Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adrian Foy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adrian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I went to SAIT, in Calgary AB, to learn about and get certified in Graphic Design. Knowing what I know now, I’m not sure if I could have sped up the process at SAIT – at the time they had Graphic Design under their Web Design umbrella. It wasn’t until about 2013/2014 that they separated them into their own fields. But if I had looked elsewhere, I have been able to complete my learning sooner.

Learning Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign were the most essential. Those are the most commonly used, and industry standards in the field of graphic work. Also learning about print layout and management was a great insight, when it came to projects.

I was working while attending school, so it was challenging to find that balance of earning enough and also dedicating time for learning/ school.

Adrian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Adrian Foy and I have been a professional graphic designer since 2016, when I completed my Graphic Design Certificate from S.A.I.T (in Calgary, Alberta).

I have also been sketching & drawing since roughly 2004, when I began experimenting with ink and loved the results! In 2012, I got my first Wacom Cintiq and transitioned into the digital format. I still play with traditional, but I find digital way more convenient.

With my freelance graphic work, I mostly do logos, page designs, t-shirt designs, business cards and brochures.

One thing I am quite proud of, as of recently, is offering Photo Restoration as a service – I’ll scan old photos and restore them to a digital file, removing blemishes, adding colour, and enhancing details. It’s been quite enjoyable learning the process and techniques for restoring old photos!

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Being totally honest, I’m not a fan and I don’t see the point. It’s a digital file (mostly a photo or an image) that you “own”, but someone else can come along, modify it, making a new version and there’s nothing you can do about it. Yeah, I don’t get it. I think there’s better ways to spend money.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Eventually one day, I would like my freelance work (Graphic Design & Photo Restoration) to be my full time work. I’d like to set my own schedule, call my own shots, and be my own boss. I understand that it’s a lot of work, but I’m taking small steps to get there. That, alone, is huge driving factor for my creative journey!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://adriancreative.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adriancreative.ca/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-foy/

Image Credits
These are my own images that I’ve created/ taken.