Designer Interview With Paul von Excite

Today’s designer interview is with Paul von Excite who is a professional logo designer specialising in type & lettering working from the Netherlands. His work has been featured on such sites as BrandNew Underconsideration, Abduzeedo, Daily Inspiration, InspirationHut, Logopond, Moo.com, Creative Market, Goodtype, Logomoose, Fromupnorth, Adobe Illustrator, AIGA Gallery, Adobe, Designinspiration.net, LOGOED, Wacom Gallery, Goodtype Book 1, Talenthouse, Student Show, Typography Served, Logo Lounge 9, 365 Awesome Designers and many more.

Designer Interview With Paul von Excite @PaulvonExcite #designerinterview #logodesign #handlettering https://t.co/9H40wY6d8k pic.twitter.com/tfy0SRZy5O

— The Logo Creative™ ✏ (@thelogocreative) April 4, 2018

What attracted me was Paul’s portfolio as you can see below it’s very clean and pleasing on the eye and this is due to the consistency of his style and quality of the work.

I’m a huge fan of simplicity and the minimalistic approach in logo design and interior design but what a nice bit of inspiration for a designers office as Paul’s office is just as clean as his portfolio of work. I believe a clean working environment helps you focus on the task at hand and a cluttered work area leads to a cluttered mind.

The Logo Creative –Hi Paul it’s nice to meet you, and thanks for been part of our designer interview series its great to have you on board.

Paul von Excite – Its nice to meet you and thanks for the awesome opportunity!

The Logo Creative – What was the turning point in your life when you decided to become a designer and how did you proceed?

Paul von Excite – In the third year of creative college where I educated myself in being a website designer I came across Dribbble via a friend and classmate at that time. When I saw the work of Eddy Lobanovsky and Seanwes I was sold on logotype and lettering design and started to practice, practise and practise on what they did so well. One year later I had a consistent client base and decided to stop with college and focus myself 100% on being a logotype/lettering designer. A scary step at first but have never ever regretted taking that dive and so thankful for all the support on my work!

The Logo Creative – What does your day consist of?

Paul von Excite – Next to replying mails and keeping track of social media I do work on multiple projects everyday which could be from sketching, revising, vectorizing to calling with clients.

The Logo Creative – What was the first logo you ever designed?

Paul von Excite – That would be the logotype for a friend his design studio called Unify. The actual logotype who introduced me to the world as a logotype designer with a bang!
Unify was my first actual commissioned work, it also became the start of an amazing journey.

The Logo Creative – What is your favourite Logo you have designed?

Paul von Excite – Always my latest, haha!

The Logo Creative – What is your favourite Logo of all time?

Paul von Excite – Hard to tell, I am a big fan of the Virgin type and the Nike symbol.

The Logo Creative – Can you describe or give us an overview of your logo design process?

Paul von Excite – I think these articles speak for themselves –

The Logo Creative – In your opinion regarding Logo Design pricing do you prefer working on a fixed rate or customer budget and can you explain why?

Paul von Excite – Took me quite some time to come to the pricing I feel comfortable with. I work with fixed prices based on experience and the value my work has to offer.

The Logo Creative – How long does it take to complete the average logo design project from start to finish?

Paul von Excite – Really depends on the size of the project but usually around 4 to 5 weeks upon completion.

The Logo Creative – Are you a MAC or PC User and is there a reason for your choice?

Paul von Excite – A few years back I would say MAC(!!!) being an Apple fanboy but over the last few years I think their new products are not that excited anymore as they used to, or it is the age..Using an 2013 iMac and I am very happy with it though, it might be too good, therefore I don’t feel the urge to upgrade yet.

The Logo Creative – Which software do you use frequently?

Paul von Excite – Only two actually.. Illustrator is the software I use to build the logotypes and letterings, Photoshop often for presentation purposes.

The Logo Creative – What is your favourite style of logo design? And why?

Paul von Excite – Tough one.. I would say it is a mix between simplicity and elegancy. When it pops out over the rest and considered eye candy I am all in.

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The Logo Creative – What is your daily inspiration when you design?

Paul von Excite – Next to platforms like; Dribbble, Behance, Instagram and Pinterest I like to browse through books like Logo Lounge & Los Logos for instance. Brandnew is also a very common place I visit, very interesting!

The Logo Creative – In your opinion what’s the best and worst part of your job being a designer?

Paul von Excite – Best: The appreciation from the community on something you build is something I can’t say thanks enough for.

Worst: The headache/irritation when something doesn’t quite work out as you hoped or if you can’t figure out an idea and get stuck in thinking too complicated.

The Logo Creative – Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?

Paul von Excite – That would be Bill S Kenney, what he accomplished with the Focus Lab team over the past few years is highly inspiring. Especially the variety of work they put out on daily base is remarkable.

The Logo Creative – Who is your favourite Graphic Designer and why?

Paul von Excite – Not really have a favourite, favourite designer but I am a big fan of what Nick Slater is cooking up in his studio. Kind of different to what I am making but I always catch myself staring at his illustrations.

The Logo Creative – What steps did you take to start your graphic design business? Did you have to make any sacrifices on your journey?

Paul von Excite – I think we all have to sacrifice one thing or another when chasing your passion, the thing I can think of is the time I have invested in becoming better and better. Starting the business for me went quite natural though, after publishing the Unify logotype (mentioned above) it went so quickly to where I am now but yet still a road to travel and explore!

The Logo Creative – Do you have any regrets? Is there anything you would have changed early on in your career?

Paul von Excite – Not really actually, I did pretty well..

* Click on the image to enlarge

The Logo Creative – If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?

Paul von Excite – Invest in bitcoins.. 🙂

The Logo Creative – What’s the most important piece of advice you have received as a designer that’s helped you?

Paul von Excite – Stand your ground but don’t be a dick.

The Logo Creative – What would be your advice for new Logo and Graphic Designers?

Paul von Excite – This is going to sounds cliche but having a solid online portfolio on Dribbble, Behance and Instagram is so essential. Have an up to date website and make sure potential clients could easily reach out to you.