Oakland Design Student Finalist in Design*Sponge Scholarship!
Author:Stephanie OrmaCalifornia College of the Arts graphic design student, Justin Carlisle-Angrand, is kick-starting the holidays with some stellar news.
Uber-popular design blog, Design Sponge, just named the talented Oakland undergrad a finalist in their 2011 D*S Scholarship – an international award that sifts out the next generation of artists and designers and supports them in their creative endeavors. The prize? A whopping no-strings-attached $10,000. Sweet!
After narrowing down hundreds of promising applicants, Justin’s psychedelic-inspired graphics made it to the top 10. Voting ends today and he’ll find out next week if he wins, but in our eyes – he’s already scored big time. Here’s an exclusive interview with the young artist (and a peek at his work):
Did you totally flip when you heard you were a finalist?
I was seriously surprised – even to find out I was the only student from CCA in the running was especially shocking to me.
Any dream plans on how you would spend the winnings?
First on my list would be to fix my MacBook Pro! Then I would use some of the winnings to have my digital and handmade work reproduced at a larger scale for two upcoming February group gallery shows. Another portion would support a Zine showcasing members from this creative collective I’m a part of, Ontask Family, and other featured artists. The rest would go towards upcoming school projects, as well as personal ones.
How would you describe your style?
I’m heavily inspired by past psychedelia artwork, which I try to incorporate into my own work. But I’m still exploring and experimenting, so I’m not fixed on any specific style yet.
Design or illustration – which side of the pixel/pencil do you sway?
To incorporate both design and illustration into my work would be awesome actually. I recently started drawing again to step back from the computer, so to have a balance of the two would be great.
Ultimate dream project/client?
Collaborating with artists whose work I really admire.
Where in the Bay Area do you find creative inspiration?
I enjoy going to Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley to find inspiration.