Interview with Jamie Long

INTERVIEW WITH JAMIE LONG ( www.r1dco.com )
by brandon flowers
date: July 28/2002

B: You are multi-disciplined in web design, development, illustration, animation, and print -- but if there is one area which you tend to focus on?

J: it always changes. i'll get really into action scripting in flash for a while and then i'll focus on animation and then something else. it's really based on the kinds of projects i'm working on at the time. for the most part i've been really concentrating on design for the past year.

B: you have an impressive resume with diverse list of clients from corporate to the nu-skool breaks label 2wars.com, along with your work flash interactivity, two other credits struck me as unusual and ambitious: "font creation" and "created background plates for Imax films".

a) Did you actually create a font? If so, can we see it?

J: i worked out a few fonts during my time at 1000km design buro. i've included one that i really enjoyed creating (image attached).

b) Can you elaborate on the Imax film experience -- was your work projected on a sixty-story screen?

J: i was fresh out of school when i was working at Big Films so it was mostly work touching up backgrounds in photoshop. i did a few projects creating texture maps for 3d landscapes aswell.

B: Again, your resume lists you as "designer", "developer", "artistic director", do have an ideal position in mind or how do you currently see yourself in terms of a title?

J: i don't really want to slot myself into anyone position. i find myself having to switch from one to the other depending on the circumstance and how big the project is. i like understanding a bit about everything and working with people. i think it's more important for skilled people to work together on projects instead of having one person be the designer, one the developer and one the director.

B: I like your use of Flash interactivity; that many of the "cartoons" on your web site become animated when the cursor rolls over them or react to other button clicks, do you:

a) plan all these details before you begin or are you inspired by your own work and develop them as they come to you?

J: when i was working on the current r1dco.com website i really wanted to focus on the interaction between the user and the computer. rollovers are fine and good but i really wanted the user to enjoy exploring the website content. i tried to construct a sort of web machine with parts that reacted in an interesting way when you interacted with them. once i got started developing that idea it really inspired a lot of other elements in the site.

b) have total creative freedom to pursue these ideas?

J: my only real restriction is time. there's never enough unfortunately. i also have to keep my prospective clients in mind but i try not to let that alter my style very much.

B: Several of your pieces have an urban hip hop "look and feel", where do you take your inspiration? and who inspires you in the industry of new media?

J: i got a lot of insperation when i started www.torontobreaks.com. for those who don't know it's a site covering the breakbeat scene in toronto. all the people i met, artists, dancers, djs, music, it all effected me in a big way and effected my design style aswell. as far as the new media industry, buro destruct was my first major insperations. i like the 123klan work alot aswell.

B: As a new media designer, I imagine you are juggling several projects at once, but if had a few months to pursue just one project (i.e.. web site, magazine, video game), what would that be? And would you rather work independently or as part of team (and if as a team member, describe your role)?

J: i'd like to do some work on a magazine. it's something i'm going to try and explore. i also want to work on getting some clothing produced.

i always love working with a team. you gain so much more experiance when your working with other people. i'd like to work as an illistrator for a magazine.

B: Is there anything you've just finished for a client, and would like to show off on-line?

J: i just redesigned the website for the company i work for www.egriculture.ca aswell as www.torontobreaks.com . i'm really happy with how they turned out.

Deep Green Robots would like to thank Jamie for this interview and creating that special flash piece. Check out r1dco.com for more of his work.