Computer Arts Gallery: April 2011

Christopher Mooij
Location Monterrey, Mexico
Job Graphic designer/illustrator
Contact www.brsrkr.net

Also known as BRSRKR in his freelance guise, Mooij is a 21-year-old designer with a particular interest in typography, identity and, more recently, new media. "I discovered visual communication when I was very young, when my aunt gave me a world atlas for my birthday and my mother gave me a set of colouring pencils and books." He was immediately hooked on the possibilities of visual design, and by time he turned 16 was taking on small commissions from local party organisers to produce flyers. At 18, he enrolled in Monterrey's design institute to determine if graphic design really was for him: "In a matter of three months I completely fell in love with my career," he says.

Still studying on his design course, Mooij is determined to finish his education before making a move. "I've had some very interesting job offers from people in Mexico City, London, Austin in Texas and my home town," he says, "but I can't just barge off to another country yet. I certainly plan on it in the future, though."

Oil A personal project, 'Oil' was inspired by "the value of oil in the world and how it has caused international disturbances," Mooij explains. "I decided to explore an 'oily' aesthetic, mixed with typography, and fell in love with the style."

Mark Gamble
Location London, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.secretlyswedish.com

"I never intended to go into graphic design," says Gamble. "At 16 I wanted to draw comic books, but my art teacher told me I would 'never do anything creative' with my life." With such sage advice ringing in his ears, he applied to the University of Lincoln to do a course in games computing, transferring to interactive design after a year, where his love of screenprinting and typography began to develop.

After graduating in 2007, he realised his childhood dream by working as a graphic designer for Titan Magazines, setting up as a freelancer in 2009. His main influence is print-based design, especially propaganda posters from World War II, and movie and gig posters. "There's a big Scandinavian element in the symmetry I apply to my work," he says.

Memory Tapes A gig poster produced for Ill Fit Records and "low-fi, New Jersey-based" musician Memory Tapes on his debut London show.

Mark Gamble
Location London, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.secretlyswedish.com

"I never intended to go into graphic design," says Gamble. "At 16 I wanted to draw comic books, but my art teacher told me I would 'never do anything creative' with my life." With such sage advice ringing in his ears, he applied to the University of Lincoln to do a course in games computing, transferring to interactive design after a year, where his love of screenprinting and typography began to develop.

After graduating in 2007, he realised his childhood dream by working as a graphic designer for Titan Magazines, setting up as a freelancer in 2009. His main influence is print-based design, especially propaganda posters from World War II, and movie and gig posters. "There's a big Scandinavian element in the symmetry I apply to my work," he says.

Les Jupes T-Shirt design "Having seen some of the work I'd done for The Line Of Best Fit, Canadian band Les Jupes approached me to design a couple of T-shirts for them to coincide with the launch of their debut album." This was one of the two printed designs.

Kirath Ghundoo
Location County Durham, UK
Job Graphic designer
Contact www.kirathghundoo.com

Freelance designer Ghundoo particularly enjoys working within the realms of surface pattern design and illustration. "Using Illustrator and Photoshop, I also occasionally dabble in a spot of drawing, along with screenprint for specialist foil and vibrant colour finishes," she explains.

Currently she is planning on creating a mix-and-match wallpaper collection using digital techniques. She prefers to save screenprinting for more specialist, large-scale interior projects, and she also designs for fashion and packaging as well.

Final major project: MA Textiles Ghundoo's final wallpaper collection for her MA in Textiles was based upon Paul Smith's spring/ summer RTW 2011 men and womenswear collections. "Drawing inspiration from the colour palettes and pattern, I created five bespoke lengths using digital, silver foil and yellow neon ink screenprint finishes, which are iconic to the collection," she recalls.

"The papers were designed to be used as in-store visuals, and all five lengths were designed at once to ensure the patterns worked harmoniously alongside each other. Drawing by hand and using Illustrator, I mapped out the five lengths and then the final screenprint touches were added," she continues. "The idea was to create a strong bespoke wallpaper collection encompassing an exciting use of colour and creating a dramatic focal point."

Neil Hanvey
Location Herefordshire, UK
Job Illustrator, web developer
Contact www.neilhanvey.co.uk

Like many creatives, Hanvey leads a double life: during the day he develops web applications for UK company Pepperneck, but in his spare time he prefers to doodle and illustrate, creating quirky characters. "I've only taken my art seriously for the last few years, but I've been working hard to establish myself in the art community," he says.

"I've featured on web art portals such as deviantArt, Abduzeedo and Teefury, and I'm part of SlashTHREE. My biggest accomplishment to date was winning a MacBook and 80,000 prints in a competition for Tron Legacy, and I'm currently working on 45 illustrations for a new iPhone game."

Atomic Circus This piece was created for SlashTHREE. "It was two A4 pages of doodles combined to create one long epic of nightmarish entertainment," says Hanvey.

