Designers Interview with Ronald J. Cala II
There are so many things to say about illustrator Ronald J. Cala II. He is a very talented designer/illustrator with a mind that creatively thinks in positive and negative. He has personally helped me with great creative suggestions to improve my projects when I was a student.
I appreciate designers even more when they care enough to take time out of their schedules to help other designers, especially those who may not be at the same level as those designers. I saw his lecture at the Thinking Creatively design conference back in April and he was just as friendly and personable as he had been in-person when he spoke at a graphic design class that I was in at Kean University a few years ago. If you want to meet a genuinely friendly illustrator Mr. Cala is certainly it.
I feel as though these qualities help to make Ronald even more personable of a designer, someone who cares about his fans/others that he inspires. His interview is the first in what I hope to be a series of graphic interviews. So enjoy this little glimpse into the mind of successful illustrator Ronald J. Cala II.
What is design?
I think the better question is what does a designer do. A designer is a problem solver, their job is to organize complicated information and relay it in a way that makes sense. A designer may not be the one that creates the illustration or writes the text, they are the one who organizes those elements so that the reader/viewer can understand quickly and easily the information being presented.
What inspired you to become an illustrator?
I actually never really tried to become an illustrator; it kind of just fell in my lap. To this day I have never taken an illustration class, though I have taught a couple. I started as a graphic designer and I only illustrated for my own poster designs. In an attempt to get added exposure for my posters, I began to enter the ones that did not have typography into illustration competitions. They did better then I had expected and I began to get work into as many illustration shows as I was getting into the design shows. One day I came home and there was a message on my machine from the New York Times asking if I could make an illustration for them. I of course said yes and that was the first time I ever really considered doing it as a career. However, I did always want to do illustrations for the New York Times Op-Ed page, so I guess in a way the New York Times inspired me. The New York Times Op-Ed Page is still my favorite jobs to get.
What is your process in creating the images you use to make your illustrations?
I have many different illustration styles and many different processes for making illustrations. The only thing that remains consistent with them all is that my images begin and end on the computer. I never touch pen to paper. Most everything I create I use Adobe Photoshop and I only use the most basic tools. I do not do anything more then you would learn in an intro to Photoshop class.
Who are the other designers/artists that have inspired/influenced you?
What is it about their work that makes it so enjoyable? The people that have influenced me in some way are far to many to list. Everyone and everything in my life inspires me. That being said, there are three people who I model my work after the most. As a designer/illustrator I try to conceptualize my ideas most like Christoph Niemann. I think Christoph is one of the smartest guys around and I just love his humor and quick wit. His work makes you smile and who doesn’t like to make people smile! The article Christoph Niemann wrote for the 2003 New Visual Artist issue of Print magazine has served as my guide to the illustration world for many years.
My imagery is most inspired by the illustration style of the late Shigeo Fukuda. When I first saw the work of Fukuda I was floored. It was so simple yet so smart, so graphic yet somehow complicated. It had the magic of M.C. Escher but the simplicity of logo design. His work makes you stop and look twice. I wanted that power, the power to make a person stop what they are doing and think about my work.
Lastly and most importantly my typography and overall design sense is most inspired by Joe Scorsone’s, the man that taught me everything I know about typography and design. So many illustrators can make a beautiful image with little to no effort but cannot add a beautiful line of type to save their lives. Joe taught me that you can do it all, and should.
Let me be very clear, I do not think I am anywhere close to on par with these three men. If in the end I turn out to be half as good as any of them I will consider myself lucky and successful.
How did you create your style of using negative space to create an image within an image?
I start with two silhouettes that normally come from a silhouette source book. I try to find an image that looks like the negative space of the other image. I cover the negative space of the first one and then invert and place the second image on top. I then just add layers in Photoshop and keep adding and subtracting white and black with the paintbrush tool. The goal is to do that until the viewer cannot tell where the negative space of the one image ends and the positive space of the other begins. All of my images start as a pure black and white image (no shades of grey) color is only added after the image is complete and works in just black and white. That makes it easier to completely focus on the positive negative balance. I think of them in a very similar way the way I do logo design.
If you had to have a job other than an illustrator what would it be?
If I couldn’t be an illustrator I would be the art Director/creative director at a design publication. But I am that too, and thankfully I do not have to choose. I am currently the art director of CMYK magazine and I love it. I also enjoy teaching and I think in the future I will settle into a full time teaching position at a well-respected design school. Right now I am just enjoying the ride. I do what I love, if I wanted any other job then the ones I currently have, I would quit and go get that job. Life is too short not to love what you do.
What advice can you give to students about choosing the right piece to enter into a contest?
When entering contest and trying to boost your resume, I think you can approach it one of two ways. First you can pick a few contests, maybe you pick because the fees are cheap or maybe it’s because that is the magazine you most want to be published in, it really depends. Whatever the reason, pick three to five publications/contest and send everything you have to them. The sheer number of entries you are bound to get a few things through. The second option is to take your best 2-3 pieces and enter just those pieces into every contest you can find. Both work, but personally I lean towards the second method myself. As for what 2-3 pieces to choose to enter you want to pick the work that you want representing yourself. Most of the people will only see the work that gets published so if the design that wins a bunch of awards is done in a style that you only did once and don’t enjoy doing very much, don’t enter that or you will be stuck doing that process over and over again for the rest of your career.
What do you find to be the hardest part of being a designer?
I do not really find it difficult to be a designer. I would say the hardest part is walking away from my work and having a life outside of the world of graphic design and illustration. I think the great part about design is each new job brings with it its own difficulties, limitations and restrictions. The key is to turn them around and make them as advantages. For example, Don’t think of it as “they wont let me use color and if I could use color it would be really great”; instead think of it as “now I don’t have to worry about color and what approach can I take that looks better in black and white then color regardless of restrictions. working for free. Some of the best designs are donated or used to promote a theme or idea not just a client.
In what ways do you promote yourself? What do you feel is the best way for others to make themselves known in this manner? Personal website, social networking sites, etc.?
I think each person has to promote him or herself the way they see fit. There are many different approaches and none are right or wrong. I do definitely suggest having a website with all your work and information so you can just send someone a link and they can get everything they need in one place. I think facebook is a great place to show off your work. It gives you access to so many people at once and is a very non aggressive approach to getting your work seen. Personally my main promotion comes in the form of awards and publications but I would suggest you try everything and see what feels right for you.
What are your favorite/most used typefaces for your work, which you would recommend to other designers?
When in doubt I will almost always go with a classic typeface. I think how you use it is more important that what typeface you use. Here are some of the Typefaces I commonly use.
San Serif : Gil Sans, Futura, Helvetica Neue, Block Berthold and
Serif: ITC Garamond, Clarendon, New Century Schoolbook, Adobe Caslon Pro and Bembo
Script: Dalliance, Shelly, Buttermilk, House Script and Edwardian Script
Slab Serif: Neutraface Slab, Rosewood and Rockwell
