The Interview Series: Intervju med Mosh, CorelDRAW användare & Beta testare, driver sitt eget företag som frilansare, Mosh Designer i Mexico, Nordamerika

You like myself is a user of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. What was it that made you discover, and drew you to CorelDRAW Graphics Suite?

My first computer was a gift (in the nineties), and had CorelDRAW 4 installed on it. I was puzzled at the beginning as to the concept of an object having its fill and its outline treated as different things, since I used to draw by hand a lot. I gradually started to learn it on my own.

What year was that?

Around 1994 or ’95.

Which Programs do you use, Corel and none-Corel programs? 

Photoshop and Draw are my main tools, though I sometimes use InDesign, FontLab, Painter and – yuck – sometimes even Illustrator.

Do you use any analog tools in conjuntion with your work?

On most occasions I sketch by hand. Sometimes I scan what I do but most of the time I work all digital for the final piece.

Which year was it you started your business, your work?
1998, probably. I started working at a small advertising agency run by a friend of mine.

Would you recomend CorelDRAW Graphics Suite? 

Yes, definitely. Its interface is very friendly and the possibilities it gives for graphic purposes are enormous.

What, more importantly, made you begin working with the work you do today? After all you could have made a career as a hairdresser or something in that line instead, like any other human being.

I guess it all started when I discovered at an early age about the pleasures of drawing = ) When I was 18 I was unsure about Graphic Arts or Philosophy. Graphic design was a way of doing something akin to the arts but without the risk of starving to death : )

What is that you like with your work? 

What would you like to see in future versions of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite? Is there anything you would like to see? 

Do you drink coffee or tea in the morning? 

I always have breakfast first thing in the morning: cereal, milk and perhaps fruit. Later on, water mostly. I tend to think coffee will only fatten my body.

What do you think is important to think about running your own business or in your line of work, to think about. Is it discipline or and something else? 

Discipline, drive and social skills; that’s the difference between Running and Ruining.

For someone just starting out, what do you think they should think about? 

To previously read about running this kind of businesses, to inform oneself about its down-to-earth risks and chores.

Is there any big change in how and what you worked with when you first started out. Have the business changed in any way? 

Yes, the transition to digital saved the designer a lot of tedious work, speeded up the time, permitted him/her to make corrections on the fly and the possibilities have expanded. For example, producing a piece which combines pastels, oils and watercolour would be impossible with traditional media. I remember we had a typography teacher who was kind of stuck in the Eighties. She tried to teach us how to calculate type spacing in an old-fashioned way which was no longer relevant. It must’ve been a pain to have to do such calculations in the pre-PC era. Needless to say, I have never needed that knowledge in my day-to-day chores.
Design has also turned cheaper for the final customer.