Neil Hanvey
Location Herefordshire, UK
Job Illustrator, web developer
Contact www.neilhanvey.co.uk

Like many creatives, Hanvey leads a double life: during the day he develops web applications for UK company Pepperneck, but in his spare time he prefers to doodle and illustrate, creating quirky characters. "I've only taken my art seriously for the last few years, but I've been working hard to establish myself in the art community," he says.

"I've featured on web art portals such as deviantArt, Abduzeedo and Teefury, and I'm part of SlashTHREE. My biggest accomplishment to date was winning a MacBook and 80,000 prints in a competition for Tron Legacy, and I'm currently working on 45 illustrations for a new iPhone game."

Wood Good Inspired by the Green Man sculpture in Birmingham's Custard Factory, 'Wood Good' brings the ancient pagan representation of a figure composed of leaves and branches bang up to date with more modern times.

Todd Oliver
Location Oxford, UK
Job Graphic designer/illustrator
Contact www.toddoliver.co

"My work contains bits of humour, lots of colour, twisted and contorted bodies and occasional violence," says Oliver - the illustrating side of him, that is, as by day he works as a graphic designer. "As a kid I was engrossed in the Where's Wally books. I loved the business of the worlds he lived in, being able to look at an image over and over, always finding something new. My other big influence is the Garbage Pail Kids stickers from the '80s."

As well as collaborative art projects, Oliver often takes on commissions but believes creating your own images "just for the hell of it" is paramount: "It's a great way of pushing yourself to try new things," he explains.

Body This piece is based on various experiments by Oliver on the idea of what defines a particular person. "I decided on an image that consisted of several small characters building up the larger person. Who that is, I don't know, but as with most pictures I draw there's always a bit of me in there somewhere," he explains.

Todd Oliver
Location Oxford, UK
Job Graphic designer/illustrator
Contact www.toddoliver.co

"My work contains bits of humour, lots of colour, twisted and contorted bodies and occasional violence," says Oliver - the illustrating side of him, that is, as by day he works as a graphic designer. "As a kid I was engrossed in the Where's Wally books. I loved the business of the worlds he lived in, being able to look at an image over and over, always finding something new. My other big influence is the Garbage Pail Kids stickers from the '80s."

As well as collaborative art projects, Oliver often takes on commissions but believes creating your own images "just for the hell of it" is paramount: "It's a great way of pushing yourself to try new things," he explains.

Cola Poster "This is one of my most ambitious pictures as it's so detailed. I wanted to give the impression that all the characters inside the cola bottle were as tightly crammed in as possible. This meant leaving no space unfilled. I'm planning on selling this poster online as soon as I get my web store sorted out."

Alan Nagle
Location Westmeath, Ireland
Job Illustrator
Contact www.be.net/yellowhammer

An architect by trade, Nagle has been illustrating as a side project for the last two years, although he says he's been interested in the idea since his childhood days of collecting comics and stamps. "I'm self-taught when it comes to what I produce now. I keep learning every day, as there's so much to experiment with. I love creating artwork ranging from sharp vector graphics to simulated printing methods, and I'm constantly inspired by colours, patterns and photography."

His illustration handle Yellowhammer is more than just a catchy word; the name - a type of bird - was inspired by the countryside and David Attenborough programmes he used to watch. "Through my work I hope to promote awareness of our natural species and conservation of their habitats, which seem to be slowly eroding as our world gets bigger," he explains.

Irish Bird Series Part of an ongoing series that Nagle began in early 2010, these images are produced as limited edition giclée prints. "I was delighted when I saw the final product," says Nagle. "The kestrel was featured on the creative network Central Station, of which I'm a member, and the others are being sold in Core, an Irish Crafts Council designer outlet. I'm still producing more for the store and I've had commissions to produce larger pieces too."

Flavio Melchiorre
Location Pescara, Italy
Job Graphic designer/illustrator
Contact www.flaviomelchiorre.com

"My artworks are an expression of my madness - in a good way," says Italian artist Melchiorre. "Although my patterns may seem like abstract nonsense, they're actually an expression of my thoughts, my dreams and my fears." Melchiorre has developed this style, which he calls "hypnotic art," over the years and it recently won him first prize in the Citroën Creative Awards for 2010.

Working as a freelance art director, mainly for advertising and fashion companies, in 2008 he founded his own studio called Idro51 Creative Design, developing projects for brands such as Sixty Group and Fiba Europe. "My main ambition is to continue to have fun with my work," he adds, "and always try to improve myself."

Flying colours No.04 Featured on a skateboard sold through Zazzle, this is part of a personal project from 2008. "It's based on the simple observation of a bird moving in its surroundings," explains Melchiorre. "The complete set consists of nine artworks; I wanted to represent the harmony of flight."