Interview with:Domenico Colandrea Owner of DCWD [dcwd]
DESIGN
 | What is your specialty? Graphic & Website Design / Multimedia Development. |
| Where can we view your portfolio online? You can view all my work and portfolio at www.dcwdco.com or www.facebook.com/dcwdco |
| What made you interested in design? Well Ever since I can remember I've been very artistic and when I was in middle school and high school I was always in tons of art classes and stuff. I also played guitar and drums and was in a band and was into music just as much as i was into art and drawing. Probably my senior year in HS i started getting into the production side of music and wanted to be an audio engineer. I spent endless hours in local studios doing work for friends and stuff. I use to make my own music too and I would post my stuff on the internet but I needed a logo to go with it so instead of paying somebody I opened up Photoshop and went at it. Within a year I had drifted away from my music and was doing graphic design full time and launched my first website. The rest is history! |
| What has been your professional career path? Worked for my dads business from 14-24, Graduated HS at 18, I attended Ocean County Community College pursuing a Business Degree while waiting tables at Outback Steakhouse at nights and still doing freelance graphic design work. I then got a job at a graphic design agency in freehold, nj from 23-25 where i learned alot about the industry and the business side of things. I was still waiting tables at night for extra cash and I decided to start my First Company, DCWD and launched my first website," www.dcwdco.com" at 25. Right now I am 26 years old and I am a full time graphic designer/web developer. |
| Have you received any awards for your work in the field of design? I haven't received any REAL awards yet but my company is still young and growing and maybe in the future i will! As for personal rewards i've done work for mtv's the jersey shore, sony, C-bunny who is a good friend of mine and a backup dancer for T-Pain, and The Disco Fries who went platinum with tracks for FLO RIDA, KATE PERRY, BRITTNEY SPEARS, USHER, PITBULL, CHRIS BROWN and STEVE AOKI. Right now i'm currently working on a huge project for mypodstudios.com which is an online business that gets an average of 5 million unique visitors a month. |
| What is your motivation? What makes you get up in the mornings? My motivation is a bunch of things. 1 of them is the burning desire to just keep going and get better and better at what I do and try to take something I started on my own and make it something great. 2nd thing that motivates me is the feedback from my clients and the way they react when the see their final product. It's a good feeling. The 3rd thing is probably seeing other people grinding just as hard as I do even if it's in a completely different field. Seeing them motivated and focused and everyday just doing new things and stuff really makes me wanna do more and more! And last and probably the MOST MOTIVATIONAL thing for me is the HATERS. Anybody that said "You can't do it" or "You'll never make it". That sets something off in my brain and makes me push myself to the fullest. |
| How would you define your design style? I would say my style is sleek, clean, unique, and very sexy. :) |
| How do you promote and move your work? It's mostly just word of mouth. I haven't really advertised anywhere. I market myself with social media websites like facebook, twitter, youtube, and g+. I also make sure all my websites are indexed in the search engines and anytime I code a website, I always optimize it for the search engines. Other than that everything is word of mouth, which I have learned is vital in my field and also one of the best forms of advertising. |
| In which new areas would you like to experiment? I'd really love to get into IOS App Development for Iphones, Ipads, and stuff. It has always amazed me how fast technology moves and the things they're coming up with. The things you can do with apps these days is insane and I would love to design something like that, that someone could download and use it and be like "wow this is cool". |
| Shapes, color, concept: where do you usually begin when conceiving a design? It really depends on the project, whether its a branding project or a website. Every project is different and every client wants something different. I could start a website in Photoshop and get really creative with the design before I write a word of code, or if it's more corporate I could start in Dreamweaver and do all the designing with HTML and CSS and stuff. Either way to me it's always fun and no matter what way you get the job done, as long as it works for you there is no right or wrong way. |
| What are your sources for documentation and to generate ideas? My mind. I'm a very creative person. I'm always analyzing things. Whether I'm watching TV or reading a magazine, out to eat and looking at a restaurant's menu and logo, I'm always looking at things through the eyes of the person that made it and thinking, "that's cool, I wonder how they did that". It keeps you up to date with whats in and whats not because like almost every industry things are always changing and what everybody wanted a year ago is totally different today. |
| Which festivals or awards in your field do you find most interesting? N/A |
| What is your favourite type of customer? ALL OF THEM! |
| To a certain point, is copying justifiable? No not at all, it frustrates me a lot when i find a lot of people stealing / biting my work and creativity. Be original and true to yourself and you can't go wrong. |
| List some things you dislike seeing in design. Cluttered websites and boring brands. |
| Do you believe the newer generations are better at designing? Im not sure really, I do see a lot of us younger designers having a much more fresher approach and feel to everything. |
| With which type of client would you decline in working for? NONE |
| How do you calculate budgets for a design project? I have certain base prices, then it all depends on clients budget and spec of the project. |
| Which professionals in your field -contemporary or past- do you most admire? Steve jobs, was an amazing creator I love how he simplified everything. |
| Which software applications do you most utilize in your work? Adobe CS5 / CS6 Master collection.
Maxon Cinema 4D |
| Up to what point do your designs reflect your personality? N/A |
| How do you distinguish passing fads from mainstays in new trends? I do not follow fashions or trends, i set them and let others follow. |
| If you weren't a designer, what would you be doing? Id still probably be an entrepreneur but my funds would be coming from other areas in business. |
| At this moment, what would be your dream job or project? I have my dream job, couldnt wish for anything else |
| Can you see yourself in this field twenty years from now? I can see myself owning companies in this field. |
| Which design resources online do you frequently visit? WWW.ADOBE.COM WWW.DEVIANTART.COM WWW.BEHANCE.COM |
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Domenico Colandrea Owner of DCWD
New Jersey, United States
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