Ben Newman

I asked Ben some questions and he kindly replied.

[1] How was your first experience of commissioned work and what impact did it have on your work?


My first commission came in my last year at University and I had to illustrate a poem about love. The excitement of seeing your work in print never gets boring. It can sometimes be frustrating though when your illustration gets altered just before it goes to print and you are unaware of the changes until you see the finish article. Luckily, that doesn’t happen too often. 


[2] You carefully use contrasting colours to emphasize lift, do you plan this initially?



Yes, very much so. I’m obsessed with colour and I always want my images to ping and sizzle by using a vibrant palette.

[3] What is your preferred media and how do you finalise your images? 



Everything I design is drawn by hand and traced on a light box. I use the computer to finalise my images and ready them for whichever medium they need to be printing in i.e. screen-printing, digital, litho, etc.

[4] Do clients tend to be flexible in their requirements or do they have specific briefs/ideas? 



It ranges dramatically. Most jobs I’ve done for AD agencies are very, very specific so you mainly concentrate on the aesthetic rather than the concept. Some clients will just give me a loose theme and then I go from there. Nobrow are my only client that give me pretty much complete and total control over my projects and that’s why I love working for them so much.

[5] Have you approached clients directly, or have you always relied upon agencies for work due to the recession? 



Luckily, clients approach me but I leave most of the contact work to my agent. I do portfolio runs around some of the London agencies from time to time.

[6] Do you have any tips on what clients want to hear? i.e. (reassurances)? 


Don’t wait for them to ask questions. Talk confidently and humbly about your work but don’t waffle on for too long. Clients see heaps of portfolios all the time so be direct, positive and amicable.

www.bennewman.co.uk
www.benhasapencil.blogspot.com