Interview by Charlie Festa

Hello there, and how are you doing today?
Not too bad. Thanks for asking. How are you doing?

How did you get your start in design?
As a kid, I was into arts and crafts. I watched a lot of cartoons and drew comics. It was just something I did for fun. Then I went to college and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology. While working as a research goon, I realized my heart wasn't into it and I spent more time doodling on Scranton than working. So I went back to school for graphic design and digital arts... And here I am.

Short answer – finger painting in kindergarten.

What inspires your work?
Everything. As cliché as it sounds, it's true. A little dust bunny floating across my dirty floor, or some random comment my friend makes can trigger the little light bulb in my head. Other artists also inspire me – like, wow! how'd they do that?!

How does it feel to have a design selected by Threadless?
Warm and fuzzy inside. It's a great feeling to know that people like my designs... other than my mom.

What do you plan to spend your hard-earned cash on?
I would like to spend it on fun things, but it'll first go to paying the rent and bills. Then maybe treat my family and friends to a nice dinner. McDonald's here we come!

Philip Tseng Design: (PTD/TCB)

My typical design process involves a lot of sitting around and daydreaming. I don't really do sketches or rough out what I'm going to do (this is usually frowned upon by art instructors). I'm usually lazy and I like to see where my imagination takes me.

I usually work straight in Illustrator. My favorite tools are the Pen Tool, Shapes Tool, and Pathfinder. I also use a lot of keyboard shortcuts so I can work more efficiently. Even though I own a tablet, I prefer my trusty mouse. Most of my designs are created with or from simple shapes, so the mouse works just fine for me.

Sometimes I'll doodle on scratch paper or on Post-It notes and stick them somewhere for later.

For example, my design "No Regrets" was born from a doodle on a Post-It at work. I used these sketches as reference when I created it in Illustrator. Sometimes I'll scan doodles and clean them up in Photoshop then import them into Illustrator to work on.

The last part of my design process for Threadless is figuring out how to present my design to the voters. I like messing around in Flash and coming up with different effects. I try to keep it simple and not distract from my design too much.

What is your Favorite:

Cheese? Smoked Gouda
Book? It's A Magical World: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection
Movie? This is tough... Any of the Pixar movies
Song? Gin Blossoms - Till I Hear It From You
Word? D'oh
Curse word? Poopie-head
Color? PMS 299
Television show? LOST and HEROES
Super hero? Aquaman
Drink? Dr. Pepper
Farm Animal Sound? Oink Oink
Threadless shirt? The Death Of Imagination
Sport? Couch sitting and channel surfing
James Bond? Connery, but it's all about the Bond girls--am I right, guys ;)
Smell? Fabric softener
Website? Threadless of course
Right or Left handed? Right
Political? World Peace
Wine Cooler? I'm allergic

Interview by Charlie Festa

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