- What did the story of Mr King, "The Gambler”, conjure up in your head? (Mr King gambled away all of the company’s cash in a local billiard hall in case you’ve forgotten).
The Story of Mr King made me think... this sounds like something right out of an old gangster movie or an episode of Peaky Blinders. My mind immediately jumped to the image of a table out the back with a few guys around it wearing suits, clouded by smoke from fat cigars, trying to bluff each other. With Dutch Courage leading to some unclear thinking and some expensive mistakes…
- Explain your normal design process? How do you go from an idea to a final design?
So initially I will look at the theme and see if there are any assets or iconic snippets I can use to influence my design.
I think it's important to try and put little ideas or subtle hidden things into the artwork because it engages people.
When designing I tend to try and create at least 6 concepts because what usually happens is there will be elements of each one that will be fused together for the final design.
It's important to "brain dump" and get all the ideas out on paper. There’s nothing worse than seeing the final design printed and then thinking “Damn! I wish I had done…”
- What tools or equipment do you use in the process? Is it all done digitally or do you sketch ideas down with pen and paper before?
Normally I will quickly sketch out small ideas on paper. Once I feel I’ve got enough material to play with I will then go straight onto Adobe Illustrator. Drawing is bit of a lost art, but is equally hard to do on a Mac!
I try and design the whole kit at the same time as it makes it easier to visualise how all of the components fit together. Once the broad concept of the design is narrowed down, I will move the work onto the cutter [like a stencil outline of the kit] and do the hardest part of all; the colour swatches. Although this might seem like a really simple step, if this part isn't thought about correctly then it will ruin the whole project. Once it’s all signed off, then it’s good to go.
- For The Gambler how did you combine a modern design whilst giving consideration to our heritage and the traditional look of our existing Revival Collection?
The Gambler kit was a tricky one because I wanted to go straight for bright colours and an edgy design. Wearwell before this was very much focussed on black and white so I didn't want to go full throttle with colour which I thought was too big a departure from the essence of the brand. This is why I went down the route of using the darker red as a main colour and then added all the flashes of colour into the details.
- Anything that you particularly like about the design, any feature that stands out?
I really like the way we brought through the colours of the billiard balls in a subtle manner. That was a really cool nod to the backstory of the company being gambled away in a game of pool. I also love the cards in the back pocket as they make you look twice!
Overall the kit is bold and striking. I don’t think you’ll miss this one on the road.
