Interested in infographics? Ever wondered about creating your own presentation templates? How about monetizing your creations or taking on the freelance life? Welcome back to our Discover Series here at Envato Tuts+, where we ask inspiring professionals for their thoughts on their craft, their field, their process, and the wisdom they've picked up along the way.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Phongpat, who goes by the name mamanamsai online when publishing his work. He specializes in vector illustration, templates, mockups, and infographics. He has a very impressive body of work—literally hundreds of graphics, most of them data driven or illustrative in nature. I would consider him a stellar example of hard work and diligence.
One aspect that really struck me, however, is his drive to create easy-to-use content for other designers to enjoy.
I can think of many cases, in my own career, when I've turned to supplemental assets—be it a stock image, a font, or a presentation template—to help me finish a project. It's interesting, then, to turn around and think about the process the other way around—as someone potentially designing for ease of use and adaptability for another designer.
This is the case with many of Phongpat's works. Many of them are designed to be adaptable and versatile—and not only for designers. For example, he's designed a number of Keynote templates. They're drag and drop ready, making it easy even for a beginner—even folks who would not consider themselves design savvy—to dig right in.
In theory, the easier an asset is to use, the more people can potentially use it, regardless of skill level.
It's hard not to think that designing for others, on a technical level, brings about another challenge—it can't just look good or work well in terms of visual communication and aesthetics. It also has to work well for the user customizing the design. If it's not easy to use and it can't help them meet their objective, then it's not necessarily successful.
This is particularly interesting to consider when we think about infographics—which are inherently all about visually communicating data. A lot of Phongpat's infographic work explores data visualizations in an abstract way, so it might be then built upon.
So please join me and listen in on some of Phongpat's thoughts on design—his inspirations and his thoughts on content creation.
Phongpat
Hi, there! It's so nice to meet you. Please, take a moment to introduce yourself.
My name is Phongpat. I live in Bangkok, Thailand. I am a full time street food lover, part time graphic designer and some time programmer :) I graduated from Computer Science. But now I have a passion for graphics design and work as a graphic design freelancer.
So, I don't have to wake up and go to work at the office every morning. Some days I spend 10 hours sleeping. Some days if I still don't finish my work, I may work all night. But during that time I enjoyed it. That is how I work.
What are some of your inspirations, as a content creator?
I like a workplace that is private such as a café or a quiet natural place. My work and ideas tend to occur when I go on a vacation in a natural place. I am a photography lover, both landscape and portrait. I often take photos with my friends.
They [often] want something newer than the original photos. So I bring those photos to decorate additional graphics. [I also work] on website design and development, which allow[s] me to learn more skills, and use programs to design since then.
I'd agree that exploring our creative interests and branching into more than one focus is such a great, rewarding idea! That said, what are some of your favorite things you've created?
I like everything in my works :P
I think my work doesn't have any unique characteristics and styles that indicate who I am. My style is dynamic. Because of the style of each work that I made, it also depends on the time. Like at [the] time [when] I was traveling in an old village, I was fascinated. [It] interested [me], so I created work that is old or vintage style.
Being a freelancer has its challenges. What are some tips you'd have for those of us living the freelance designer life?
I think tips are getting enough rest and eating favorite food. Although it doesn't seem to be very relevant to the design work [itself], but I believe that it can really help, haha!
By the way about getting enough rest and sleep every day, now I can't do it, if you are a freelancer and can do it please tell me how :)
What are some things you've learned along the way, in terms of inspiration and monetizing your work? What are some of your favorite things about what you do?
What I have learned as a designer, as I grow up, is that every piece of your work has a price. The value and the high or low price depends on the person who uses it.
Inspiration for my work varies from time to time. I focus on encouraging myself by telling myself that after I finish this big assignment I will reward myself by traveling to a place that I like.
What I really like about my design job is [distributing] art, teaching materials, and other graphics to children, teachers and parents so that they can download and use it as free teaching materials.
What's your creative process like, when working with Infographic Design and Presentation Templates?
There are 2 types of my design jobs.
First type is custom design job. This job hired by customers that is specific to their information and assignments. I follow [these] steps:
#1) Draft my original design on paper with pencils in 2 or 3 different styles.
#2) Choose the style that the customers like the most.
#3) Then design it on my computer and software.
[The] second type is [a] personal project or sideline design project. I often have new ideas during my free time. I will write that ideas on a note on my mobile phone. And when I'm in front of the computer, I bring the idea into [a] real[ized] design.
What advice would you have for artists or designers looking to get into Infographic Design and/or creating Presentation Templates?
My advice for new designers is that you have to work on design every day. It may be a repetitive task. You may be bored or tired, but if it's something you really like, you'll love it and [commit to] it every day.
Also, you search for your favorite design style and share your work with others.
