by Rick Mullenix | Community Manager
We have a lot of talent in our Design Community, and this month we are proud to feature long-time designer Smith1979. His creative style can be seen across many mediums, from logos, t-shirts, packaging design, and music! To date Smith1979 has won 114 contests, been selected as a Finalist 220 times, and received many positive feedback.
In this post you will learn about Smith1979’s interesting ties to his musical influences, how he finds visual keys for designs, and what long awaited surprise he has coming 3 months from now!
Roni with his wife Sifa and on stage performing with his band.
ABOUT SMITH1979
48: Hello Smith1979, glad we’re able to chat with you today! So where does your name “Smith1979” come from?
RT: My real name is Roni Tresnawan, but most of my friends call me “Smith.” It started during college because I am a huge fan of “The Cure” whose frontman is Robert Smith, so they call me Smith. Then the name “Smith1979” came from my experiment graphic design project back in college – 1979 is the year of first The Cure album was released. I’ve used it until now and I think it gives me some kind of luck!
48: Sounds like music, particularly The Cure, has a big influence in your life. Are there any others?
RT: I do love all kinds of music and I’m really open to every style, start from some kind of brainwash music, traditional/ethnic, classical, modern, everything! But right now I love to hear more Instrumental Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Electronic, Boogie, and started to love Jazz recently. My favorite artists of all time are The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and God is an Astronaut. I also record my own solo music – music is very important to me. I can’t see things right without it!!
48: That covers one love of you life, are there any others?
RT: I love football! Born as PERSIB, Juventus and Liverpool big fans! Love Guitar. I also love gaming. I really like playing Real Time Strategy games and I’m a football freak so I like playing FIFA2014 a lot! Last thing I love is to hanging around in gigs with my community, I have a lovely music community in my town and sometimes we make our own gigs (Indie) low budget. But that’s the main excitement – to see talented musicians with honest music work.
48: Sounds like a supportive community, where are you from?
RT: I was born and raised in Bandung City, the capital of my province Jawa Barat, so I speak fluently “Sundanese” as it is my Cultural language. But I also speak Bahasa Indonesia and English.
48: That’s great to be able to stay in one place like that. So how old are you now, do you have a family of your own?
RT: I’m 27 years old. Married to my wife Sifa in September, 2013. We have a little baby that’s been in my wife’s belly for 6 months now, I’m so excited to become a father!
48: Roni that’s awesome! Congrats on the marriage and new baby coming soon! This may change once the baby has arrived, but do you have any hobbies outside of designing?
RT: Hobbies outside design is definitely music! I have two band and my own solo music project. My first band is called “my violainé morning” and it has 1 LP Album and 3 Mini Albums. Formed in 2004 you can visit the band site at https://www.myviolainemorning.com Another band I’m in is called “Pop at Summer” which is definitely a Pop band. Check it here: https://www.facebook.com/popatsummer and you can listen some of our songs here: https://soundcloud.com/pop-at-summer .
ABOUT DESIGN
48: Do you have any formal training in design, or are you self taught?
RT: I haven’t completed college, had to drop out in 2007, but I was 3 years in at that point. It was a FSRD Desain Komunikasi Visual (Visual Communication Design) at Indonesian Computer University (UNIKOM) in 2004, but I’m self taught too.I I’m a quick learner, back when I was in High School I learned how to do some graphic design on my home PC with the guidance of an older friend who had studied it, then everything came naturally. I really like to collect different artwork and learn how to do it for myself.
48: So you were already designing before you started school in 2004?
RT: I’ve been a Graphic Artist for almost 10 years now, but officially working on it after I dropped college because of funding issues. So it’s been about 7 years.
48: What do you do about finding inspiration for your designs?
RT: I always do some sketches to get inspired, watch TV shows, see lot of artwork, and also inspiration from music! Music is a lovely way to get inspired, every songs have a different view and many times I’ve found inspiration from that.
48: All designers have to use fonts, a lot, which ones are you partial to?
RT: 1. Futura Family – Firm, Clear, Bold, this font represent me very much! 2. Gotham Family – Simple, Clean, easy to modified. 3. Helvetica Family – Smart type!
48: Nice picks. Are there any logo designs you’ve created that you’re especially proud of?
RT: I love every logo design I make, but I really love “SweetPressUK” Logo design and recent winning logo “Touchdown Nations”
48: How would you design your personal style?
RT: I love typography very much, playing around with type, modifing fonts. Also I love simple and bold designs. Recently I’ve learned to play smart with the negative space, and I really like it very much! I’m always learning and do the best with every experience I have.
48: What goes through your mind when you begin working on a design?
RT: Visual Key! It’s very important for a brand/company to have a visual identity so when people see their logo it must represent what the company does and the character of the brand/company. I always try to find it through some concept mapping before working on a logo, once I have a Visual Key, then I can easily apply it to the logo. Sometimes it can be very hard because there’s not enough information, so I improvise!
48: Are there any logos in use right now that you would like to redesign or update?
RT: hmmm… the meatball logo of NASA I think, it really need a fresh logo due to the fast movement of technology. The font type is too old (vintage). There was a change to the worm version (logotype) which I like very much but I don’t know why the meatball logo is back. Also the Ebay Logo, I think it lacks a visual key!
ABOUT 48HOURSLOGO
48: How long have you been a designer with 48HoursLogo.com?
RT: I don’t remember exactly when I joined, but I think in 2011, so I have been registered at 48hourslogo for 3 years. I wasn’t too active when I first joined, but started more consistently in September 2012.
48: How did you find 48HoursLogo.com?
RT: Back when I was working in an IT and Design Agency my co-worker told me about some crowdsourcing sites and one of them was 48hourslogo.com . After I resigned from there, I convinced myself to work as a full time freelancer.
48: What type of work history do you have before joining on here?
RT: I had worked as an IT Consultant from 2008 to 2009, then worked in a Clothing Company for a year. In 2010 I joined one of the IT and Design Agencies in my town before I decided to be a full time freelancer. I had joined on similar crowdsourcing sites but no better place like home right?
48: Why do you choose to design at 48HoursLogo.com over competitor Logo Contest sites?
RT: This site is the most comfortable and faster growing than any competitor sites. It gives designers and clients many smart options. There’s better communication with the clients, it’s user friendly, and there’s great appreciation for hard work. I’ve been on the other crowdsourcing sites, but trust me 48hourslogo is far far better! It’s my home now and it’s the best one!
48: Glad to hear you’re real happy here! Has your life changed at all since you started with us?
RT: Joining and being active in 48hourslogo really gives me more motivation to be a better graphic artist. I can earn more money than I was getting as a “worker” in a company. I can provide a better life for my family, get married and have a happier life.
Check out more of Smith1979’s work on his Portfolio Page. You can also hire him directly through our sister site, FreelanceHour.com!
On behalf of the staff and community here at 48HoursLogo.com, I would like to thank Roni for sharing a bit about himself with us! Really enjoyed speaking with him, if you have any questions or comments for Smith1979 let him know in the comments below!
Don’t miss our previous Featured Designer Series with Karjen! Also if you have any questions about Downloading the Final Logo Package, check out our recent post here.