SENIOR ASSOCIATE – DESIGN

When I entered the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design after high school, I imagined I would be primarily drawing and painting. From an early age, it didn’t seem to matter what I was looking at – comics, toys, dinosaurs – I drew it. The world wasn’t just filled with things. It was filled with subjects waiting for me to recreate them in my sketchbook. For me, that was art and I was compelled to pursue it.

School surrounded me with creative people who didn’t only draw and paint. I was exposed to many new ideas and forms of media. I began experimenting with digital cameras and photographic manipulation, and became increasingly drawn to creative work using computers. This switched me on to design. I took a couple of courses and realized design was not only an extension of art, it was an expansion of art. I was hooked.

After school, I spent many years working for others in the design industry before hanging my own sign and starting my business. Today, I believe my job as a designer is to take a challenge and find a solution. My solutions – shaped by my experiences, and inspired by the world and mix of creative disciplines around me – stretch my creativity while bringing me back to that artistic sense that captivated me as a child.

Design isn’t something I do for money. It is my passion and calling. I am driven to design and create just as I had been as a child. And when I look at the world around me, I still don’t see things. I see beauty, meaning and ideas to inspire solutions for my clients.

Alan White is Creative Director of Boson1 www.boson1.ca