Interview with/
Rasmus Wangelin
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Hello Rasmus, please tell us a bit your biography. How did you become a designer and where did you study. If not a designer, then who would you be?
My name is Rasmus Wangelin and I'm a designer/animator/illustrator from the dark forests of southern Sweden.
From a young age I?ve always had a desire to create things. I grew up around painters, writers and musicians as neighbors. No one in my family is a designer and I was always told to make my own life path. The first time I understood that I had some kind of talent was when I won a drawing contest for Sun-Maid Raisin. I was around 9 years old at the time I think. But I never really got into digital design until I was around 16 years old. I was living in a small city in Sweden and my life was surrounded by normality and boredom. My days consisted of skateboarding, doing graffiti sketches on papers during class and playing computer games. I think I had a dream to find a more exciting life somewhere else and I wanted to reach it through design.
After some time abroad in Spain and California, I decided to take the first step to make this my profession so I attended Hyper Island. It was one of my best decisions ever. I grew as a designer and person, found great friends and love. For my internship I worked at Big Spaceship as a motion graphics designer.
If I wasn't a designer I would be working with music. My dad is a music teacher and I've been surrounded by Spanish guitars and African drums all my life. I took drum school studies and played in two rock bands growing up. My mom and dad suggested that music studies would be good for upper secondary school studies but design seemed much more cool back then.
Where are you working now and what have you been doing during the last year?
I'm a visual designer for Nike at R/GA in New York. Before I moved here about 5 months ago I was in Sweden working as an animator and designer creating TV show packages and design strategy consultant for various companies. I was also responsible for Motion Week at Hyper Island giving lectures and workshops on After Effects for the current students. In March 2008 I competed and won WIF 08 (Web Design International Festival) in Limoges/France together with three of my old classmates from Crew11.
Ok, speaking about RGA, could you describe how the design process usually happens there?
Sure. Usually it starts with the whole team talking to the client, trying to figure out what goals they want to reach. Once we have our goals and objectives, the designers and the art director have a quick chat about the approach we want to take visually. At this point there?s room for ideas, inputs and suggestions even from junior designers. Sometimes there?s room for explorations and sometimes we just need to hammer away something quick.
We usually revise the design a couple of times to make sure everyone contributes and to make sure we?re doing the best work possible. Sometimes we bring in other designers/producers/copywriters/interaction designers to get a fresh eye and opinion on things. The final design can be a collaboration between 2-3 designers or the work of one alone.
If you were a CEO of RGA, what would you change there?
I would build an underground transportation system to Puerto Rico and promote my friends.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to stay in New York for a while because I really enjoy the city. I feel that I?m working at the right place at the right time with the right thing. I?m trying to embrace the future with an open mind and heart, not locking myself too much into a fantasy of how things are going to be. I will put my all into whatever I decide to do and try not to lose focus of what?s really important in life: to have fun, evolve, have friendships and love..
Do you think New York inspires you more than Sweden? Do you miss your home?
New York is by far the best city I?ve been to. There is an energy here that I?ve never experienced before. I miss my family and friends but most of them are spread across the globe anyways. Here in New York I live and hang out with people in the industry; that alone is very inspiring but I?m glad that we usually leave work at work and just hang out as people.
There are always a lot of events going on that?s art or fashion related so there?s a lot of opportunities to meet new, interesting people. But boredom also helped me creatively. I would never have sat so much in front of my computer trying to learn programs and techniques if I grew up in New York.
Do you work mostly on Nike, or other account? Which one you prefer and why?
I only work on Nike. That was the account I was offered and why I took the job. Nike is often open to new ideas and is always trying to push the limits. It's a lot of fun and I wouldn?t want to work on any other account right now.
Comparing to Big spaceship, what are the differences for you?
Big spaceship is smaller, and you get to know everyone pretty quick. At R/GA you see new faces almost every day. But there are a lot of similarities.
Both companies are open to try new techniques and are trying to move the web forward. Both companies hold a lot of talent and you meet people whose portfolio you?ve seen floating around for years. Big Spaceship has a sweet foosball table and R/GA has a sweet coffee bar.
What about your offline life. What are you other hobbies and how do you spend your spare time?
When I get out of work I try to not do any computer related things. I meet up with friends, hang out with my roomie Jens, play guitar, party etc. I also try to work out as much as possible. I bought a ps3 a while ago but I never play. It’s always something more appealing going on somewhere. Compared to my life in Sweden where I had to wait for things to happen, my free time here in New York is never enough.
Usually the result becomes lack of sleep.
How do you see the web design in 5 years?
More user interaction, more mobile components, more 3D. As everyone draws experience from each other and software evolves we?ll see web sites get better and better. I think the way we look at interactive design is changing a lot. Just a few years ago internet was used for chatting and finding information for school projects, now we're shopping, playing and getting married online. I think many devices in our everyday lives is going to be used much more digitally. Mobile phones are just starting to really interact with the web in a useful way. I see that many companies are still trusting traditional advertising, but as internet is getting more accessible and targeting newer generations this is going to change. Interactive is going to be the strongest channel of advertisement.
Well, thanks! Last question - where did you buy the black tie?
