Benjamin Craven is an LCA alumni and rising print designer and creative within the Leeds design scene. I have known about Benjamin's work for a while, being especially interested in his bold illustrative style and tactile use of design and product integration. His style is very botanical, similarly to my early illustrations on the course, and he seems to be thriving doing freelance work and selling this style. Benjamin works as a multi-disciplinary designer, focusing on screen print but experimenting with clay, furniture and woodwork. I am really interested to learn about (and from) his experience growing as an independent creative, working on his own and on freelance briefs to make him an income.
The importance of a freelance designer to have a 'bread and butter income' is especially relevant, and was something in the business course I did earlier in the year, and wonder if Benjamin has any large clients he supplies with art regularly in order to provide this- or he explores other aspects of commercial design on the side which he does not publish online? Either way, I am interested in speaking to Benjamin and applying his knowledge of the freelance industry to my own evolving practice.
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| Work by Benjamin Craven |
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| Work by Benjamin Craven |
I found Benjamins email on his website http://www.benjamincraven.co.uk and decided to email him. Learning from the unsuccessful attempts of getting a response from companies (Harlequin Studio's), I kept the tone upbeat but considered sentence structure and grammar so not to sound confused and unprofessional- I've identified this as a weakness in the COP module and don't want it to effect how I come accross over other platforms where I'm speaking quite formally.
After these emails, Benjamin added me on Facebook and messaged me organising a meet up in uni, over a cup of tea. These were quite informal, establishing a light tone of voice and personal connection between me (the student) and him (the designer). As I've met Benjamin before when I was making some jewellery, it doesn't need to have the awkward atmosphere which can be present in some formal meetings with creatives. When I spoke to Craig Oldham at D&AD I had to think of questions really fast, so learning from this I want to preplan questions to be fully prepared.
Other people have interviewed Benjamin, so when considering questions I don't want to overlap too much, and keep it more personal to what I want to know (as well as not generating stale answers from Benjamin). Using these as a guide I have prior knowledge of Benjamins practice, using screen print, furniture, products and architectural inspiration to conduct his practice. After observing Craven's Instagram it is clear he uses photography as a tool to capture inspiration, especially when observing interesting architecture all over the world. I can learn lots from Benjamin's process, as well as hoping to gain him as a good connection in the industry. These can be found on the links below.
http://www.material-lab.co.uk/blog/post/design-life-benjamin-craven/
http://www.wemakeapair.com/en/2016/04/05/benjamin-craven-young-and-promising-pattern-designer/
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