Interview: Chad Engle, Editor of Fuel Your Creativity
April 1st, 2010 by Tweet
This week we had the pleasure of interviewing an amazing young talent, who is a very well known American designer and blogger, Chad Engle, the editor of Fuel your Creativity blog. Chad is only twenty-three years old, and he is already an amazingly successful designer, who can only improve with age and experience. This designer is well known for his hard work, creativity, design talent, out going personality, and of course his amazing articles he submits on Fuel your Creativity. Chad Engle is a cool guy, who is so inspirational, because he has experience and wisdom in the design area well beyond his year. Enjoy this week’s interview! And, of course stay tuned for other great interviews to come, including our first developer and our first female!
Thank you so much for doing this interview for Admix Web. Can you give us a brief background on yourself?
I am Chad Engle 23 yrs old. I am a fulltime designer for Charles Ryan Associates a full-service ad agency in Charleston, WV. I also am the Editor for FuelYourCreativity and I love all things Mac. I am a caffeine addict & do some other freelance and personal projects on the side.
Why Design as a career? What were your inspirations for that profession?
I had aspirations to be a Transportation Designer when I went to college. However, I went to school for Graphic Design to get a background and fell in love. I haven’t really looked back since. (however, might test my car talent someday and am still an avid enthusiast)
Are you self taught or did you study design?
I would argue everyone is self-taught at some point especially with how fast we as an industry are moving. I have a background with a BFA in Graphic Design that gave me the fundamentals of design that I have built upon today. I recommend fundamental classes to anyone that wants to be a designer, because it really helps develop your thinking process.
How many years have you been in the field, and how has the field changed during that time?
Well, I went into college with Adobe CS2 and I came out with Adobe CS3 & the next year when I was in the industry I had CS4. The field is rapidly changing, especially in web. The standards and browsers have come so far in the last 5 years that its really an exciting time to be a designer/developer. However, print design is tangling with an idea of differentiating itself from a throw away commodity. A lot of the print pieces you see now are letterpressed, stamped, foiled, die-cut etc. to give it a custom and personal feel.
Can you describe a day in the life of you?
I have to be at my day job by 8:30am and I usually get up around 6:50-7. Depending how hard I hit the design work the night before will also go with the amount of times I hit the snooze bar. I work there til about 5. Then come home to the “home office”. I then usually take about a 2hr break or so depending on how inspired or burnt out I am. Sometimes, I work on day job stuff depending on the deadline or I just straight into my own thing. I work on articles, designs and other things til I go to sleep at about 2am. I also factor in some dog play time, workouts and breaks in there as well. But that’s “typical”.
What does your workspace look like?
My workspace at home is a 15” unibody Macbook Pro with a 24” cinema display, a Bluetooth keyboard, M Stand by rain and either a magic or mighty mouse.
Would you define yourself as introverted or extroverted? How does that effect client relations?
I am beyond extroverted… I talk to anyone…. Grocery line, bus, elevator etc. I don’t have an issue with talking to people. So, talking to clients isn’t too hard unless they are just feisty.
If you could give a Shout Out to someone who has inspired you in your life, but may not know it, who what it be?
Whew… I have been inspired by so many people, it’s hard to list. From the greats: David Carson, Paul Rand, Saul Bass etc. To people in the community now, let’s just say, if you are reading this or have designed something I have come across you have inspired me somehow…
What is your favorite color? Does it infiltrate your designs?
I’m like Picasso; I have a period. I will like a shade of blue, green, teal, orange, 80% grey etc. and then back through the spectrum. I don’t have a typical favorite color, I like hues and palettes more than one color and the color that I am using at the time does infiltrate my designs when its allowed to.
How do you balance your raw inspirations for a project, with the client’s sometimes bad ideas?
I think its all about communication and what is needed. Clients don’t always know their idea is not in their best interest, that’s where your intellect and using your brain to educate them and talk them through some of their uneducated decisions. Just like a banker tells you what to invest in or a doctor tells you what procedure you should have, help them through. It takes time and sometimes is hard is why people come out with a poorly executed idea.
