Today I’m interviewing graphic designer, art and creative director, and fellow disc golf player Evangelo “Jegs” Banua. He’s a talented creator of print and digital media campaigns. He’s also an expert in image manipulation and retouching, brand identity, and logo design.

HJ: When did you first realize you were a creative person?

JB: Not really sure but when I was a kid (5 to 12-yrs-old), I always took things apart and put them together. That mindset of taking things apart and putting them back together is creativity to me.

HJ: Do you have formal creative/design education, or are you more self-taught?

JB: I went to community college for an associates degree in graphic design. School helped big time, but in my field it was all self-taught. I was already working as a designer when all the digital tools were just coming out. At the time, classes for Photoshop/digital tools weren’t a thing yet.

HJ: I see you’re both a graphic designer and an art/creative director. What’s the difference?

JB: For me the difference is the graphic designer takes the ideas of the creative director and brings it to life. It also works both ways, where the graphic designer will have their ideas fine-tuned with the help of a creative director.

HJ: What’s one of the professional campaigns or projects you’re most proud of from a creative POV?

JB: I am really proud of the pro bono work I did for the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, BIAV. In June 2020, I created marketing and trade show collateral for BIAV to use at events and handouts.

HJ: So I see you do both print and digital design. How do they differ? Do you think about or approach them differently?

JB: I started my career doing print and only print. The approach is the same. Make sure you know you understand the brief and then execute it 100%. The main issue with print is its final FINAL! With digital work, you can make edits even if the campaign has already launched.

HJ: What are some of your favorite or most-used tools and technologies in the creative process?

JB: My classic favorite is the Bezier tool in Photoshop. People that don’t know call it the pen tool. ;-) Right now, Adobe Firefly—the generative AI web app—is pretty amazing! It’s not perfect, but that tech has sped things up for me big time. For example, I use it to extend a background of an image, remove or add things in the image, and color settings. It really is a time saver!

HJ: So are you a Mac or PC kinda guy?

JB: I use a PC for work due to the nature of my job. I'm mostly designing in PowerPoint and use tools like Adobe CC as tools to create design assets like imagery, iconography, covers, mock up products, etc.

My personal computer and preference is a MacBook Pro with the M1 chip (had to say it because it cost me so ******* much back in 2020). I do all my personal designs using a Mac. Currently I've been trying to learn video editing. I've been playing around with it and even have a YouTube channel for birdwatching in my backyard. :)

HJ: How about logos you’ve created? Want to show us some?

JB: Yep, I’ve designed a few logos in my career. My logo work ranges from restaurants, campaign logos and event logos. In 2021 I designed the logo and campaign for PenFed Foundation 18^th annual Military Heroes Golf Classic. This was the full campaign from the top on down. Everything from digital assets, signage on the course, and the full days’ menus. This event brought in over a million dollars for military families in times of need. This year a portion of money went to finding housing for displaced refugees in Iraq.  

HJ: And image manipulation or retouching? Anything cool to show us?

JB: This is the fun part of being a graphic designer for me! I love retouching and photo manipulation. I worked for a political agency in 2010, and my main job description was photo retouching and preflight specialist, where I was tasked to make sure that the colors were CMYK, images were high resolution and correct size. A quality check kinda thing.

HJ: Do you go to an office or do you work from home? Do you prefer working alone or collaboratively?

JB: Home. HOME! Hands down! I've done the office thing and commuted for 25 years of my life. NO MORE! And I prefer working alone. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to set up a collaborative session or a call. But the things I do call for premium alone time while I’m jamming to my favorite tunes.

HJ: What about away from the computer? Do you create in an analog way, too?

JB: My creativity is kind weird now at this age (48) and time in life. My away-from-work creativity is all focused on our house and gardens. Lately, I’ve been going old-school and building garden beds, designing gardens around the yard, and landscaping. And then there’s cooking! By far, cooking is my favorite creative outlet away from the computer. I love to deconstruct a dish and remake it so it’s compliant for people with food intolerances. And I also dabble in a little drum session here and there when the urge hits.

HJ: Have you had Create-or-Die moments—when you just felt compelled to create something, no matter what? Tell us about it.

JB: Ever since I became a homeowner three years ago, I started a Sunday initiative I call “Scrappy Sunday.” I give myself three-to-four hours to build/make/draw something every Sunday morning. So far, I’ve made bird feeders and garden stools, and I even modified my bike cart to be a garden utility cart. It’s fun for me to make something out of nothing.

HJ: Final question: Did you create something today? ;-)

JB: I did! It was for work, but I did create something. It was slides for a presentation deck.

Thank you, Jegs. Say it with me: Create or Die!

— Harald