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Featured Artist Interview - Julien Morel
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Julien Morel
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Julien Morel would have you believe he's magical; the wonderous graphic landscapes he sculpts belie a subtle energy grinning upon its viewer like an electrical charge.
A graphic designer & illustrator based in the south of France, Julien Morel, or Joolz, as he prefers to be known, started as a professional musician before turning his artistic talents to the graphic art form. Translating musical notes and tunes into the waves & flows of his digital art, Joolz transforms montages into a musical symphony best experienced, not just seen.
TAXI sways to the music with Morel at his behest in the south of France.
TAXI>>Hi Julien! There's an exciting energy that seems to jump out straight from your work. Share with us the approach you take when embarking on projects, be it personal or professional, to achieve this effect.
Julien>>I drink 10 coffees a day! ;)
First of all, the project needs to motivate me. What I consider a healthy approach of the project with the client - i.e. a mutual understanding of our different professional practices, as well an important freedom of action – is essential.
As quite a dynamic person, I feel the need to convey movement and energy in the projects. To obtain the desired dynamic effects, I need to make myself completely available during creation time, when ideas come out, to make sure I catch their vivacity.
In order to do this, I need a quiet working environment, without the usual external intrusions (personal issues, clients calling on the phone, friends chatting on IM…), some good background music and… very hot coffee! ;)
TAXI>>As a graphic designer in the thick of it all, what currently keeps you motivated in work? What fuels your creativity?
Julien>>My key motivation is to surpass myself, to create an image that I haven’t done before. I am not comfortable playing always the same refrain so replicating a formula would bore me pretty quickly. On the other hand, with an interesting project that requires me to stretch my limits, ideas will shoot out.
I also really enjoy getting a strong message across, the challenge to find the right image! Of course, the work of other graphic designers / illustrators, music and cinema in particular, or art in general are also powerful drivers that make me want to produce nice things. Nature, politics, the news and people are also a source of inspiration ; I feel quite anchored to the real world.
TAXI>>As a designer, you have free reign over the messages you wish to convey and influence through art. In today's world do you believe designers should still have censors in place?
Julien>>As far as I’m concerned, I try to pay much attention to the messages conveyed in my images. In general, I like to address several themes. Therefore, I work carefully on these messages to make them intelligible – directly or indirectly – according to their level of importance.
Above all, I watch out for non-intentional messages. There is nothing worse than realising too late that an image or a text that I have produced contains an unwanted message, especially if this message goes against my convictions. I also enjoy and make use of provocation but I feel complied to self-regulate myself to avoid offending the wrong people unintentionally on sensitive issues.
Getting a hardline message across in a fair way requires much talent ; so in that sense yes, I do practice a form of self-censorship.
Yet, I think that trying too hard not to offend the ‘wrong target’ leads to develop more and more the consensual and empty images that surround us. The job of designers is also to bring people to question themselves!
TAXI>>What is the hardest part about being a creative graphic designer, and the hardest part about your work process?
Julien>>The hardest thing for me, as a creative graphic designer, is to sell an idea to a client who wants something else. It happens often that a client comes to me asking that I do again a piece of my work they likes or worse, to see me perform his preconceived idea. I consider that if they don’t produce the image themselves, it means they acknowledge my skills and therefore they need to trust me. No need to pay a creative for an underling’s work!
In my work process, the brief is the critical step: the final result depends on its quality. In other words, it is the client who makes the hardest part! ;) Then, the thinking phase is the most complex because you must find THE visual image. On a project, on a given problem, there are always many ideas and several possibilities to handle them graphically. The most difficult thing is to drive in the right direction. Here, the sketching part is fundamental.
TAXI>>You have an amazing array of tools and mediums, working with inanimate pencils and scissors to working on music videos. How do you feel your art contributes to society aside from an aesthetic value?
Julien>>Art is life, and the aesthetic dimension is very important. Even if substance is the most important part, the form of things is essential: certainly you wouldn’t appreciate that I yell at you to thank you for this interview? Therefore I find important that things are beautiful, and aesthetically well presented.
Then, as I stand up for my convictions and ideas, I try to communicate them. I don’t believe in a ‘bright future’ (that will never come) ; instead I think that if we can change the way to look at one thing, it means we can change one point of view ; and thousands of changing points of view can change the world. This applies to art as well as to everyday life.
TAXI>>You have a background in music and even in serigraphy; I would say all these have in one way or the other attributed to your current style. But share with us that dramatic, final pull that drew you to be the intense illustrator that you are today, and how your current style came about.
Julien>>When I got David Bowie's "Let's Dance" album in my hands! I was really young, but I can remember how fascinating was the typo on it. I drew it 100 times at school. I think it all came from that moment! Music and visual. ;)
TAXI>>If there is one thing you could change about the industry, what would it be?
Julien>>As I work for both Anglo-Saxon and French clients, I'd probably say: less fear in France regarding graphic design. Maybe I'd like the people here to develop a better graphical culture, to be more open-minded towards originality.
TAXI>>In this fast-paced world, we're all moving towards a goal of some kind. What does the future hold for Julien Morel?
Julien>>Nasty question… All I can say is that I hope to be able to improve myself further, both as a human being and as an artist because both are closely connected… I have a lot to do in that direction but I’m trying hard!
TAXI>>I'm sure everyone would love to see your current working space. How about showing it to us?
Julien>>With pleasure, here it is :
TAXI>>Okay, before we end, where would you like a TAXI to take you to now?
