EMPLOYEE'S CORNER: Meet Clinton Kelly, Member Trekk’s Graphics Design Team

An interview with Clinton Kelly, a member of Trekk’s Design Team. He spoke about his journey into graphics design, how he stays on top of current trends, his creative process, and how he balances creativity with outside influences and interests. Clinton is passionate about design and is always learning and developing his skills. He also shared some advice for aspiring designers. It was an interesting and insightful interview!

Introduction

Hey! I’m Clinton Kelly, a member of the graphics design team at TREKK. It’s been a blast communicating, learning, and growing with the team and organization at large. Being in this space that allows you to express creativity with constructive insights is something cherish and strive to maintain.

Can you share a bit about your creative journey and what inspired you to pursue a career in graphic design?

I’ve always been drawn to artistic expression but struggled to find my path. Even as a civil engineering graduate, I experimented with various mediums including creating my art. I was driven by my innate desire to communicate through creativity and graphics design is just that for me.

What is your approach to tackling a new design project? Can you walk us through your creative process?

It starts with a bit of frustration actually, a flurry of ideas usually come through and the initial stage is working through that to find the good ones and I tend to “think through making” as a means of doing that. Research and iteration guide my decisions till the concepts come to fruition.

What are some of your favourite design projects you've worked on for TREKK, and why?

I can’t categorically pick a favourite but I do enjoy creating the memes as it shows a bit of my funny side. I also enjoyed working on the podcast countdown designs

How do you stay updated with current design trends and technologies? Can you share any recent trends or tools you've found particularly inspiring or useful?

I actively check out designs on Pinterest, design articles, graphics design podcasts, and YouTube videos, and follow successful graphics designers to stay inspired and relish in their creativity. A significant amount of my social media feed is filled with creative designs and artwork. It helps that I participate in graphics designer communities across social media platforms, being in a space with like-minded individuals keeps me on my toes.

Outside of design, what are some of your interests or hobbies that influence your creative work?

In my spare time, I create Recolor art, been doing that long before I started designing, and it keeps me in that creative headspace and also generally develops my eye for colours, textures and composition. I also meditate quite a bit, being in the moment allows me to focus on iteration rather than a result right off the bat”