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Featured Artist Interview - LULU*PlasticPirate
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LULU*PlasticPirate
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The carefree whisps of this Berlin-based artist has earned her accolades through sheer talent, imagination and experience. From her early impressions of form and color in her mother's flower ship in Solingen, Germany, to the offices of Swiss design outfit Buero Destruct, she has focused career as an illustrator in Berlin since 2003.
While at once feminine, flirty and inexplicably charming, LULU*'s illustration blend old school hand-drawn techniques with computer elements, which make up the formal and technical synthesis which defines her widely beloved style.
TAXI drops into Berlin for an informal chat with this disarmingly sweet illustrator.
TAXI>>There is a care-free, almost abstract quality in the lightness of your work, and its soft quality lends the illusion of being almost incomplete in design. Describe to us your design process, and when do you know your design is finally done?
LULU*>>Thank you for this feeling about my work. I have no concept while I am working, alot is "just" happening. Often I look a long time at one piece and I think it is never going to be finished. I leave it and work on something else.
I am inspired by many old books and magazines, often it is the simplicity in older artwork from the '60s that attracts me. Finished is the illustration when I am happy with it, sometimes it is just the movement of a circle or a pattern.
Sorry, but there is no perfect way of creating the right image, it is all about intuition.
TAXI>>You combine hand-drawn elements with digital; what are the limitations in mixing both traditional & digital media that you have encountered in your design process?
LULU*>>One limit is the dimension, you have fixed sizes of the desktop and my scanner is A4 format. If you draw bigger you have a problem, so you start cutting out parts of big papers. I love to arrange all the little elements I hand-draw, cut out with the computer and make something new out of it.
Limitation is really only the size, I think - everything else is possible.
TAXI>>Share with us the reason behind your alter-ego, LULU*
LULU*>>Well, I used to work in Switzerland with the well-known graphic design group buero destruct, all guys. I was still a student and was searching for a name I could use to do my artwork, because I did not like my given name. They came up with LULU* one day, THE PLASTICPIRATE. (because I was wearing (these days) funny clothes).
TAXI>>What drives you to design, capturing life & characters in your wonderfully distinctive art?
LULU*>>Maybe it is still my childhood, having grown up in my parents' flowershop. The beauty of colors and the smell. There is a lot beauty and pureness around us, which we often do not see anymore because we are stressed. Time flies by and it is like taking a picture of certain moments, not by a camera but by myself.
TAXI>>You've worked with an extensive list of clients including Bloomingdale's, Swarowski and Mercedes Benz. Share with us what it is like as an illustrator when trying to combine your own individualistic style with companies that have a strong brand presence in the industry.
LULU*>>You are lucky when they ask you to work for them because they like your style. This is a good position, the rest is negotiating different opinions, feelings, impressions and the market. It is fun but always very close to what they have in mind, well thats normal because they are strong brands. The most interesting thing about it is, when I work with bigger companies, that there is always something I can add to their product or their company, this is a nice feeling.
TAXI>>When you first began, you were recognized as one of Germany's emerging talents. Today you are at the forefront of design with an established portfolio of work. What have you learnt along the way in your career that you wish to share with aspiring illustrators?
LULU*>>I know that there are so many good people out there doing the same job. Best is to try to be yourself and create your own style, be happy with what you are doing that is the most important thing about it.
TAXI>>Berlin, where you are based, is well-known as a design haven. What do you think of the design community, and the influences of American art & culture within?
LULU*>>The scene is growing very fast. Most of the artists I know are living here or moving here in the next months.
Galleries are opening or getting bigger and with the huge amount of museums we have a lot of space to see big formats. The influence is there, but still we have our own way of expressing, like every other culture. Not only American art is influencing, Berlin is also very multi-cultural and this is a great inspiration.
TAXI>>What is one thing you hate most about your work, and one thing you love most?
LULU*>>The most I hate about is that sometimes people think you can do a good artwork in one day, I love the most about it that I have my own studio and working schedule and freedom to do what I want. (If my little daughter lets me ;)
TAXI>>I'm sure everyone would love to see your current working space. How about showing it to us?
LULU*>>Sure, I also always want to see how people work...
