Artist Research: Chris Harmon
www.arbitrarydomain.com
September 21st, 2011 – By Donald Ungerman

Interview

Me: Who are you and what do you do and why?
Chris: Chris Harmon, I work as a freelance art director, designer and animator for broadcast motion graphics.

Me: What’s your background?
Chris: I went to college at Georgia State University where I got a BFA with a focus in graphic design.

Me: Where did you get your start?
Chris: My first job after school was designing banner ads and other content for Cartoon Networks website.

Me: What styles of art do you most identify with?
Chris: I like to find inspiration from photography and movie posters

Me: What do you like most about your work?
Chris: I like that every project is different. With different subject matters your exposed to new ideas pretty regularly.

Me: What types of steps do you take before a starting production on a project?
Chris: Always start by looking at what’s been done before. Start looking for images and scene’s that inspire me for the current project but then try to see how it can be approached from a new angle.

Me: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Chris: Never be afraid to ask for help

Me: Who are 3 artists you’d consider influential to your work?
Chris: In the industry of motion graphic I tend to follow work by companies more than by individuals. Most projects are worked on by a group of talented people so its hard to give credit to just one person. That being said, 3 companies work I look at regularly would be Prologue, Psyop and Brand New School.

Me: What about these artists individually makes them so inspiring?
Chris: These companies execute everything with a great sense of craft. No matter how complicated or simple their projects there is an attention to every detail and all of these companies are consistently pushing the envelope of graphics.

Me: And lastly, who are some of the photographers you admire?
Chris: Gregory Crewdson, Nirrimi Hakanson, Marcus Hausser

Chris Harmon | Portfolio: Reel 2009
http://www.arbitrarydomain.com/_reel/HARMON_REEL_09.mov

Inspirations

Psyop | Castrol Edge: Commercial
http://www.psyop.tv/projects/castrol-tested-toperfection-

Prologue | Montage (2011)
http://prologue.com/media/broadcast#montage
http://prologue.com/media/broadcast/projects/espn-mls-network-package

Brand New School | Cartoon Network: Network Re-brand
http://brandnewschool.com/Projects/ArtAndDesign/CartoonNetworkGlobalNetworkReBrand

Speaking of inspiration, Chris made it clear that no specific artworks or piece comes to mind when creating any given project but, he does like to stay current with styles from other well known motion firms in the industry.

As you can see, Chris’s work on the Nickelodeon piece really embodies similar characteristics of Brand New School’s reel for Cartoon Network. Obviously different subject matter, much of the motion found in these two pieces can be identified in the combination of motion techniques, cartoon and video.

What resonates most is the simple idea that arose from Chris’ methodology; of course having a style, having works that inspire you and your style are important but, as mentioned, why not focus on what’s in style, what your audience presents as theirs, and possibly what other competing companies are doing. I guess what I’m saying is that as projects come and go, each can be made a challenge, full of innovation, excitement and creativity without mimicking any one style or artist and instead combining what fits into something new, our job as designers.