We are pleased to chat with Vicki Tortouras, co-founder at IM.
"Formed in New Zealand in 2004, Image Mechanics has gone from strength to strength since opening our Sydney studio, continuing to deliver premium branding, design and digital services."
Awwwards: Please tell us a little bit about yourself: who are you, where do you come from and where are you going?
Vicki: My name is Vicki Tourtouras. I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. Who knows where the yellow brick road will take me...
Awww: What did you do before becoming a designer / developer?
Vicki: I've always been designing and creating. I did however throw myself into a psychology degree, partly out of interest and partly in my plight to save the world, but I quickly realised I preferred being a designer.
Awww: In your opinion, which is the future of the Web? (HTML5, Responsive Design, Flash, Mobile...)
Vicki: There's no question mobile is huge, it's widely regarded that within the next few years the web will be predominately consumed from a mobile device of some kind. In fact for some, surfing the web on a mobile device is their very first experience of the web. The challenge for designers then becomes, what technology(ies) we utilise to present our clients stories in engaging ways with a seamless experience across multiple form factors - responsive design is a step in this direction. Mobile is swiftly changing our industry; traditionally the focus was designing for desktop as the primary touch point then mobile. We're now seeing mobile only start-ups and the focus on mobile with the desktop experience as secondary. I'm not sure if one technology alone will dominate - like life, the future of the web will probably be a patchwork of different technologies; native apps, responsive, HTML5 and whatever is next on the horizon.
Awww: Where do you turn for inspiration?
Vicki: I often find myself drawing inspiration from aligned creative industries, creative discourse, gallery sites, the arts and through shutting out the noise for a while to digest it all. Inspiration comes from the strangest places, that's the magic of inspiration. Often the freshest ideas can come from untethering ourselves from the internet. One of the challenges we creatives face is when inspiration strikes; having the courage to believe in the idea and ourselves, to try something unconventional -- for the right reasons and consequently breaking the mould of the expected.
Awww: Which are your favorite studios, designers or agencies?
Vicki: So many talented people, a few that spring to mind are: product designers Dieter Rams and Jonathan Ive, Mike Mantas, 3 Deep and Collider from Australia.
Awww: Tell us about a unique story or funny anecdote related to your work.
Vicki: Working on a brand identity, the client consulted a Feng Shui expert to get an opinion on the use of colour. Needless to say the colour changed from a 'fire' colour to 'water' colour.
Awww: Which are you for: Mac or PC?
Vicki: Mac.
Awww: Which is your favorite software?
Vicki: Photoshop, Dropbox, Kaleidoscope and Versions by Sofa, and LiveView by Nicholas Zambetti (remote screen viewing app) are my indispensable tools.
Awww: Which city do you live in? Is it a good place for designers?
Vicki: I live in Sydney and think its a great place for designers. Ultimately there is such a great online community that designers can connect, support and learn from each other, so geography in many ways becomes obsolescent.
Awww: Which technologies are you excited about?
Vicki: Multitouch, Siri, NFC and AR.
Awww: Tell us about your latest project.
Vicki: We're looking forward to releasing our in-house app Nizo!
Awww: What did you do before becoming a designer / developer?
Vicki: I've always been designing and creating. I did however throw myself into a psychology degree, partly out of interest and partly in my plight to save the world, but I quickly realised I preferred being a designer.
Awww: In your opinion, which is the future of the Web? (HTML5, Responsive Design, Flash, Mobile...)
Vicki: There's no question mobile is huge, it's widely regarded that within the next few years the web will be predominately consumed from a mobile device of some kind. In fact for some, surfing the web on a mobile device is their very first experience of the web. The challenge for designers then becomes, what technology(ies) we utilise to present our clients stories in engaging ways with a seamless experience across multiple form factors - responsive design is a step in this direction. Mobile is swiftly changing our industry; traditionally the focus was designing for desktop as the primary touch point then mobile. We're now seeing mobile only start-ups and the focus on mobile with the desktop experience as secondary. I'm not sure if one technology alone will dominate - like life, the future of the web will probably be a patchwork of different technologies; native apps, responsive, HTML5 and whatever is next on the horizon.
Awww: Where do you turn for inspiration?
Vicki: I often find myself drawing inspiration from aligned creative industries, creative discourse, gallery sites, the arts and through shutting out the noise for a while to digest it all. Inspiration comes from the strangest places, that's the magic of inspiration. Often the freshest ideas can come from untethering ourselves from the internet. One of the challenges we creatives face is when inspiration strikes; having the courage to believe in the idea and ourselves, to try something unconventional -- for the right reasons and consequently breaking the mould of the expected.
Awww: Which are your favorite studios, designers or agencies?
Vicki: So many talented people, a few that spring to mind are: product designers Dieter Rams and Jonathan Ive, Mike Mantas, 3 Deep and Collider from Australia.
Awww: Tell us about a unique story or funny anecdote related to your work.
Vicki: Working on a brand identity, the client consulted a Feng Shui expert to get an opinion on the use of colour. Needless to say the colour changed from a 'fire' colour to 'water' colour.
Awww: Which are you for: Mac or PC?
Vicki: Mac.
Awww: Which is your favorite software?
Vicki: Photoshop, Dropbox, Kaleidoscope and Versions by Sofa, and LiveView by Nicholas Zambetti (remote screen viewing app) are my indispensable tools.
Awww: Which city do you live in? Is it a good place for designers?
Vicki: I live in Sydney and think its a great place for designers. Ultimately there is such a great online community that designers can connect, support and learn from each other, so geography in many ways becomes obsolescent.
Awww: Which technologies are you excited about?
Vicki: Multitouch, Siri, NFC and AR.
Awww: Tell us about your latest project.
Vicki: We're looking forward to releasing our in-house app Nizo!
Vicky Tortouras
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