Posted by Nate Williams

Dan Matutina is a designer and illustrator based in the Philippines. His illustration style is a mix of handmade & digital, clean & dirty, old & modern aesthetics. His works is heavily influenced by sci-fi, film & Philippine folklore. Dan co-founded Ideals — a social enterprise design & communications agency. Just recently, he started Plus63 Design Co. a new graphic design studio.

He has worked with different companies in the Philippines & abroad. His client list  includes: Good Magazine, Ecomagination, Popular Mechanics, Wired (Italy), The Few Gallery, BBDO Guerrero, DDB, Publicis Manila, Rogue Magazine, McDonald’s, Bayantel, Nestle, & Coca-Cola Foundation, Inc.

How did you get into illustration?

I started making doodles and illustrations of Ninja Turtles and other cartoon characters when I was young. I used to vandalize the walls of our house. Haha. I made comics about my classmates in High School. I only got formal art education when I went to college. I used to do a lot of watercolor illustrations at that time, some of which I use in my current illustrations. It’s a good thing I never threw away my old sketchbooks.

What other types of jobs have you had?

Right after college I worked in an ad agency as an art director. I really learned a lot from the other creatives I worked with. I did a lot of TV commercials & print ads, it was a fun experience. When I was in advertising though, I stopped doing illustration & design work.
After 3 years, my friends and I started Ideals — a design studio for social causes. It was this time that I started making illustrations again.

Please describe a typical day?

I wake up really early, around 7 in the morning. My studio is a 10-15 minute walk from my apartment. When I get to the studio, I brew coffee and play video games. After that, I check emails and reply to them. This happens for about an hour. At around 10 am, I start doing work: sketching or doing the actual illustrations in Photoshop. I love working in the morning because it’s bright and sunshine-y.  From time to time I step out of the office, hang out in cafe or in the bookshop just to look at things & find inspiration. At around 3-4pm, I play video games again. Hahaha. I usually stop working around 6pm, but for these past few days I’ve been going home late.

What is your working environment like?

I work in our own studio — Plus63. Right now I’m by my lonesome ’cause one of our partners is giving birth, while the other one is still on vacation. Haha. Right now, I asked some web developer friends of mine to work in the studio to keep me company. It’s also okay because for these past few months we were working on a website (http://revolver.ph) that just launched. We just recently hired a freelance designer to help us with the work load.

My working environment is a bit relaxed. I also love having visitors drop by the office for coffee and conversations. We get a lot of visitors in the office and it’s fun talking to designer friends who visit.

What do you like about mixing “dirty” and “clean”?

Both are things I like from different disciplines. When I do design work, my personal bias is to do minimalist work, but when I did illustrations in the past, I liked how things look handmade and organic. I guess this is also a manifestation of my bias towards watercolor and ink.

Mixing both was tricky at first, because I struggled to find a healthy balance between the two sort-of contradictions.

You are from the Philippines. Do the Philippines influence much of your work?

Yes, a lot of my illustrations are inspired by Philippine culture, but I ‘m also heavily influenced and inspired by science fiction & film. I try to show this in the mood and tone of my illustrations.

Please tell us about Ideals and Plus63 Design Co?

Ideals was a social design studio I started with a group of friends five years ago. This was after my work at the ad agency. It was focused on doing cause oriented communication and design.

Plus63 shares the same DNA as Ideals, but we also accept commercial clients. For these past few months, we’ve been slowly moving client work to Plus63. Ideals will now be focused in doing cause-oriented projects.

What do you like about design? What do you like about illustration?

Trying to come up with different possible solutions to design problems is what excites me about design. It’s very challenging & fun at the same time.

I love doing illustrations because you can have your own voice & style. I love telling stories, and illustration is the best outlet to do so.

What is your favorite type of commercial project and why?

Those that challenge you, because you always learn a lot from them.

Is your work more conceptual or decorative?

I think it’s more conceptual. I’m always conscious with coming up with a big idea before doing the execution. I guess this is an influence from my stint at the ad agency.

Who are some of your favorite illustrators and why?

• Jon Klassen – The mood of his works are just so good. I also love how his works look organic.
• Frank Chimero – His editorial illustration works are always a joy to look at, & they’re always rich in concept.
• Jon Contino – Those Typography works are just nice!
• Nate Williams - Killer hand letterings and brilliant ink illustrations.
• Noma Bar – It’s amazing how he can say a lot with a simple graphic illustration.

What is something new you have noticed or learned recently?

A lot of my friends are also playing Skyrim! Haha. I see it in their Facebook wall and Twitter posts.  It’s a really good game.

Top 5 favorite things in life

• Coffee
• Turon (a local dessert)
• Conversations
• Video Games
• Good vibes

Top 5 bands/singers

• Lali Puna
• M83
• Null Sleep
• Noah & The Whale
• Eraserheads (A local band)

Can you suggest 3 artists or illustrators we should check out?

• Jon Klassen
• Mark Aspinall
• Ed Nacional

Links

• http://twistedfork.me
• http://plus63.com
• http://ideals.ph