Mike Kus
UK based Graphic/Web Designer & Illustrator and my favourite iPhone app is Instagram
Mike Kus is a graphic designer and illustrator turned web and UI designer. He's now been working in the creative industries for 15 years. Combining his graphic design and illustration skills with frontend development skills, Kus has become known for creating web design that seamlessly marries form and function. His work has been featured in many design books and magazines and he regularly speaks at design/web design conferences across the globe. Mike works for clients worldwide and has designed work for the likes of Twitter, Microsoft, Berocca and Mailchimp among others.
10 questions for Mike Kus:
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What did you do before becoming a designer/developer?
Before I was a designer, I was in education. After school I did a Foundation Art course for 1 year, a two year Graphic Design Diploma and lastly I gained a BA Honours degree in Art and Related Arts. So, when I came out of University, all I did was paint pictures. I didn't really want to become a full-time artist, so I returned to the work of graphic design.
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Where do you turn for inspiration?
I get inspiration from all over. It's the brief of the project that steers my direction. From there I know where to look for inspiration. It could be other websites but more often than not it's old packaging, film, adverts etc. Creatively speaking, I've never really looked at the canvas of the web any differently from a paint canvas. Of course I have to take the UX into consideration but I just make it my goal to make the creative design work seamlessly with the functional design.
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Which are your favorite studios, designers or agencies?
I really don't have a particular favourite. There is a ton of work out there that I find amazing but there's not a particular agency or person I follow. But over the years I enjoyed the work of I love Dust, Jon Contino amongst many others.
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Who do you side with: Team Mac or Team PC?
MAC
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Is your city a good place for designers?
I live in a small town but there is a good group of designers doing good stuff.
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Which technologies are you excited about?
I don't really get excited about technology, I just get excited by design.
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How many hours do you work each week?
Between 40 - 60
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Do you listen to music while you work? Describe your playlist.
We listen to music all day everyday. Some of the artist you will find in our studio are: Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins, Radiohead, Nosaj Thing, Apparat, Warpaint, Grizzly bear, Metronomy and loads more.
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What is your favorite book?
I don't have a favourite book
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What is your favorite sport?
I don't have a favourite sport