In your opinion, what's a good way to get your work out there and in front of an audience?
When I finish my design work, especially the design work I like most, I will share it to the public via social media or showcase portfolios website such as Behance, Dribbble etc. It allows other designers to express their opinions, share experiences and give you new ideas.
I always study the work of other designers. It [gives] me new perspective and fresh ideas in design.
You offer your work for commercial use by other creative professionals. What are your thoughts on this, as a market, and where do you see yourself pushing your work in the future?
Most of my designs are like tools or graphic elements that are sold for designers to use and create their works. Which I think that, in the future, my work will always have designers interested in using it.
Now I have started a new design project for animation and video graphics. I believe it will be popular, especially for very short animation.
People are more interested in this type of work, because videos, and short animations make people more interested and understandable than long text on smartphones or other small devices.
What words of wisdom or inspiration would you like to share with other creatives out there?
You have to do what you like.
Once you like it, you must keep doing it. While also learning to become proficient and doing it with love. In a short time it will reward you with happiness or income.
Thank you so much to Phongpat for sharing his work and his thoughts with us today. Your work is so very professional and versatile, Phongpat—I'm sure a lot of artists, designers, and creative professionals appreciate that you make your work available for use. It is also such a pleasure to check out your infographic concepts and take a listen into your thoughts and process. Thank you!
You can check out more of Phongpat's work here:
Check out more of Phongpat's work—under the user name mamanamsai—on Envato Elements! This is a collection of his work all available for commercial and professional use, right now! Please consider downloading and supporting this wonderful artist.
1. Customizable Infographic Design
Check out this beautiful set of vector infographics by the wonderful Phongphat (mamanamsai)! They look awesome on a dark background, don't they? But you can mix, match, and change the color of this entire collection of customizable visualizations.
2. Infographic Elements
Prefer flat colors? Check out this collection of infographic elements instead! There's so much to work with here that this could make a great all-round collection for any designer's toolkit. Adapt these graphics to a wide variety of projects and data!
3. Infographic Design Elements
Looking for something with a premade color scheme? Check out this additional set of infographic design elements. The lovely thing is, you could use this as a basis for an entirely different color scheme. The items themselves are 100% vector too—so whether you need a full-page infographic or something smaller, these could fit the bill.
4. Infographic Set
Don't these infographics look great, presented on a page? There's even more to check out in this infographic collection—from funnels to arrows to timelines, there's so much adaptable, versatile content that could be the perfect starting point for so many projects.
5. 3D Infographic Elements
Prefer a three-dimensional aesthetic? Check out this collection of infographics—it's got a set of 140 different icons for you to mix, match, and customize to meet your project's goals and visually communicate your data.
6. 50 Big Infographics Bundle
This is a huge collection of infographics, and they're all 100% vector too! This bundle could be a great addition to any designer's arsenal—just select the right graphic for your data and fully customize it in Adobe illustrator. They're in red, by default, but you can easily change the colors to best suit your project.
7. Love Travel Infographics Design
This infographic collection is all about travel. If you have statistics or data to share involving places, distance, or other travel-related topics, this set could come in really handy! However, they're plenty versatile too—it's all fully editable vector art!
8. Resume Infographics
Infographics can help visualize your skillset on your resume. From visually communicating your experience to displaying your mastery of different skills, an approach like this can add additional visual interest. Check out this set of resume-themed infographics from Phongpat—there's plenty to see here!
9. Food & Drink Infographic Template
Working on a food-related project? Maybe nutrition or popular dining choices? Check out this collection of food-themed infographics. They include colorful, scalable vector imagery too, so it's easier than ever to jump right in and start visualizing your data.
10. Idea and Creative Infographic Design
This set of infographics is all about visually communicating ideas and creative processes. It could be a perfect fit for projects, pitches, and promos that share the concept development process with their readers or viewers. It could certainly be a scenario that would benefit from visualizing data!
11. Web Design Infographic Elements Design
How about web design related content? Check out this set of infographics, all designed with web design and development in mind. This could be a great way to communicate ideas to clients and consumers in a visual way, to help further drive home concepts in a way that's clear and easy to understand.
12. Black Pack Infographic Design
These stylish infographics all come in a clean and versatile grayscale color scheme. However, like many of Phongpat's works, everything here is customizable—so, if you see a graphic that's perfect for your project, no worries! Open it up and customize the graphic to your heart's content!
If you enjoyed this interview, and you'd like to learn more about infographic design and presentations, check out these tutorials and other articles from Envato Tuts+!
InfographicsHow to Create a Vector Infographic Template in Illustrator
InfographicsHow to Make an Infographic Template
InfographicsTips for Utilizing Infographics on Your Website
Infographics10 Top Tips for Creating Amazing Infographics
VideoHow (and Why) to Make Infographic Videos
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