Picasso, the Internet and not being a butthead with Rob Hodgson.

Rob’s work bounces around from media to application like it was a pinball. It doesn’t fit a mould, in fact it’s so adaptable it brings the medium it’s being applied too alive in a way that you may not have seen it before. And that’s a special thing.

We spoke to Bristol based design don Rob Hodgson. It was in a rare moment where he stopped working. Taking a quick break from clients The Scouts and Urban Graphic to answer our questions. We asked Rob about being a creative and how he got there.

Here’s what he said…

Why did you feel design and illustration are best suited to you? What excites you about them?

I ended up here because I like solving problems and I enjoy making things.

The diversity of design and illustration means you can never really solve everything.

In this way, it’s very similar to science or philosophy.

Your work has a really clear style. Could you tell us a little more about your inspirations and where your creative ideas have come from?

My inspirations mostly come from ways of making and thinking about making, rather than stylistic influences.

And I like a lot of folks who deconstruct and reconstruct form and colour. Like a lot of the early 20th Century European painters (Klee, Mattise, Miro, Picasso etc).

The Bauhaus, Black Mountain college, mid century American designer/illustrators (Girard, Rand etc). And also big visual thinkers like Bruno Munari, Hockney, John Cage.

Could you give us 3 tips that you’d say have got you to where you are today.

1. Surround yourself with amazing people
2. Learn when to say ‘no’
3. Don’t be a butthead

Can you give us an idea of your average day, how you work and how do you get your creative ideas done?

Generally I go in for the ‘spinning plates’ routine.

I’ll do a bit of this, then try a bit of that.

And then maybe if I’m lucky there’s time for a little of something else.

Rob Hodgson – The Scouts

How do you attract new work?

I try to do good projects and thankfully they seem to fall in front of the right people. Also, the Internet certainly helps. But I think having my work out in the real world has given me the most opportunities.

How long have you been creative and would you say it’s your career?

I never gave up being creative since I was a kid. And I make a living out of it so I consider it a career!

What’s the best advice would you give to someone starting out?

I try not to get hung up on the Internet and how quickly it moves. Remember, think about playing the long game instead.