We are excited to bring you another interview in our prepress and structural design team series where we give you an inside look into the minds of our Great Little Box/Ideon Packaging’s (GLBC) team. If you didn’t catch our first interview of the series, click here!
Today, we speak with Vick Kumar who is a Prepress Graphic Designer at the Twigg Location. Vick’s responsibilities are to ensure the technical aspects of print adhere to our productions and manufacturing requirements for the Corrugated & Industrial Packaging Division. Vick has been a part of the prepress world for 24 years and an employee of GLBC for 14 great years! Needless to say, Vick and his contribution and commitment to the company has been exemplary.
Why did you choose a career in prepress?
My career decisions after high school was to experience three industries of visual communication which were Special FX Make-up, Graphic Design and Computer Animation. I enrolled at the Vancouver Film School for Special Effects Makeup which later lead me to working in two Special FX studios working on projects like X-Files & Stargate. I later left the industry seeking the full-time college experience and attended Kwantlen Polytechnic University for three years for Graphic & Visual Design. After completion, I was hired for a Graphic Design Position for a screen printing company. Six months later I received a call from a former Kwantlen instructor asking if I was interested in being one of 12 students for BCIT‘s first-ever Computer Animation Program. I decided to take the opportunity and experience the world of Computer Animation and creating three demo tapes. Having explored my three goals I decided that Graphic Design was the best fit for me and was employed at a Label Company for 8 ½ years before being hired at GLBC.
What was your most satisfying prepress success and why?
Receiving an email from a customer that says “Thank you for your help. Loved how they turned out”. Or, sometimes the best thing to hear is absolutely nothing. Which means there was no issue, and the project was a success! I’m happy with that!!
From a graphics standpoint – what catches your eye that makes a product pop from the shelves?
I gravitate towards organic, soft, bright colours. A great logo is always a plus!
How do you approach a new project?
The project begins by visualizing the end and asking myself, do I have all the tools to proceed.
What do you like most about your job?
Being a resource to identify issues and provide solutions. Working with other departments and collaborating on challenging projects. Playing your part to ensure its success.
What advice would you give yourself 5 years ago regarding your job?
If you love what you do…..why change!!
What is the most fun part of your job?
Sipping my morning coffee, stepping up to the plate and putting in a solid productive day!
Why do you love working at GLBC?
I love what I do. We are all part of something special and you want to do your part to help it grow and improve. We all work hard and the company recognizes this with social events to allow the team to enjoy our successes together which grows our Company Culture and creates unforgettable memories!!
Links to Other Interviews:
Graphics: Chase McNabb
Prepress: Jim Davison, Vick Kumar, Chris Kernel , Brett Priest
Structural Design: Cody Kendall, Toby Harper