Computerlove™

July 1st, 2008

Interview / Linda Zacks

Hi Linda. First of all, you in a few words...
Lefty chick, moody thinking-person, sensual, sarcastic & creative & volatile, word-lover, juicy scribbler, intense, quiet loud & loud quiet

How did you come up with the name Extra-oomph?
I was looking words up in the dictionary…finding a name/feeling/vibe for your website can be a daunting activity and I was looking for stuff with ZING- crayon-eater, scribble factory, splat farm…but everything I came up with didn’t seem to work SO I started looking up energetic words, sexy words in the thesaurus and loW&beholD oomph was there….sparkle, spirit, passion, jazzzzz , sweaT all the twisted ingredients of creation & the creative process summed up in one little word

Where are you at the moment, what is your position and what are you working on?
I have one foot in the design world, one foot in the illustration world, and one foot in the fine-art world,
and a brain clogged full of ideas that need to get out; freelancing is an excruciating & exciting road of never-knowing-quite-what-is going-to-happen, the sky’s the limit, and it’s up to me to unlock the interesting gems in the cracks of the world, I love the open ended possibilities of being a creative free agent***

Many designers nowadays are only working with their computer. Where did you get this love for material / substance? When did you enter in the digital world, and was it an easy step?
We never had a computer growing up. I even typed all my papers in high school on a typewriter [fucking nuts] I think ever since I was little; I always had a lusty love for art supplies, their smell,
the colours, packs of pens, little empty books of paper, sticky letters, pictures of this & that- my parents always loved that stuff too so it rubbed off on me in a major way & stuck/ during college, computers became inevitable- starting with email, crazy eudora and archaic web stuff- I took one of the first web designy classes at brown- and while I never really loved computers, it was obvious they were not going away- I figured that design was the creative compromise to pursuing a viable living, so I started there and took my junior year studying that; getting the basics under my belt; then, soon after graduating, the web boom took over and swept everyone up into it’s digital tornado

You went to an art school to learn your job isn’t it? What is - according to you - the importance of learning art and design in school?
I didn’t go to art school- I studied at art school for one year, my junior year; instead of going abroad, I went across the street;;; I never applied or even wanted to go to art school- there were so many other things I wanted to learn- creative writing, economics, anthropology, philosophy whatever/ I always say I learned how to think, not draw----- my stint at art school did prove to be valuable, learning what I needed; getting a taste for the gruelling in & outs of creativity; but I’ve always found that creativity is a way of thinking about anything, about approaching any project whether you are a doctor, own a hedge fund, work in the advertising industry, or are a parent

What software do you feel comfortable with?
I use Photoshop the most…and my little trusty scanner scabbed with ink and smudges and scratches

When, according to you, did you make “the” step further within your work?
When I left my job at VH1, I really started to explore & push & explore & take more chances but I try to push push push all the time

Give us your creative steps?
A lifetime of sweat & struggle & collaged observations of humanity vomited out onto the floor mixed with looking things up in the dictionary, ideas that come from somewhere, a room full of art supplies, and finding & listening to the voice trapped inside my skull, and somehow getting it out on paper

What is the list of your working material? Have you got a photo of your working room?
Lots of bottled GOOS, paints, pencils, markers, anything that makes a mark that I can find, sticky letters, stencil letters, tapes [ I love tape ! ], things that make words, white out, paintbrushes, inky nib pen things, paper, clutter, pictures & Polaroid, wood, found objects from the street- metal, dirt, cardboard !

What keeps you going everyday? And what are you doing if you feel a little bit dried out?
Sometimes I feel completely mentally spent, zonked out, all photons fried, dried-out through&through- but somehow I always end up back smoking the crack pipe of creativity…I guess it’s my calling—
I think to myself- it’s not like I am saving babies or I’ve had to fight in a bloody war; although sometimes it feels like daily mental warfare, the digging deep deep and the birthing of ideas which come from where? who knows so I sit back, breathe, and gain some perspective- read the news, watch a DVD, go to the gym, and I’m back in the forest of scribbles with crayon trees and duct-taped highways- I just wish I could create more, more potently, but it’s hard to get stuff seen in this world of media onslaught

Where and when are you getting the inspiration for your works?
Anywhere & anytime

Do you need loads of inspiration all the time, or are you more the one who keeps closed to seeing stuff?
in this bidness you just got to summon inspiration from everywhere anytime and convert it to visual goodie on crazy deadlines- inspiration is everywhere / I am always looking…the real challenge is what you do with it…what you can make yourself do with it- discipline, experimentation, seeing things backwards sideways & inside out, translating observations and collaging them together

You definitely prefer printed works isn’t it? Are you still making some AD for websites?
I love print, yes, I do web stuff, motion, whatever

Did you see the field evolve since you begun? In which sense?
It’s always been highly competitive and always will be- I think that there seems to be an exponentially growing population of creatives- illustrators, designers, painters, writers, photographers; so it comes down to getting stuff out & seen as much as possible, creating opportunities for yourself, coming up with fresh ideas, pitching things, making connections, voicing your voice

Are you interested in new or upcoming technologies in our field?
Always- I’d love to get more involved with motion, sound… Some of that stuff is amazing!!

Are you browsing web communities?
I check out the design sites- DIK, newstoday, woostercollective, newsnews, you guys!

How important is human contact for you in the job?
sometimes important / sometimes not it’s great when you can actually meet the people you are working with; add face to voice to face; lately I’ve been blasting things out from my apartment and working through email phone, so that’s cool too

What are you doing in your spare time?
Hanging out with yummy boyfriend & doggy

What have your child’s dreams become?
Well… I always wanted to become a professional athlete, so I guess I am a little off track;

Who would you like to meet the most?
My boyfriend’s birth parents- he’s adopted I’d like to see who made his beating heart

What about your clothes?
They need to be washed!

Related links
Site : Extra-Oomph

Other interviews
@ Altpick
@ Mcville
@ Creative Behavior
@ Design is Kinky