TAXI>>Okay, before we end, where would you like a TAXI to take you to now?
LULU*>>I have not been to New York for a long time...my most favorite city in the world.
© 2003 - 2008 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
While at once feminine, flirty and inexplicably charming, LULU*'s illustration blend old school hand-drawn techniques with computer elements, which make up the formal and technical synthesis which defines her widely beloved style.
TAXI drops into Berlin for an informal chat with this disarmingly sweet illustrator.
TAXI>>There is a care-free, almost abstract quality in the lightness of your work, and its soft quality lends the illusion of being almost incomplete in design. Describe to us your design process, and when do you know your design is finally done?
LULU*>>Thank you for this feeling about my work. I have no concept while I am working, alot is "just" happening. Often I look a long time at one piece and I think it is never going to be finished. I leave it and work on something else.
I am inspired by many old books and magazines, often it is the simplicity in older artwork from the '60s that attracts me. Finished is the illustration when I am happy with it, sometimes it is just the movement of a circle or a pattern.
Sorry, but there is no perfect way of creating the right image, it is all about intuition.
TAXI>>You combine hand-drawn elements with digital; what are the limitations in mixing both traditional & digital media that you have encountered in your design process?
LULU*>>One limit is the dimension, you have fixed sizes of the desktop and my scanner is A4 format. If you draw bigger you have a problem, so you start cutting out parts of big papers. I love to arrange all the little elements I hand-draw, cut out with the computer and make something new out of it.
Limitation is really only the size, I think - everything else is possible.
TAXI>>Share with us the reason behind your alter-ego, LULU*
LULU*>>Well, I used to work in Switzerland with the well-known graphic design group buero destruct, all guys. I was still a student and was searching for a name I could use to do my artwork, because I did not like my given name. They came up with LULU* one day, THE PLASTICPIRATE. (because I was wearing (these days) funny clothes).
TAXI>>What drives you to design, capturing life & characters in your wonderfully distinctive art?
LULU*>>Maybe it is still my childhood, having grown up in my parents' flowershop. The beauty of colors and the smell. There is a lot beauty and pureness around us, which we often do not see anymore because we are stressed. Time flies by and it is like taking a picture of certain moments, not by a camera but by myself.
TAXI>>You've worked with an extensive list of clients including Bloomingdale's, Swarowski and Mercedes Benz. Share with us what it is like as an illustrator when trying to combine your own individualistic style with companies that have a strong brand presence in the industry.
LULU*>>You are lucky when they ask you to work for them because they like your style. This is a good position, the rest is negotiating different opinions, feelings, impressions and the market. It is fun but always very close to what they have in mind, well thats normal because they are strong brands. The most interesting thing about it is, when I work with bigger companies, that there is always something I can add to their product or their company, this is a nice feeling.
TAXI>>When you first began, you were recognized as one of Germany's emerging talents. Today you are at the forefront of design with an established portfolio of work. What have you learnt along the way in your career that you wish to share with aspiring illustrators?
LULU*>>I know that there are so many good people out there doing the same job. Best is to try to be yourself and create your own style, be happy with what you are doing that is the most important thing about it.
TAXI>>Berlin, where you are based, is well-known as a design haven. What do you think of the design community, and the influences of American art & culture within?
LULU*>>The scene is growing very fast. Most of the artists I know are living here or moving here in the next months.
Galleries are opening or getting bigger and with the huge amount of museums we have a lot of space to see big formats. The influence is there, but still we have our own way of expressing, like every other culture. Not only American art is influencing, Berlin is also very multi-cultural and this is a great inspiration.
TAXI>>What is one thing you hate most about your work, and one thing you love most?
LULU*>>The most I hate about is that sometimes people think you can do a good artwork in one day, I love the most about it that I have my own studio and working schedule and freedom to do what I want. (If my little daughter lets me ;)
TAXI>>I'm sure everyone would love to see your current working space. How about showing it to us?
LULU*>>Sure, I also always want to see how people work...
TAXI>>Okay, before we end, where would you like a TAXI to take you to now?
LULU*>>I have not been to New York for a long time...my most favorite city in the world.
© 2003 - 2008 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.