Talent + Process = You Gotta See This

For the past 5 years you may have noticed that our Christmas card game has been particularly on point (if we may say so ourselves). That’s because we managed to find the ideal graphic designer to capture SPARK’s voice, humor, and commitment to quality. Since then, he’s expanded into designing other holiday mailings, announcements, trade show banners, postcards—anything with enough surface area to feature his illustrations. We can’t get enough.

So we wanted to take a moment to spotlight the artist behind the work. Folks please give it up for…Vince Robertson.

Welcome to Ramnation!

Vince is yet another successful VCU grad, earning his degree in graphic design before it was cool. But after graduating, he followed his artistic passion—and pursued a glamorous career in painting and photography.

For a while he was making it. Group shows and solo shows, from New York City to Hong Kong—yet by the time he was thirty he’d realized the painting world wasn’t what he thought it would be. So he left the game, shrugged off his disillusionment, and went back to what he’d gone to school for: graphic design.

With a keen eye and a work ethic to match, Vince built himself a career in agency work balanced with creative freelance. And yes, he still paints—but mostly just for himself and special commissions.

Tools of the Trade

Thanks to the generosity of a friend who was already a graphic designer, Vince was able to teach himself Illustrator and Photoshop, hitting the books and catching himself up to speed on current trends, methods, and styles.

For his work he uses a variety of design programs, depending on the project. Throughout his career he’s found it helpful to stay in tune on several platforms—both to keep himself sharp, and also to deliver the most streamlined client experience possible. And even as you read this, he’s busy setting up for film and video production. An object in motion…

Another key to his success has been Instagram. He uses his page as a pure portfolio—presenting a constant stream of new work reflecting the style and context of his inner and outer world. Along with that, in true entrepreneurial spirit he’s also developing the next phase of his website, through which he hopes to bring his painting and graphic design together under one roof.

Imagine the possibilities…

Advice for would-be graphic designers

When it comes to getting into the graphic design game, Vince says: Keep doing the work. Keep your portfolio up to date.

He knows from experience. His day job is managing a team of graphic designers, and he can’t even tell you how many young job applicants offer portfolio samples from when they were 16 years old. But graphic design styles and expectations evolve through the years (as do artists themselves) and people who want to work in the field have to stay on top of what’s current.

Graphic design isn’t just about being good at Photoshop, he says. It’s about staying competitive in a packed and ever-changing field. That means research and practice, and it means creating new relevant work whether or not it’s for a job.

And maybe that’s part of why we like working with him. He shares our values and our approach to craft and quality. He understands SPARK and what we stand for. And somehow he captures that in shapes and colors on a screen.

See more of his stuff at VinceRobertson.com.