Humza Ijaz
www.humzaijaz.com HI: Was born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 1985 Stayed in Dubai for about fifteen years. Moved to Canada. Started designing at the age of sixteen. Founded a company with my partner in crime Nickolej Jensen in January 2003. Currently attending final year of high school here in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Where are you from?Originally I am from Lahore, Pakistan. But never stayed in Pakistan really. Been traveling pretty much all my life.
Design education:I am still in high school. All the knowledge that I have about "design" right now is self thought and I have learned it through experimenting. We have design classes at my school, but to be honest, they are not helpful at all.
What inspires you to create?There are masters from all fields that inspire me. It depends which mood I am in really. Getting off my desk and going out to shoot a school assignment might inspire me to create. Someday, I might be going through rough/good times like we all do and that could inspire me to sketch something on my canvas. And sometimes you watch a movie or come across something that's so hot; it makes you scream and pushes you to create something that would impress you and others.
What software do you currently use to produce such work?I've been using lots of software's lately. Depends on what I am working on. Usually if I am working on a clients website. The key software's I would end up using would be:
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Macromedia Flash
Macromedia Dreamweaver Now days, I am staying away from "Abstract" kind of stuff. Been trying to get fiddle with more 3d Animation programs.
Right now I am working with: Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere
3d Studio Max
Maya And for advanced digital compositing, I'e been learning: Discreet Combustion Shake 3 (using it on my Linux O/S)
For an eighteen year old your technique is very mature and professional. Can you elaborate on that?Well, most of the techniques I know of are self-taught. But I would have to agree that by working with some really close friends has worked out real well for me. Mainly cause, I've always got honest feedback from them, which has helped me in my progress as a designer/artist.
If design and art did not exist what and where would you be today?You would probably find me flipping burgers at McDonalds or working as a Sales Associate at Walmart. Oh wait. I am already a Sales Associate at Walmart.
You get a lot of attention for your talents, and it's well deserved. Can you share with us your feelings on your success?The feeling is great. Imagine waking up in the morning, checking your email and getting attention for your talents from someone who you don't even know. But too much attention scares me. Like I said before, I don't want to be caught up in the e-popularity hype. But I wish I could thank each and everyone for appreciating my work. Means a lot.
Describe your workstation?AMD Duron, Processor, 900 Mhz, 512 MB of RAM, 120gb system disk, GeForce 4, Dual Monitors (21", 19") Running Windows XP as default and Win 98/2000/Linux through Vmware
With broadband a household necessity do you still think it's important to cater to dial-up and 56k users?Ah good question. Mostly when you work on a clients website. He/she will always bring up the issue of how the site should be user friendly for people on 56gay..err 56k connection I mean. But I think people are slowly trying to forget about the people on slower connections. So pretty much thinking about working on a heavy site isn't an issue anymore, for me anyways.
How would compare today's Graphic Art Industry from 40 years ago?I am not the best person to ask this question to. However I do think we have more styles and variety of tools to work with and express ourselves better through advertising or any other media related to graphic art.
How would you explain a piece that is over designed?When you keep on adding unnecessary design elements to a piece, just to fill the space.
Do you prefer technologically advanced sites or sites with simple but good design?I want to see sites with simple and good design + hardcore backend work. Cause it's always sweet to have a dynamic site.
What is your all time favorite PC game?I only got one thing to say. If you wanna play counter strike against me..I kill you die.
What do you think is more important in today's Graphic Design industry, design education or artistic qualities? Choose one then explain:Artistic qualities are definitely important in today's Graphic Design industry. I know lots of designers who are high school dropouts and are owning the scene. Its mainly cause, they have the true love for design.
How would you describe your work?I am not sure if I can describe my work stylistically. Because I believe I haven't found my real style yet. Hmm it's really difficult for me to describe my work. I would say I test, test, test and test again when I am working. Cause that's what experimentation really is. However I want to end up creating something where technology would be hidden transparent things.
How would you like to be remembered?I want to be known as the guy who took your girlfriend away.
Any new projects coming up that you can tell us about?Currently, I've been working on Virgo's Issue 2. Been working on lots of client related work through mandilovesmee. Expect lots of updates over at Prmthn in the near future.
Favorite food and drink:Junk food with Mello Yellow.
Final comments:Thanks for having me here!