What was your first design you actually marketed? How do you feel about it now?
I did a few logos in college and I feel pretty happy about them. Those were my first before taking on other freelance stuff on the side.
What is your favorite type of design work? And, what has been your favorite project?
Projects come and go and the more you do the fuzzier your brain gets. (maybe that’s the caffeine)
Are you a Mac or a PC? Why?
Mac. If you use one you understand why, if you don’t I’ll be wasting my air…
Do you work better under pressure or do you need time to cultivate your ideas?
I think it depends. If its something that takes a good amount of thought like a client rebrand an in-depth site etc., then I need some time to cultivate my ideas. Now, if its something like a splash site or a banner ad that isn’t real “deep”, I work better under deadlines and a timeframe. Regardless, deadlines drive the design & creative world and cultivation has to be done under pressure many times.
Tell me about the Blog: What made you start it and why do you write?
I can’t take credit for starting FuelYourCreativity that was the mastermind Adelle Charles. I was brought on about a year ago with FUEL and started a blog called FuelYourApps. Then I progressed and moved over to Creativity.
What makes you unique?
My personality. I’m all over the place, quirky, fun, serious & with many passions. Design, sports, cars, cooking etc.
What are some of the design and development blogs you read on a regular basis, why?
I don’t really have a “standard” list of blogs I read. My RSS reader is packed with all kinds of feeds that I share article to/from on a daily basis. I really try and read everything I come across if it looks like it has good content. I try and learn and further my abilities every chance I get.
My favorite quote is, “Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.” Are you are planner or a doer?
Both. Creatives have to be planners & do’ers. If not we get into some big old mess with no idea how we got there or how we are getting out. Carefully planning can save a ton of time in doing.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see design, the web, and development in 10 years?
I can’t really say where I see myself in 10 years, its too open. As far as the industry in 10 years time will only tell. If you think of the last 5 years, twitter, iPhone, etc. HUGE shifts have happened even in tech we have Broadband almost everywhere, HD movies readily available and just recently Hexacore processors have been talked about. (everyone freaked when the Pentium was coming out!) So, tech in the next 10 is going to progress something amazing.
Can you show us some examples of your work?
Please share some pearls of wisdom for up and coming designers in the field.
Network. I’ll say it again, Network. No one is going to come find you unless you are out there. So if you want to get a job out of college or with a great portfolio (without college) you have to network. Resumes and credentials go far, but it’s all in who you know.
How can people get in contact with you?
Chad Engle
twitter: @chadengle
email: chad[at]fuelyourcreativity.com | hello[at]thechadengle.com
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Holly Lamarche is a writer and attorney from New Orleans, Louisiana. Holly lived in Santo Domingo for two years, where she taught at a local private High School, and she currently writes and edits part-time for AdmixWeb and lives in Lafayette, Louisiana.
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Thanks for the interview! I appreciate it!
Another great interview!
What a refreshing and insightful article on one of the Webs Best Designers Holly
. I’m an avid reader of Chads blog- site , his articles are always very informative – but overall : I like the fact that he is down to earth and believes in the old adage of Networking . There are certain fields in where one can achieve success on their own – however : there are others where team effort ( networking) is required. Chad is not afraid to hand over the reigns and grant someone other than himself the control , which goes to show that he is a giving individual – not only as a person , but as a Designer as well . Thank you for allowing us to meet Chad up close & on a more personal level .
Wonderful interview Holly
P.S. ( Its OK to be a caffeine addict Chad – there are worse addictions out there than coffee -ehemmm..this coming from a devout Caffeine Addict !
)
M.
WOW! Thank you for the kind words.
I feel like you know me! Thats pretty scary. Either I am really transparent or you are a good stalker 
I am glad everyone enjoyed the interview! It was great! Thanks Chad!
Once again great interview!
Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it!