H&M. I've introduced something called 'Friday tieday ' here at R/GA and I try to make everyone wear a tie. It's spreading like a virus.
Thank you!
My name is Rasmus Wangelin and I'm a designer/animator/illustrator from the dark forests of southern Sweden.
From a young age I?ve always had a desire to create things. I grew up around painters, writers and musicians as neighbors. No one in my family is a designer and I was always told to make my own life path. The first time I understood that I had some kind of talent was when I won a drawing contest for Sun-Maid Raisin. I was around 9 years old at the time I think. But I never really got into digital design until I was around 16 years old. I was living in a small city in Sweden and my life was surrounded by normality and boredom. My days consisted of skateboarding, doing graffiti sketches on papers during class and playing computer games. I think I had a dream to find a more exciting life somewhere else and I wanted to reach it through design.
After some time abroad in Spain and California, I decided to take the first step to make this my profession so I attended Hyper Island. It was one of my best decisions ever. I grew as a designer and person, found great friends and love. For my internship I worked at Big Spaceship as a motion graphics designer.
If I wasn't a designer I would be working with music. My dad is a music teacher and I've been surrounded by Spanish guitars and African drums all my life. I took drum school studies and played in two rock bands growing up. My mom and dad suggested that music studies would be good for upper secondary school studies but design seemed much more cool back then.
Where are you working now and what have you been doing during the last year?
I'm a visual designer for Nike at R/GA in New York. Before I moved here about 5 months ago I was in Sweden working as an animator and designer creating TV show packages and design strategy consultant for various companies. I was also responsible for Motion Week at Hyper Island giving lectures and workshops on After Effects for the current students. In March 2008 I competed and won WIF 08 (Web Design International Festival) in Limoges/France together with three of my old classmates from Crew11.
Ok, speaking about RGA, could you describe how the design process usually happens there?
Sure. Usually it starts with the whole team talking to the client, trying to figure out what goals they want to reach. Once we have our goals and objectives, the designers and the art director have a quick chat about the approach we want to take visually. At this point there?s room for ideas, inputs and suggestions even from junior designers. Sometimes there?s room for explorations and sometimes we just need to hammer away something quick.
We usually revise the design a couple of times to make sure everyone contributes and to make sure we?re doing the best work possible. Sometimes we bring in other designers/producers/copywriters/interaction designers to get a fresh eye and opinion on things. The final design can be a collaboration between 2-3 designers or the work of one alone.
If you were a CEO of RGA, what would you change there?
I would build an underground transportation system to Puerto Rico and promote my friends.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to stay in New York for a while because I really enjoy the city. I feel that I?m working at the right place at the right time with the right thing. I?m trying to embrace the future with an open mind and heart, not locking myself too much into a fantasy of how things are going to be. I will put my all into whatever I decide to do and try not to lose focus of what?s really important in life: to have fun, evolve, have friendships and love..
Do you think New York inspires you more than Sweden? Do you miss your home?
New York is by far the best city I?ve been to. There is an energy here that I?ve never experienced before. I miss my family and friends but most of them are spread across the globe anyways. Here in New York I live and hang out with people in the industry; that alone is very inspiring but I?m glad that we usually leave work at work and just hang out as people.
There are always a lot of events going on that?s art or fashion related so there?s a lot of opportunities to meet new, interesting people. But boredom also helped me creatively. I would never have sat so much in front of my computer trying to learn programs and techniques if I grew up in New York.
Do you work mostly on Nike, or other account? Which one you prefer and why?
I only work on Nike. That was the account I was offered and why I took the job. Nike is often open to new ideas and is always trying to push the limits. It's a lot of fun and I wouldn?t want to work on any other account right now.
Comparing to Big spaceship, what are the differences for you?
Big spaceship is smaller, and you get to know everyone pretty quick. At R/GA you see new faces almost every day. But there are a lot of similarities.
Both companies are open to try new techniques and are trying to move the web forward. Both companies hold a lot of talent and you meet people whose portfolio you?ve seen floating around for years. Big Spaceship has a sweet foosball table and R/GA has a sweet coffee bar.
What about your offline life. What are you other hobbies and how do you spend your spare time?
When I get out of work I try to not do any computer related things. I meet up with friends, hang out with my roomie Jens, play guitar, party etc. I also try to work out as much as possible. I bought a ps3 a while ago but I never play. It’s always something more appealing going on somewhere. Compared to my life in Sweden where I had to wait for things to happen, my free time here in New York is never enough.
Usually the result becomes lack of sleep.
How do you see the web design in 5 years?
More user interaction, more mobile components, more 3D. As everyone draws experience from each other and software evolves we?ll see web sites get better and better. I think the way we look at interactive design is changing a lot. Just a few years ago internet was used for chatting and finding information for school projects, now we're shopping, playing and getting married online. I think many devices in our everyday lives is going to be used much more digitally. Mobile phones are just starting to really interact with the web in a useful way. I see that many companies are still trusting traditional advertising, but as internet is getting more accessible and targeting newer generations this is going to change. Interactive is going to be the strongest channel of advertisement.
Well, thanks! Last question - where did you buy the black tie?
H&M. I've introduced something called 'Friday tieday ' here at R/GA and I try to make everyone wear a tie. It's spreading like a virus.
Thank you!
