Interview with Martin

Time to get to know a bit more about Martin. You've seen the work, let's hear a little something about the person.

Give us a short introduction about you.
I'm Martin Kool, one of the founders of this website. For the record, in Dutch 'Kool' means cabbage and is pronounced as 'Cole', hardly as cool as you thought ey? As part of my work as partner of a new media solution provider I have the role as GFXartist community manager and site administrator.

Where did you grow up? Tell us a little story about the young you.
I grew up in a small town near Hilversum in The Netherlands. Due to my father's work I've always had the luxury of having a computer in the house. I've drawn a lot and when we got an internet connection that transformed into development and design for the web. I've made countless of hideous designs for website I thought up in a second just to have something to create. It took a few years to pull myself up to a more professional level. After that, the work I did for clients and my Digital Media Design education did the rest.

Visual artists and music is like cookies and milk, does music do anything for you?
I like music, it's important to have some music around me especially when I work. It however doesn't inspire my work. Not consciously at least.

Which artists really influence you?
When I used to paint and illustrate, Joe Madureira really influenced me. Dave McKean also inspired me, but I guess our styles didn't match enough to really get influenced.

How would you describe your style?
Slightly corporate I guess, but with a twist. I get influenced a lot by other design styles, but always attempt to give it my own twist and not rely too much on temporary hot styles and widgets.

Is there something specific that sparked your creative side?
At preliminary school a friend and I started the comicpaper (stripkrant). We'd spend our free time working on getting new issues together and as silly as it sounds, that thing really was my first creative project.

What's your opinion about traditional media? Is it an advantage to have experience with real pencils, paint or conventional camera?
Definately. Having experience with traditional media gives you a strong reference point. Computer software largely mimics the properties of pencils, brushes, paint and so on. Having experience with how these things work in the real world makes you extra aware of the added value the computer has.

On the creative side, what are you trying to achieve? Is there a reachable goal you've put your focus on?
Being a designer/developer I'm put my focus on creating intuitive, usable interfaces that make sense. Although that sounds like a logical thing for a web developer, it's not something you easily achieve. My short term goal is to brush up on the design theory.

Do you strive to be as versatile as possible or do you stick to one thing?
Versatility is definately one of my stong points. My design work itself is very versatile and so are my skills. Visual design, interaction design, markup languages, programming. I try to cover as much ground as possible, although I do keep track of my key skills.

What equipment do you use to create your work?
I work with a pc, some 2/3 GHz. Adobe Photoshop is the tool of choice when it comes to visual design. Dreamweaver and textpad for web developement. That's pretty much it. I also have a Sony F505v digital camera, but I don't use it as much as I'd like.

Have you been educated in what you do? Where did you study and how much do you profit from it?
I have, I've studied Digital Media Design at the Utrecht School of Arts. A study that prepares you as director of digital media. A very diverse course with focus on the conceptual side. The interesting thing is that DMD'ers are very versatile, but everyone did develop a special aspect. The result was a mix of conceptualisers, designers and techies. I extended my DMD study with the EMMA, European Media Master of Arts. This master program brings the people from different courses together for a final year that result in a Master degree.

Do you work in the creative industry? Describe your job or the work you do.
I am one of three partners of a new media solution provider: Brothers in art. We put new media, like the internet, at work to address communication and marketing problems. My work involves a lot of designing as well as the other tasks your own company comes with. Administrator, managing your clients, the whole deal.

What makes your job so much fun?
The freedom. We're doing what we're good at and we're slowly discovering where we want to take this and where we can take this. We have our growth in our own hands and although we've had our tough times I wouldn't trade it for being an employee.

What is the most exciting (commercial) project you've worked on? What made it stand out?
Without a doubt this baby right here. This site is our flagship and is the finest example of what we're capable of. Design, concept, marketing, content management, community management, support, communication, everything is represented. It has not been an easy task but I've never learned and continue to learn this much from a project. And besides that, this group of people fuels me. The art is inspiring, the talent overwhelming and the discussions are of a high level.

Any final words for the readers?
Enjoy, that's important. You've got more influence than you think, use it to make the best out of the situation you're in.