Paper Illustrations Capturing The Experience of Old Age

CG: You've worked with internationally renowned personalities and brands. Briefly, take us through your design journey. The tough times, the easy times. What made you take up designing as a profession? How did 'paper illustrations' come about?

YB: Even with a background in graphic design, I always have a tendency to work with hand-made styles, especially paper. I started to use the edge-glued paper technique more than 6 years ago. I prefer not to call it quilling as it's more about drawing with paper rather than on it. Slowly and steadily experimenting with the art form has allowed me to make quilling more stylish and modern.

CG: Lines and patterns seem to be common among most of your designs. Is there a reason or is just simply your style? Why the 'old' faces? What is your style and design process?

YB: Many motifs/elements come from the medium e.g. a coil is a natural thing to do with a paper strip, but I try to use a variety of paper elements including flat-cut paper sculpture, decoupage etc. just to keep the art visually interesting and diverse.

Like every designer occupies a particular niche, my designs express and depict old age. Merging the edge-glued paper strips technique to depict wrinkles enhances the experience both for the designer and the viewers.

CG: What do you feel are three things that an illustrator must have in today's competitive environment? How do you evolve and keep up with changes that happen around?

YB: First is paper, then glue and finally a pair of scissors! On a serious note, an illustrator should stay true to his/her own style but at the same time keep experimenting and changing it slightly over time. This is a natural process and most of the time undergoes a subconscious change.

CG: Is there any cultural influence in your designs? How do you manage to give an 'international appeal' to your designs?

YB: There is no cultural influence unless it's a particular project that demands a particular look and feel. My influences are typography, paper, nature, and colours – things that are pretty much universal and appeal to everyone

CG: What are your inspirations? Any tips for talented designers that are waiting to be recognised?

YB: Like mentioned earlier, anything that occurs in nature is what appeals and inspires. Everything from interesting texture to unique colours can be a starting point for a new idea. And as far as the motto goes, it's doing what you love and loving what you do.