Interview with typographer Aurelie Maron
It is with much excitement that we EXPLODE into the weekend with the incredible typography of Aurelie Maron. This talented lady is making waves in the Gold Coast creative scene since her graduation at the end of last year.
Born in New Caledonia, Aurelie moved to Australia 3 years ago. She works full-time as a Graphic Designer at Tusk Agency while taking on occasional freelance projects.
For studies, Aurelie completed Griffith University‘s Bachelor of Digital Media with a Graphic Design major and Digital Design minor. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Best Graphic Design Portfolio in 2012, 2 medals, and 3 Griffith Awards of Academic Excellence.
As a huge fan of Aurelie’s chalk typography, Design Montage commissioned our very own custom artwork that you may have seen popping up all over the web and on postcards! The artwork is a whopping 1.6m x 1m in size with hand lettering in permanent chalk. Watch the film by Brisbane local Camille Santiago, for a beautiful insight into Aurelie’s creative process.
Design Montage — Permanent Chalk on wood, May 2013.
Also, you might remember the Typism conference for type fanatics? Well, Aurelie created the brandmark for Typism and is one of the speakers at September’s first event.
Typism Inspiration Conference — Brandmark.
See more of Aurelie’s work on her website, Behance profile and read on for her interview below.
Tell me about your creative journey. Your passion for your craft and how you discovered or nurtured it.
I’ve always had a passion for Fine Arts and drawing. Ever since I was able to hold a pencil I started drawing and I always knew I would have a creative career one day.
However, after finishing high school, I thought I would need to do more ‘proper’ studies, this is why I studied a Bachelor of English first. Even though I really enjoyed literature and philosophy, I knew it was not what I wanted to do all my life, so I decided to study graphic design.
In a few words, describe yourself…
I would say that I am a passionate and creative person, always dreaming.
Your Type of Book — A to Z of type for a student project.
What are you spending your time on at the moment?
As well as preparing my speech for Typism, I am working on a few new typographic pieces that I’m hoping to showcase and add to my portfolio soon. I am also doing a couple of small freelance projects, but mainly I am just learning as much as I can every day. I still have so much to learn, and I don’t think I have found a style that defines me yet.
Tell me about your creative process.
My creative process is the same for any kind of project. It always starts with a lot of thinking, even more than the actual ‘doing’ part. Everything I create has a meaning and a reason to be. This is why I think about my projects a lot.
Most of my ideas come when I am not working; sometimes it comes while driving, or when I’m out with my friends for example.
I get really involved with my projects, and they stay in my mind until I have the right idea. I also do lots of doodling and write down all my ideas, even the stupid ones.
I also spend literally hours on the Internet browsing for ideas. But I never copy, I hate copycats. I think this is the worst thing a designer can do. Copy someone else’s work, put it on your portfolio, and say it’s yours does not make you a designer.
Tools of the trade. What are your absolute necessities for your creative practice?
A piece of paper and a pencil are first, and then Adobe Creative Suite!
What or who inspires you?
My background studies led me to learn a lot about Fine Art and more Academic styles of painting and I have also been playing piano for more than 10 years. All of this probably gave me Academic standards that still influence me.
I’ve also been really inspired by the Art of Tim Burton when I was a teenager. But now that I am a Graphic Designer I think I have learned to embrace more different styles to satisfy any clients.
That is why I get really inspired by the different trends I see in fashion, photography, movies, music, etc. There is a whole culture around the different music genres and it is an important source of inspiration for me. It’s hard to name those trends but I always look at what’s ‘in’ and try to incorporate that in my creations.
What are you most proud of? Creatively, professionally and personally.
I am really proud of doing what I love the most for a living. I thought that having a creative career wouldn’t be good enough, but I’m really proud to prove that you can be a creative person and still work so hard every day.
This is my personal revenge to prove that being a designer isn’t just about being a good drawer as most people think.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I’ve always wanted to be an artist… and still do.
