MEET ENWREATHEDGRAPHICS AS WE TALK FUTURE ZINES, PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, AND OF COURSE, ALL THINGS DESIGN

We met up with Anna from Enwreathedgraphics to talk about her work and what she loves doing most, touching on future magazine ideas, her tips and tricks on photography and videography, and all things about her designs. A huge thank you to Anna for her time in talking with us, we cannot wait for everyone to see the ideas we're going to be putting out in the next few months. Make sure you go over to her page and give her the flowers she deserves.

Hey Anna, please could you give an introduction as to who you are and what you do for anyone who is not aware of your talents yet?

My name's Anna or @enwreathedgraphics for work. I'm primarily a graphic designer but I also work with photography, videography, 3D design and other mediums. I'm born and raised in Preston but my work is now based in Manchester!

And how did you get into graphic design?

I've always been an artistic person but I got into graphic design through the metal music scene. Metal was my whole childhood and is still a huge part of my life, seeing the insane merch designs made me want to do it myself. I started an Instagram account making terrible artwork for bands and it grew from there into me studying graphic design for my degree.

Did photography and videography come naturally growing up or did you have to teach yourself?

Photography kinda came naturally for me, I don't remember ever 'learning'. I've just been doing it my whole life. Videography definitely took a lot more time to learn and is something I'm still working on in order to develop my 'brand'. I think I'm a very creative person and also very interested in tech so it was easy enough learning a new medium.

For sure! When you were growing up, did you always want to be a creative?

Yeah I definitely did. I never really cared which route I took to get there but I always wanted to be a creative, whether that be music, art, or photo.

Have you ever made music before?

Yeah I made a lot of death metal/black metal demos in highschool and currently make a mix of hyperpop/experiemental/techno music that I plan to start releasing next year and hopefully get some DJ gigs as well.

That's so sick! Was there anyone that inspired you growing up?

My two inspirations for life will always Beyonce and Placebo. They inspire my design work more than other designers/artists do.

I hear it! Where do you want your creative business to be in five years, what's the goal?

Hopefully in five years I'll be a well known freelance designer in the music scene whilst still designing for clothing brands. I would like to branch out Enwreathedgraphics into creative directions as well as just design so I get more of an input in final projects.

For sure! I cannot wait to see you grow and get your flowers!! Are there any brands you feel you would fit in well with or would love to design for?

I'd loveeee to one day design for Clints, that's quite a big for someone like me but I think my style and vision could work for their advertisment. Would also love to one day do some typographic work for a brand like Corteiz who had a bold design style.

Both very achievable! Have you ever thought about filming music videos with your videography talents?

Yes I'd love to do that. Videography is something I'm still learning as editing videos are quite tricky for me, but I think in a couple of years that's definitely something I want to try out. I shoot on old school mediums like DVD and tape which are becoming more popular again in music videos so I can see that happening fr!

If someone wanted to use an old school medium, like yourself, are there any specifics you'd recommend?

Honestly, just get a Sony Handycam from marketplace and any cheap tapes. People don't know what they have due to the old age of the camera and will sell them for less that £20. It achieves that vintage look for cheap. In my opinion most of the work is the editing, so you can shoot on any old camera and still get the results you want. This goes for both videography and photography.

I know someones already on their way to marketplace now! Would you say the editing is the most time consuming stage?

Yeah definitely. I know some people who can edit incredibly fast, but for me it takes time to get the result I want. Editing a fifty second video can take me three hours sometimes! But I do have high standards for my own work.

Have you got any favourite pieces you've worked on?

Of all my work, my favourite thing I've ever done was designing merchandise for my favourite band (Motionless in White) in 2021. I also class this as the kickstart to my design career. But aside from that, a few months ago I made photography zine based on youth and queerness, and I think this was a very good representation of both my work and myself as a person, I haven't posted this one yet though!

Is that something dropping soon?

Hopefully, it was originally part of my coursework but I'm refining and updating it so I can drop it as a new zine before October. I actually just made a new account, a project called SEETHING which will focus around more personal work like that, so that's where it'll drop.

Sounds sick! Just to make it clear for people, what are your different socials?

@enwreathedgraphics is my main account for all of my graphic design work (and where to go if you want to commission me) and @seethingseething is my new project which will revolve more around DIY, music, and all things creative.

If someone was looking to commission you, how would they go about doing so?

I normally base prices on hours and how big the business/brand I'm working for is. So it's never really set prices for set things. I take commissions in DMs and emails, I'm down to do anything you guys want!

For sure! What's next for you aside from the zine?

I'm doing a lot of album cover designs and merch designs at the moment so that's something to look out for on my graphics account. I'm also very interested in the idea of shooting a mini documentary style video about creatives in the North West, going to try and make this happen in 2024, fingers crossed!

We LOVE that for you! Have you got any advice for anyone looking to start graphic design?

If anyone wants to start graphic design just learn the basics, learn the software and then do whatever you want. Tutorials can only take you so far and they often end up making a LOT of designers work look similar to each other and unoriginal. Once you've learned all of the Adobe software, just mess about with creativity until you get outcomes you like. I still don't have a 'signature style' and I've been designing properly for over three years, be patient with it.

Absolutely!! Finally, do you have anyone you would like to shout out?

Gotta shout out the main man George and Cloudland for connecting me with amazing creatives like SCOOP. Also shout out everyone making art in Preston, the best city on earth.