British designer Gary Card talks about creative journey

The Korea Herald is publishing an interview series on some of the world’s most creative minds who are invited to Korea to share their design philosophies and vision during the Herald Design Week 2013, Oct. 7-11. ― Ed.

By Lee Woo-young

London-based designer Gary Card has explored areas between design and art with a diverse mix of work such as sculptural props, illustrations and set designs.

Although it’s hard to give him a label, he has fallen under such names as prop-maker, illustrator and set designer who has done collaborative works with the world’s top brands and figures.

He designed costumes and headpieces for Lady Gaga, including her bone mask for the Monster Ball Tour; created a set design for the interior of the concept retail store LNCC in London; and designed a Christmas campaign for the luxury brand Loewe.

The designer, who studied theater design at Central St. Martins, has often showcased his installations and sculptures at art exhibitions as some of the pure forms of his imagination behind his creative design process. 

Card has been invited to Korea for a special lecture event for Korean students with the celebrated French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac during the Herald Design Week 2013 from Oct. 7-11. Before his visit, Card shared his inspirations and ideas that have shaped his creative design process in an email interview with The Korea Herald.

KH: Can you take us through your thinking process when you brainstorm designs or when you start to materialize a design?

Card: I like to break the project down into its most simple components, what are we trying to achieve with the design, what does the design need to fulfill its brief? The recurring theme in my initial inspiration process is my vast book collection; they are absolutely imperative to my initial response to a brief. Rather than trawling the Internet looking for things that relate to the subject, it’s important for me to first select things that I think could be relevant from my library. … Then comes with the drawing process, small free hand drawings, almost signatures that sum up very quickly what we are trying to achieve. Sometimes we make sketch model out of paper, whatever it takes to free us from the constraints of the brief.

KH: What material do you work with the most?

Card: My signature material is masking tape. I have made everything from costumes and sculptures to large scale set pieces with it throughout my entire career. I’ve found it to be an incredibly versatile sculpting tool.

KH: What’s the most important factor in your design and why?

Card: I think it’s about communication ― what are we trying to say, what are we trying to get people to feel? It is about considering every element of the design and making sure you are staying true to that message you hope your viewer will take away with them.

KH: What would you like to do in the future? What kind of designer would you like people to see you as?

Card: I would like to make public art. One day I would like to be known as an artist, not just a designer. Without this sounding like some kind of personal eulogy, I would like to be seen as a designer who, although worked in many fields, found a cohesive language between them all. I would like people to one day say, “That over there? Oh, that’s a Gary Card.” That’s my dream.

(wylee@heraldcorp.com)