samuelerics of Fresh Aesthetics

On October 19, 2007, Danis Linus linked up with samuelerics of Fresh Aesthetics on Skype.

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Dan: Hello Samuel, to start it off, who are you, where do you originate and what do you do?

Samuel: Well, I was born in Malaysia and now work as a designer.

Dan: And where do you live now?

Samuel: I'm now based in Melbourne, Australia. You?

Dan: I’m from Florida but we’re in Alabama at my parents right now and so it's always good to see family of course.

Samuel: Ah that’s great! Alabama... I was going to move there once.

Dan: Why in the world were you going to move to Alabama? Ha... that's great!

Samuel: I was offered a position to work for Integrity under one of the marketing directors.

Dan: That's awesome... I've always wanted to live in Austraila... so...

Samuel: Haha. Well, Australia welcomes you.

Dan: It’s 10:22am here (CST). What time is it there right now?

Samuel: 12:22am. The time I usually start work. Sort of.

Dan: Most of us have seen your work but probably don't know you... don't worry about name-dropping... go ahead... we wanna know some of the projects you've worked on...

Samuel: Haha. We've currently just finished the new United album artwork and will soon be available in stores.

Other projects include work with Paul Baloche, Parachute Band, Israel Houghton, Passion Conference under Louie Giglio, etc.

Dan: You do a lot of stuff for Hillsong... how'd you get plugged into that?

Samuel: Currently we have a few projects with Hillsong, but it started out doing the United MySpace which was our very first 'probono' work with them.

Dan: How long have you been around the design community and how did you get started? And, how old are you if you don't mind us asking...

Samuel: Well believe it or not, I started out designing because Hillsong had a cover competition for “You Are My World” back in 2001, and I entered that, and of course, being 13 then, my work was not on par with the many other talents around the world who entered the same competition. From then on I've had a passion for design. I'm currently 19 years of age.

Dan: That's incredible... I love the stuff you've done. You do any video stuff?

Samuel: Well I try! I don’t do video professionally at this point but we have people doing that for us.

Dan: How many people do you have with Fresh Aesthetics?

Samuel: Officially there are two directors, myself and Rajeev my business partner. However, we do contract our work to multiple designers; two of them locally and we have one in the States and Sweden. We might have one more coming on board from the UK but we're always looking for fresh talent.

Dan: Kind of a serious question... It appears at times that there is a lack of creativity in the Church. You've broken out of that mold. What are some of the reasons for this lack and what did you and those around you decide to do that enabled you to lead the way in creativity as opposed to merely playing catch-up which is so prevalent in the Church.

Samuel: It is a serious one and a good question indeed.

There are two reasons why some churches lack in 'creative expression'. One being the talent. Most of the time church brochures and other promotional materials are done by volunteers or church workers, and not every church has 'great' designers as members. However, most churches today do carry basic design well enough to communicate clearly - maybe not visually but in bold words created in MS Word.

Second reason, and probably the main reason why churches today lack creative excellence, is the unwillingness to invest in visual communications. However, this is understandable as not every church has the funding to pay a corporate designer to do their church announcements or monthly bulletin.

As for the church I go to, it's a fairly small one of about 150 members. But it so happens that, I as a designer, am a member of the church so, therefore volunteering to do their creative work for them.

Dan: Did you grow up in church?

Samuel: Yes I have.

Dan: Me too... and even with some of the stuff that goes with being a Pastor's Kid... I wouldn't have it any other way.

Samuel: Haha... I'm a PK too.

Dan: You do a lot of work with MySpace. How do you feel about MySpace as they relate to marketing and a new form of website. Where do you think it's headed?

Samuel: MySpace is the new website. Haha. I think MySpace pages, thought with its lack of features, is a one-stop marketing/promoting tool (speaking corporately and not from a Christian point of view). There are millions who are on MySpace everyday... why not tap into that 'market' which is major 'market'

From a ministry point of view, it’s great for announcements. Also, there are more chances people would visit your ministry MySpace page. If well promoted and easily accessed through top friends from members, the page would probably have more hits then your ministry website. Thus a good tool for announcement and event promotion.

Dan: And if people wanted to hit you up on MySpace and add you as their friend... your address is?

Samuel: www.myspace.com/samuelerics

Dan: Chuck Anderson is a PK as well and a great designer... I'll be interviewing him over the next few weeks... Who are some of the designers, motionographers, and artists out there do you like and that are shaking things up a bit?

Samuel: Well, i've always been inspired by the list of Hillsong designers, namely Glenn Stewart and Giles Lambart. As designers they're great and have a distinct style, very non-comforming, therefore bringing a new fresh edge to church visual communications.

Dan: Do you get to work with them directly and what is that process like?

Samuel: Not directly, and Giles not at all. We're currently working on the new Hillsong Kids album. Glenn is doing the DVD titles and I the print work.

Dan: Ok, real quick... Favorite piece you've done?

Samuel: The new United album of course. It's a baby. :)

Dan: Is it the hardest piece you've done?

Samuel: Yes and no... Yes, because of the time frame; No, because the artwork was quickly approved.

Dan: Can't wait to see it. What do you do when you are not creating something?

Samuel: Drawing inspirations from art sites. Haha.... or catching a movie.

Dan: You're an addict I can tell.

Samuel: Yeah, I need to work on that.

Dan: Last question. We always try to end with some sort of call to action for our readers. If there is one thing you could tell us that would move us to action in using the skills we have to make a difference... what would that be...

Samuel: "Surrender them to God" - in all success, it starts with that.

Dan: Great answer. Really appreciate your work and all you're doing to set a great example. Thanks so much again.

Samuel: Yep... sure, no worries. Have a good one.