Creative Profile
Pomme Chan
This month the super talented, super lovely Pomme Chan graces our pages with her wonderful presence. Pomme’s intricately beautiful illustrative style has seen her work across a wide range of design disciplines – from commercial and editorial design through to typography, fashion and traditional painting. Constructed with great care and sensitivity, Pomme’s unique style of work has attracted such esteemed clients as Sony, MTV, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Nike and Topshop. Brainer caught up with the budding creative to ask her a few questions about the joys and hardships of being a freelance illustrator/designer.
Where did you grow up and where do you now live?
I grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. Relocated to London about 7/8 years ago, so now I basically live and work in London.
What makes you happy?
I’m easily happy with many things. Listening to good music, shopping, seeing some nice exhibitions, eating good food and producing some good artwork makes me happy. Oh! Also when my clients love the final illustrations and when they’re happy – I’m happy too.
Your main passions other than design?
I would say fashion and food! Without these 2 things I wouldn’t know what I was working for.
Tell us about your creative background.
Graduated in Interior design in Bangkok, Thailand then studied Foundation course Graphic design at LCC (London College of Communication), self-taught in illustration but I think I learned a lot while I was on an internship though.
What’s the reason for doing what you do?
Not really sure what to answer, there are so many reasons. If I’m honest, I think doing illustration is what I do best. Drawing/painting and finding new techniques are satisfying to me. It used to be my hobby but now my hobby has turned into a career that makes me a bit of money, so I keep doing it for a living and think I will stick with it for a while.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Sounds silly but I get inspiration from everything. Mainly from Fashion, music, films, architecture, the beauty of nature, animals – these all play a big part in my works.
Do you have a particular type of music you like to work to?
Sometimes I’m in the mood for pop but more often I like minimal electro. I also love French songs, I think it’s such a beautiful language. Most popular on my playlists at the moment are Massive Attack, Royksopp, Chalotte Gainsbourg, MGMT, Kasabian and Justice.
Which project/piece of work has presented the greatest challenge to you and why?
Every project has its own challenge but so far, I think the MTV project was the most challenging for me. The way the project was structured was quite different from what I usually do. MTV approached me with a concept of a MTV Hidden World and I had to work around the theme of an “Alternate Universe” drawing 15 individual elements, which had to work on their own. Then using those elements to create 5-6 illustrations for T-shirts, 4 pattern s and 4 borders. So you can see the challenge here, I played around with it for a while till I got it right and in the end both me and client were happy.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on a few things, 3-4 illustrations for an exhibition in L.A, a illustration for my new mailer, 2 illustrations for Grey (germany), 4-5 illustrations for Snow Board and a few more commercial jobs are on their way.
What are some of the difficulties you have had to encounter as a freelance illustrator and designer, and how have you overcome them?
Our job is very unpredictable in terms of timing. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Clients always expect you to work during the weekends and time schedules can conflict especially if you’re working with both American and Asian clients. I don’t have a perfect solution for everything but what I can do is try to compromise as much as possible. For example, working Sundays and late into the evening when I have to – plus always staying positive. If I have too much to do its something I appreciate, as it means clients like my work and want to commission me. However, having too little to do can also be good because then I can have some more play time, catch up with friends and produce more personal works, which often lead to commercial jobs.
Your career has seen you adopt a number of different design disciplines, working on a vast range of projects from commercial design, typography, editorial, fashion, digital media and traditional painting. What gives you the greatest creative satisfaction and why?
They’re all equally satisfying, I don’t have a specific favorite discipline it always depends on my passion and time restraints. For example now, I’m pretty obsessed with mixing Typography and hand-drawn elements in a collage. Fashion illustration is also an area that I love and have always been passionate about. It’s like a circle, always coming back to me. Many times my own personal works give me great satisfaction as I’m the client and I set my own brief – for me it’s about finding that perfect balance between commercial and personal work.
What can we expect from Pomme Chan in the future?
Probably more Typography and Fashion illustrations and 3D is also something I want to learn this year too.
Keep up to date with all the latest from Pomme over at pommepomme.com
Profile picture: Christian Hogue / Lost In Space Studios
