Design Q&A Part 1: Diftype
In part 1 of this series of Q&As with talented young designers we spoke to Niklas Lundberg- better known to the world as 20 year old graphic design prodigy Diftype. A self-taught freelancer Based in Umeå (Sweden) Diftype- like the other artist in our series- has built a fierce reputation for his work through the internet, having been featured in publications like idN, Defish and Moloko Plus, not to mention around a trillion blogs such as Change the Thought & Kitsune Noir. Diftype works with stills, print, motion and interactive work, and generally produces highly technical & mathematically-inspiring visuals.
EARZ MAG (MS): How is it going, can you tell the people what you do.
NIKLAS LUNDBERG (DIFTYPE): It’s going great! I’m a freelance graphic designer based in Umeå, Sweden and I’ve been doing art since 2003. I formed Diftype in 2006 as a personal showcase. I do a lot of abstract art, inspired by modern society, nature, science and mathematics.
EM: I’ve just been looking through some of your work… the animated intro for Funkrush Clothing is sick. Can you tell me about that?
NL: It’s an unfinished intro for an upcoming motion for Funkrush. It’s been put on ice for awhile but hopefully it will be picked up later.
EM: How did you get into art & graphic design? Did you study at school?
NL: I’ve been creative for as long as I can remember so I guess it came naturally to me. I started with 3D abstract stuff back in 2002 and from there I’ve just evolved I guess. It wasn’t until I started Diftype my style really began to evolve and take it’s form. I am completely self-taught and I never really got around to finish school but it seemed to work out anyways.
EM: As well as your own work, you co-founded Twogrande with Ehren Kallman. How did you two link-up, and what is the idea behind Twogrande?
NL: The idea behind Twogrande was for us to share a portfolio and make art together, mainly personal stuff but also client work. I’ve known Ehren since I started back in 2002 so I know what he’s capable of and he’s always been one of my favorite artists because of his creative and unique ways of putting together a piece, not to mention his original style. [Answer continues after image...]
We work well with each other and that’s why we felt that it might be good to make a co-joined portfolio. The site is pretty much finished and was planned to be released this spring but we felt that we need more work before the release so it might take a little while longer but stay tuned and keep checking my site for updates on the matter.
MS: A lot of your work is really mathematical. There seems to be a lot of collision and strange linear activities going on. Would you agree?
NL: Recently I’ve been heavily inspired by that kind of stuff, there is just something about it that involves perfection.
EM: You’re pretty young to be making such good art. What are your ambitions for the future? Where do you hope to take Diftype?
NL: I hope Diftype will give me some more job opportunities in the future. Right now I just try to be seen on as many places as possible to get more exposure. I have a day job and I hope that someday I could go completely freelance.
EM: Thank you for the interview. Do you want to add anything, any shouts or links?
NL: Thank you for having me! There are so many people I would like to give a shout out to, so instead of forgetting anyone I just wanna thank my family and friends for always being supportive. I gotten to know so many good people over the internet since I started out. So thank you internet! Also check out these sites: twogrande.net, depthcore.com & funkrushclothing.com.
Niklas Lundberg’s digital portfolio is online here at Diftype.com. Thanks to Niklas for speaking to Earz Magazine- we look forward to his output during the rest of 2008. This interview with Diftype is first in a two-part series of Q&As with young designers- part two features an interview with Chuck Anderson.
Images top-bottom: [i] Aesthetic Mathematics as Twogrande, [ii] Organic Intro motions for Funkrush as Twogrande, [iii] Cut, [iv] Featured work in Affix JuiceBox Book via Flickr. All work © Niklas Lundberg / Diftype / Twogrande.
Posted in Art & Interviews by Martin Skivington on July 18, 2008.
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