final year at Graphic Design department (BA) and I start to get interested in social responsible design and information design. I want to involve art and design into people’s needs and daily activities.

4. How do you come up with the ideas for your work?

I try to be creative by developing different analogies. For example, my project “combinophy” was born thanks to my analog photography. I started taking pictures four years ago and I thought that I could use this original and “vintage-like” images in my designs. Then I tried to combine them with the opposite of analog photography, which is minimal digital illustrations. The result is a change of situation. I like that! I take a picture and then I mix it’s story.

5. Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to art? If you do, or don’t, why?

I hate it when things are not aligned! I improved my “eyes” since I started learning about design, layout, grids and stuff like that and when I walk on the street or browse a website I often tend to be annoyed by the huge misalignment of things, texts, objects.

6. What is something you wish you could tell yourself when you were younger? 

I wish I had more self-confidence.

Little Thunder

Photo Studies, Ilya Kuvshinov

Change, Abigail Goh En Qi

Anna Pan is an animation student at Queensland College of Art in Brisbane, Australia. The blend of daily life with surrealism creates contemplative, enigmatic pieces that easily draw the eye.

A lot of the time I find myself drawing or reusing a lot of my older characters -- especially the ones from a couple of years ago, where their stories are so convoluted and have been changed so many times I can't really remember what happen[s] to them anymore. They still stay in the back of my mind, and I use a lot of them as guinea pigs or vessels for my own emotions and experiences. I think I've been through so much with them that I'm too fond of them to let them go... 

Interview with Anna Pan

Hank Quinlan, Pleiades

Zip Cy