On Friday, August 24, 2007, DesignByHumans' Jason Gutierrez sat down with Black Rock Collective members Jeff Battocletti and Phil Tseng to congratulate them on their $5,000 kickoff win and to learn a little about what makes them tick.
DesignByHumans: Hey guys, thanks for coming out to visit us here at Design By Humans headquarters and congratulations on your win.
Let's get started by finding out a little bit about each of you. How about we start with the basics. Name? Age? Where are you from originally, where do you live now?
What did you eat for dinner last night? Pets? Etc.
JEFF: Jeff Battocletti. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. I've lived there pretty much all my life. I had pizza last night at the hotel.
DBH: What was on your pizza?
JEFF: It was a supreme. So pretty much everything.
DBH: Nice. Pets?
JEFF: No pets. Oh, actually I had a cat named Frisky when I was younger that died. I also had two dogs and they both ran away.
DBH: And how old are you?
JEFF: 23, soon to be 24.
DBH: Cool. Phil?
PHIL: My name is Philip Tseng. I'm 29, I think. Sometimes I have to count. I'm originally from Irvine, but I live in San Diego now. I work and live there. For dinner last night I think I had an Islands burger, I don't remember. No pets. I had a dog for one day but it ran away. I guess I left the front door open or something.
DBH: What do you guys like to do when you're not designing or creating art?
JEFF: Rock climbing, and then design probably - thinking about design. It's pretty much constantly running through my mind.
PHIL: Yeah. Same here. Also, watching TV, vegging out and doing nothing.
DBH: What are you watching on TV these days?
PHIL: Right now I'm kind of in a Reality TV phase, but I watch pretty much anything. It gets my creative juices going - the commercials. I love commercials. I pretty much watch TV and think about design.
DBH: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
JEFF: I'd have to say Italy. It's one of the most beautiful countries I've ever been to and they take a 2 hour nap everyday.
DBH: If you were president of the United States, what would be # 1 on your to-do list?
JEFF: Oh, a political question. Uh, pass.
PHIL: Me too. Pass.
DBH: How long have you been an artist? Designing?
JEFF: Probably since about the 3rd grade. I've been designing for about 5 years.
PHIL: I think I started doodling when I was about 3 years old.
DBH: How did you get started?
JEFF: I remember I drew a picture of Voltron on my basement wall with crayons. I got in trouble but my parents ended up leaving it there for like a year before painting over it.
PHIL: I started drawing characters like He-Man, the Transformers, and comic book characters.
DBH: Favorite medium?
JEFF: Oil paints.
PHIL: Digital.
DBH: Where do you get your inspiration for creating?
JEFF: Pretty much everything and everywhere, but my main inspiration comes from other artists.
PHIL: I get my inspiration from things like T.V. commercials, life experiences, and just talking to other people.
DBH: How long has the Black Rock Collective been around and how long have you been a part of it?
JEFF: It's been around a while. I've been in it for about a year and a half.
PHIL: Just under a year.
DBH: How many members of the Black Rock Collective collaborated on the design "Robot Attack?"
JEFF: There were 25 of us from around the world.
DBH: How long did the collaboration process take for this design?
JEFF: Start to finish was probably about 2 months.
DBH: Any advice for aspiring artists/designers?
JEFF: Draw everyday, as much as you can.
PHIL: Practice a lot, be patient, and try not to take criticism too personally. Try to take the good from the bad.
DBH: Well, congrats again on the win and thanks for chatting with us and for coming out to the Design By Humans headquarters. We're looking forward to seeing some more great stuff from you all.