Alex Westgate is an amazing designer and illustrator from Toronto, Canada. When not creating new designs, Alex can be found touring with his band, riding his bike, or eating pizza. We instantly became fans of his work when introduced to it on Dribbble. Now for our exclusive interview with Alex Westgate, enjoy.

Who is Alex Westgate?

I am a graphic designer, illustrator, musician, bike rider and cat person.

What city do you currently call home?

Toronto, ON

Can you walk us through a typical day in the life of Alex?

Being a freelance designer/illustrator, student & member of a touring band keeps me busy & all over the place. Somedays I will sit at my desk drawing and working on concepts, only getting up to eat, and others I will wake up in a 15 passenger van somewhere halfway across the country. Lately it has consisted of a lot of Zelda though.

When and how did you first get introduced to art/design?

I was always interested in making things and drawing as a kid and eventually attended art camps in the summer. I didn’t really get passionate about art/design until grade 8 or 9 when I started my first band. I always loved buying new cd’s and looking at the album art. I figured I might as well design my bands t-shirts/albums/etc. instead of paying someone else to do it.

Describe your style of illustration and design.

I use a lot of characters in my work, I love character design. I feel characters are such a great way to convey a message with emotion. They help people emotionally connect & build a story within a design. I draw a lot of influence from 1950′s lifestyle and illustration and like to keep things simple in terms of shape, colour and type.

What inspires the characters that can be found in your illustration and design work?

Anything can influence the creation of a character. Some of the time my characters are influenced by a certain point in my own life, how I am feeling at a specific moment or my family or someone I see on the street. I love getting inside the head of each character and developing there personalities. What are his ambitions? His faults? What does he love? What does he hate? What does he take in his coffee? Every minuscule detail.

What tools are a must for designers?

Pencil and paper. Everything else is dependent on the person. I think a pencil and paper is a universal necessity for any form of design or concept development though.

Can you walk us through your creative process from the conception to completion of a project/design?

I get a lot of ideas when laying in bed before falling asleep at night, or on bus rides. Anytime I’m not actively trying to come up with something I get my strongest ideas. I sketch a lot. I usually will have an idea of my final concept decided on before I touch my computer. Sometimes I start to digitally translate an idea but it doesn’t come across as well as I thought it would, so you have to adapt and sometimes even go back to the sketchbook.

What’s new for 2012?

Work. Tour. Work. Tour. Maybe even graduate. Other than that just trying to push myself to branch out and do all kinds of design whether it be packaging, identity, type, textiles, wooden toys, mouse pads, anything!

Advice for future designers?

Have fun.

Is there anything else about you that you would like the world to know about Alex Westgate?

I eat more pizza than you.

Want more? Stop by alexwestgate.com and follow his blog to check out his latest work.

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