Julien>>Anywhere outside Europe! These days, I'm really attracted by Montreal.
© 2003 - 2008 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
A graphic designer & illustrator based in the south of France, Julien Morel, or Joolz, as he prefers to be known, started as a professional musician before turning his artistic talents to the graphic art form. Translating musical notes and tunes into the waves & flows of his digital art, Joolz transforms montages into a musical symphony best experienced, not just seen.
TAXI sways to the music with Morel at his behest in the south of France.
TAXI>>Hi Julien! There's an exciting energy that seems to jump out straight from your work. Share with us the approach you take when embarking on projects, be it personal or professional, to achieve this effect.
Julien>>I drink 10 coffees a day! ;)
First of all, the project needs to motivate me. What I consider a healthy approach of the project with the client - i.e. a mutual understanding of our different professional practices, as well an important freedom of action – is essential.
As quite a dynamic person, I feel the need to convey movement and energy in the projects. To obtain the desired dynamic effects, I need to make myself completely available during creation time, when ideas come out, to make sure I catch their vivacity.
In order to do this, I need a quiet working environment, without the usual external intrusions (personal issues, clients calling on the phone, friends chatting on IM…), some good background music and… very hot coffee! ;)
TAXI>>As a graphic designer in the thick of it all, what currently keeps you motivated in work? What fuels your creativity?
Julien>>My key motivation is to surpass myself, to create an image that I haven’t done before. I am not comfortable playing always the same refrain so replicating a formula would bore me pretty quickly. On the other hand, with an interesting project that requires me to stretch my limits, ideas will shoot out.
I also really enjoy getting a strong message across, the challenge to find the right image! Of course, the work of other graphic designers / illustrators, music and cinema in particular, or art in general are also powerful drivers that make me want to produce nice things. Nature, politics, the news and people are also a source of inspiration ; I feel quite anchored to the real world.
TAXI>>As a designer, you have free reign over the messages you wish to convey and influence through art. In today's world do you believe designers should still have censors in place?
Julien>>As far as I’m concerned, I try to pay much attention to the messages conveyed in my images. In general, I like to address several themes. Therefore, I work carefully on these messages to make them intelligible – directly or indirectly – according to their level of importance.
Above all, I watch out for non-intentional messages. There is nothing worse than realising too late that an image or a text that I have produced contains an unwanted message, especially if this message goes against my convictions. I also enjoy and make use of provocation but I feel complied to self-regulate myself to avoid offending the wrong people unintentionally on sensitive issues.
Getting a hardline message across in a fair way requires much talent ; so in that sense yes, I do practice a form of self-censorship.
Yet, I think that trying too hard not to offend the ‘wrong target’ leads to develop more and more the consensual and empty images that surround us. The job of designers is also to bring people to question themselves!
TAXI>>What is the hardest part about being a creative graphic designer, and the hardest part about your work process?
Julien>>The hardest thing for me, as a creative graphic designer, is to sell an idea to a client who wants something else. It happens often that a client comes to me asking that I do again a piece of my work they likes or worse, to see me perform his preconceived idea. I consider that if they don’t produce the image themselves, it means they acknowledge my skills and therefore they need to trust me. No need to pay a creative for an underling’s work!
In my work process, the brief is the critical step: the final result depends on its quality. In other words, it is the client who makes the hardest part! ;) Then, the thinking phase is the most complex because you must find THE visual image. On a project, on a given problem, there are always many ideas and several possibilities to handle them graphically. The most difficult thing is to drive in the right direction. Here, the sketching part is fundamental.
TAXI>>You have an amazing array of tools and mediums, working with inanimate pencils and scissors to working on music videos. How do you feel your art contributes to society aside from an aesthetic value?
Julien>>Art is life, and the aesthetic dimension is very important. Even if substance is the most important part, the form of things is essential: certainly you wouldn’t appreciate that I yell at you to thank you for this interview? Therefore I find important that things are beautiful, and aesthetically well presented.
Then, as I stand up for my convictions and ideas, I try to communicate them. I don’t believe in a ‘bright future’ (that will never come) ; instead I think that if we can change the way to look at one thing, it means we can change one point of view ; and thousands of changing points of view can change the world. This applies to art as well as to everyday life.
TAXI>>You have a background in music and even in serigraphy; I would say all these have in one way or the other attributed to your current style. But share with us that dramatic, final pull that drew you to be the intense illustrator that you are today, and how your current style came about.
Julien>>When I got David Bowie's "Let's Dance" album in my hands! I was really young, but I can remember how fascinating was the typo on it. I drew it 100 times at school. I think it all came from that moment! Music and visual. ;)
TAXI>>If there is one thing you could change about the industry, what would it be?
Julien>>As I work for both Anglo-Saxon and French clients, I'd probably say: less fear in France regarding graphic design. Maybe I'd like the people here to develop a better graphical culture, to be more open-minded towards originality.
TAXI>>In this fast-paced world, we're all moving towards a goal of some kind. What does the future hold for Julien Morel?
Julien>>Nasty question… All I can say is that I hope to be able to improve myself further, both as a human being and as an artist because both are closely connected… I have a lot to do in that direction but I’m trying hard!
TAXI>>I'm sure everyone would love to see your current working space. How about showing it to us?
Julien>>With pleasure, here it is :
TAXI>>Okay, before we end, where would you like a TAXI to take you to now?
Julien>>Anywhere outside Europe! These days, I'm really attracted by Montreal.
© 2003 - 2008 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.