We had a chance to interview Albert Law, a local photographer and graphic artist that has been working with different projects from the fashion industry to the music industry in Vancouver. He is also a regular of the Skills Canada competition.
Can you describe yourself?
I guess you could say that I’m generally a quiet and shy person that has always enjoyed art. Even as a child, I played with a lot of Lego, and my favourite hobby was building model planes. I didn’t have a computer when I was young, so I was stuck with drawing or making things with my hands which got me to be really patient; I don’t mind sitting down for five to six hours just doing the same drawing. 
What is the primary medium for your art? How did you discover and stick to this medium? Have you experimented with others? Are there any childhood influences?
My primary medium is graphic design print media, which is much more straight forward than working with web codes because I find that I can’t express myself properly. Back when I was in grade 11, I took a course about this stuff and it really got me going. Before then, it was all drawing. I stopped drawing around grade 10 – 11 for a stupid school related reason, and it just so happened it was at that time that I discovered graphics. At that point, I had to choose one or the other as they both take up too much time, so I chose graphics.
For budding / self taught visual artists, it is uncommon for them to have artists that they look up to at the start-up portion of their experience. Do you have an artist that you look up to?
Stephan Sagmeister. He has a more hands on approach to design, and it’s really what he feels and not commercial, just really experimental. To me it’s like a breath of fresh air and I learn a lot from them. Michael Beirut is also someone I look up to, he’s a great designer and he’s also a good writer, sharing his thoughts and ideas in his book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
Which art work of yours are you the most proud of and why?
Recently, it would probably be some of my photographs because my photo work is mostly personal which gives me a lot more freedom. There is this exploding water picture that I did last year which was totally different from anything I had done before. The theme was “before and after”, with the final piece looking like a frame out of a high speed camera.
What’s the biggest project you have worked with?
I would say in terms of distribution and overall size, the CD cover for DJ Dash. It was a bit of a rush because I had only about 2 weeks to complete the whole project before I left for Europe that summer. Two weeks might sound like a long time, but time goes by a lot faster when you have to do a lot of editing for photographs and find a printer you’re happy with to get the job done. 
What are you planning on doing with your talent in the future?
Ideally, I would like to run my own business. To start this all off, I would go small and find a partner to work with, and just work with small to medium sized organizations.
You have won a few awards at Skills Canada, a Canadian trades competition. Can you tell us more about the award?
I have been competing for Skills Canada for three years now, and I have achieved one gold, and two bronze. Basically, we compete regionally, provincially, and nationally. At the national level, things get pretty intense as each province has their own reps. They give you six hours a day, and different projects each day. You receive a sheet that lays out your task, some details for you to work with, and then you’re off. The biggest challenge of this competition is not how cool you can make your project, but for the most part how well you follow instructions and how well you can deal with stress.
Various forms of art are things that can be studied at recognized institutions. What do you think are the benefits of both self-taught art and institution taught art, and why did you choose to go to school for it?
Being self taught, you have a lot of freedom to experiment with anything you want without people telling you it’s wrong. A designer like David Carson would not be where he is if he went to school because what he does is considered totally wrong, but its catchy and he started a whole new style in design that really caught on. The benefit of going to school is that you learn from people who have a lot of experience who are eager to teach and share their passion with their students. You learn things that you probably would not go into on your own such as history and sociology. 
What is your process when working on projects or assignments for clients?
When I’m working on a assignment for a client, I like to do a background study of the client with what they do, who founded the company, their ideology, and basically anything that defines who they are. It’s important to know who your client is because essentially they are hiring you to visually communicate with their own clients, whether it be through websites, brochures or something else. In my opinion, if you don’t know who you are working for you will not be as effective as you can be. I can’t remember who this quote is from but I remember it every time I do a job: “It doesn’t matter how effective or beautiful you think your design is, if your client doesn’t like the final product then you have failed as a designer.”
In terms of art projects outside of school time, what up and coming for 2009?
For 2009, I’m planning to work more on my portfolio and try to get some reading done before I head back to school in September.
What is HYPE to you?
To me, HYPE is about excitement, passion, and collaboration. It’s when people come together because they believe in something and are willing to go the extra mile to accomplish things. 
Photography & Graphics by: Albert Law
Albert Law’s Portfolio: http://www.albertzlaw.com/