Interview with Andrea Castek
We’re so excited to introduce you to Andrea Castek! Andrea is a talented graphic designer who entered our Design Contest this year and created one of the top 3 entries—we love the colorful abstract piece she made and are so glad you love it, too. (Her design is now available as one of our planner cover options!) We hope you enjoy getting to know her!
1. Tell us about yourself!
I'm a full-time graphic designer for 40+ colleges/universities during the day and at night I am probably doodling on my iPad! I recently made the switch (last February) from a wedding invitation designer to a surface pattern designer and I'm so happy I made that decision. I got overwhelmed as my wedding invitation business of 7 years, Andi's Invites, grew. I became increasingly stressed designing custom invites for clients and I wanted to design for fun, for myself. So for the past year, I have been creating patterns at night and I have secured 3 licensing agreements in 1 year - and I haven't even started reaching out to companies with my portfolio yet! Pretty amazing to see the progress I've made and the happiness that it's brought me.
A few months after I made the switch to surface pattern design, I became interested in abstract painting, too. I started studying composition, design principles, how to become a good abstract artist, etc. Creating "good" abstract art is a lot harder than it looks - and I've definitely struggled with not feeling "good enough" and therefore putting off my painting practice. That is something I definitely want to work on more this year! So yeah; I juggle being a full-time graphic designer, a surface pattern designer, and abstract painter. Oh, and I also enter Minted contests often. I still love designing stationery but it's nice not to have the stress of custom design work.
2. How did you become an artist?
Oh boy, where do I start? I've always been interested in art and it doesn't run in my family at all so I have no idea where I got it from, haha! I remember making magnets in elementary school and trying to sell them to my peers for 10 cents each. I always wanted to sell my art at craft shows and farmers' markets too. In middle school, we had to design PowerPoint presentations on books we read. I always had the most elaborate PowerPoint presentations and I remember my 7th-grade teacher telling me I was going to be a graphic designer when I grew up. I had no idea what that was, so I looked it up and I was amazed that you could do something so fun for a living! From that moment on, I was dead-set on going to college for graphic design. I absolutely loved college because I got to draw and create art all day long. Growing up I felt very different from my peers and therefore felt like there was something wrong with me, so being around people who were passionate about art like myself was such a great feeling.
After I graduated from college, I was dead-set on designing for a magazine in NYC. When I was younger I would design magazines for fun! I applied for almost a hundred internships. I even flew out to NYC and had an interview with Seventeen magazine, but sadly I didn't get it. A few weeks later I had a phone interview with Reader's Digest magazine and was hired over the phone! I cried with happiness after that phone call! That's a story I will never get sick of telling.
I know I will always be an artist. My dad wants me to go back to school to be an engineer and make more money (haha!), but I don't think I could ever do that—being an artist is the only thing that makes me feel alive!
3. What keeps you creatively inspired?
Iced coffee. Just kidding, but I do have an obsession. I would say traveling! Also making sure I'm not stressed or burnt out. I've learned it's really important to rest. I feel most inspired when I'm relaxed, enjoying my life, and I'm somewhere new! When I'm traveling I try to notice everything and take a ton of photos. I truly believe that as an artist you see the world differently. You see the beauty in everything and you see things that most people wouldn't notice. Obviously, I can't travel every day, especially during COVID, so Pinterest helps on those days where I can't leave the house.
4. Tell us about your Golden Coil cover design. What was the thought process behind it? What inspired you?
For this digital painting, I found a photo of colors I liked and drew inspiration from that. Sometimes I don't even look at the objects in photos—everything blurs out and I just see the colors! I knew I wanted my design to be bold, bright, and remind me of warmer days. I live in Iowa and we were in some depressing winter days when I drew this. I needed something bright in my life. I've always loved warm colors but I've been crushing on emerald green lately, too, so I combined my favorite colors together. I love how the colors flow together and move your eye around the page. I had no idea it would be a winning design but I'm SO happy it is!
5. How do you come up with a new design? Walk us through your process.
Sometimes if I'm stuck on what to draw or do, I ask my fiancé and he will call out ideas. I like to research trends too, but put my own spin on them. It helps to have a ton of inspiration in your back pocket, whether that be cut-out magazine clippings, photos from traveling, screenshots, color palette ideas, etc. I like to gather a LOT of inspiration and combine everything. Then I just start drawing and see what happens. I try not to be too hard on myself if something doesn't turn out the way I want it to right away. There's a lot of doing and undoing in my art. My fiancé makes fun of me and says I just hit command-Z (undo) all day, haha! Which is honestly so true! I try a lot of things! I believe art/design is all about taking risks. If you're too scared to make a mistake then you will never be an artist.
6. What's your best advice for staying organized and productive?
My productivity advice is to shut the door, listen to music with noise-canceling headphones, stay off social media, and hide your cell phone. Oh, and time yourself with a Pomodoro timer. Sometimes trying to beat the clock is a really good way to knock out some work!
As for staying organized, I make a ton of lists! I love jotting down notes on my phone or on sticky notes. I go through a lot of sticky notes! In my Golden Coil planner, I like to pick the top 3 things I want to get done that day and that's the only thing I write down for that day, plus appointments or reminders or whatever else I have going on. I'll admit I've had an addiction to buying planners in the past and never using them, but Golden Coil is so customizable that it fits my needs perfectly. You truly have me as a customer for life. Plus the aesthetic is gorgeous—it will forever be out on my desk as a show-off piece!
Huge thanks to Andrea for sharing such inspiring insight and letting us get to know her better with this lovely interview! Be sure to check her out on Instagram for more of her work!