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Sheffield, UK Designer |
INTERVIEW 18 Created on August 2005 |
| RELATED LINKS: Universal Everything, Transistor Studios, Freefarm, Thisisrealart, Mateuniverse, Zeitguised, Evoke, Kleber, Sandersonbob |
| 1) AS USUAL: MATT PYKE IN A FEW WORDS? 30, English, male, good credit history, no criminal record  2) YOUR JOB AND POSITION FOR THE MOMENT? Designer, cleaner, creative director, security guard and owner of Universal Everything. About The Designers Republic : Many of the designers out there know that you were in the Designers Republic crew fo r8 years. Now the questions you certainly heard hundred times: 3) WHAT DID YOU LEARN WITHIN TDR? How the best can be bettered 4) THE BEST / WORST SOUVENIR THERE? Best - amazingly good peers. Worst - nostalgia for old styles. 5) WHY DID YOU LEAVE TDR CREW? Creative freedom and a clean slate. 6) ARE YOU STILL WORKING TOGETHER? Still working on getting drunk together.  About Universal Everything : 7) WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS NAME? It's the biggest possible name, gives me a huge space to work within! 8) HOW IS YOUR FREELANCER WORK GOING ON FOR THE MOMENT, AND WAS IT EASY TO JUMP INTO THE "FREELANCER'S WORLD"? if you know good people its easy. And if people know you it helps 9) YOU'RE NOT ALONE BEHIND UE RIGHT? I'm the one at the studio all night, all day. But I work with many amazing collaborators, including Freefarm for the sound design (www.freefarm.co.uk), Mate Universe and Zeitguised for 3D animation, (Mateuniverse / Zeitguised), Evan at Evoke for flash programming, Kleber for web programming, Sandersonbob for design / art direction and all the other I forgot… I am also represented in London by the amazing This is Real Art, who do all my project management and production. (www.thisisrealart.co.uk) 10) HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF UNIVERSAL EVERYTHING? Keep expanding the network, exploring new formats, keep evolving styles, and never stand still. 11) WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL JOURNEY (WORK/PERSONAL)? To work - reaching for my laptop / treo 650 Personal - smooth round out to the Peak District National Park 12) YOU'RE ALSO A MEMBER OF TRANSISTOR STUDIOS. WHAT IS YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THIS STUDIO, AND HOW ARE YOU WORKING FOR THEM? Yeah I joined in 2004, as soon as I left TDR I started speaking to them about the future. I have created the Backyard.com and transistorstudios.com websites, and am involved in many pitches and proposals for them. I am working in a great area of the convergence of motion graphics and web design.... lots of potential out there for the future for flash and video. Now let's talk a little bit about the family. 13) YOUR BROTHER SIMON IS KNOWN AS BEING THE ONE BEHIND FREEFORM, DOING ELECTRONICAL MUSIC (http://www.freefarm.co.uk/). SEEMS LIKE YOU CAME BOTH OF YOU FROM AN ARTISTICAL FAMILY? No, quite the opposite. A normal happy family, the town we grew up in was dull, so we had to event the world in our heads. |
14) SO YOU WENT INTO GRAPHICS AND YOUR BROTHER INTO AUDIO. This is it. I did the graffiti and he did the rapping! 15) HOW IS HIS CAREER AND YOUR COLLABORATIONS GOING ON? We are both working together all the time, and now we are following the same path, albeit different senses... 16) WHAT IS - ACCORDING TO YOU - THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING ART AND DESIGN IN SCHOOL? To know what's been done before and never to repeat it. At art college in London I learned how design has the power to influence people, and how you can experiment with this power to create unusual feelings, feelings of surprise and of beauty. Outside of college I lived and breathed design. You cannot stop thinking creative thoughts when you get home in the evening - its a life choice. I've always been most interested in creativity outside the realm of 'design' - original thinking in areas such as science, folk art, cuisine, computer music, generative software or children's' toys. 17) MORE GENERAL, HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED WITH COMPUTERS AND HOW DOES THIS INTERACTION AFFECT YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE? I grew up with them, its natural, so they have become a very powerful pencil to me. 18) HOW IMPORTANT IS HUMAN CONTACT FOR YOU IN THE JOB? In discussing ideas and possibilities, very. In producing the work, I like the artist's retreat kind of isolation  Now more personal: 19) WHAT HAVE YOUR CHILD'S DREAMS BECOME? Almost the same, without the hover boards… 20) YOUR GOALS IN LIFE? Keep it simple, just me and my thoughts. 21) WHAT ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES? I like simple, luxury brands with a twist - Miu Miu, YMC, Y-3, Mandarina Duck. My favorite product is Prada Firewood (it does exist!) 22) WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR MONEY? Reinvesting within Universal Everything, to maximize capital and market value in order to float on the stock market. 23) TEA OR COFFEE? No, just water, thanks. 24) WOULDN'T DECLINE A BEER ISN'T IT??? Yes please! Water = Worktime Beer = Playtime 24) GIVE ME YOUR TOMBSTONE EPITAPH. 'Advertise in this space' Conclusion : 25) AND ANY ADVICE FOR THE END? As a designer, everything you design, wear, say and use is an advert for yourself.
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