We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Chris Slabber about their original and creative Awareness design work. Chris Slabber is an award-winning communication designer, that makes our world a better place with their original awareness works.
Chris Slabber ("CS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Found Awareness. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
CS : This self initiated project was, like most ideas, born out of pure curiosity. As a creative it is vital to always stay curios, to not be afraid of exploring the unknown. The concept was to show there must be something beautiful to be found in the least likely of places.
CS : I think I wanted to show people what we take for granted. We sometimes get lost in finding inspiration from all over the world, but sometimes its right beneath your feet. Alongside this I wanted to show how you can find beauty in the mundane.
CS : Hopefully this technique or execution will carry on to be used in a more commercial way.
CS : I started planning it at the end of 2018, but the execution phase was about a month.
CS : Well the design campaigns I was hoping to enter for this years awards were all canceled due to budget cuts from the clients side, so I had this idea in the back of my head as a backup entry.
CS : As mentioned I'm hoping that with this award, the technique will be picked up by an agency and used in a campaign of sorts.
CS : Curiosity.
CS : The whole concept of mirroring images has always stuck with me since kindergarden.
CS : At this stage anyone who appreciates it.
CS : I think the fact that although the design is based on mirroring images, I was able to break that obvious symmetry by adding complementing textures and easter eggs to each design. This allows each piece to have a life of its own.
CS : It is a very literal description. The designs are made up of found objects I picked up on walks around my area.
CS : I used a digital microscope and photoshop.
CS : I think that fact that these are objects that most people wouldn't consider as something unique or beautiful.
CS : This was a solo effort.
CS : for this one quite a lot, because without the digital microscope I would not be able to capture the details I needed.
CS : I think this came down to studying different found objects on a microscopic level in order the capture the essence of each object.
CS : The biggest challenge was the fact that the microscope images were not the best quality, 2 megapixels to be exact. Therefore I had to treat the images in photoshop to ensure the best quality for final viewing.
CS : It was my backup entry if all else failed.
CS : I think the fact that I was able to conceptualise and execute something this cool in such a short amount of time showed me what I've learned in the past 11 years of being a professional artist and designer.
CS : I'd like to continue exploring this technique using objects from different parts of the world. Objects I can't find at home.
