SND46 Q&A: Features/Magazine Portfolio winner: Richard Giliberto

Who are you?

I'm Richard Giliberto, formerly Art Director at The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, now menace at large.

What was the most challenging piece of work in your portfolio and why?

"Hail to the King" was challenging in a couple of ways. I'd been experimenting with a new technique (to me at least) involving gradient vector shapes, which you can see in the illustration. Choosing the density, angles and shapes themselves was a learning experience. However, it was primarily challenging in getting it to publication at all. The editors felt that alluding to Trump's Nazi leanings was a bit rich for their blood, despite it actually being explicit in the text of the original article, and refused to run it. Originally it was a full face. As a solution I cropped it to leave the "headline/Hitler moustache) sitting outside the image, which I figured was more subtle (and actually better). Still they said no. Eventually we got it over the line on a separate article that ran several weeks later, when the editors were preoccupied with other matters. In the end there was, of course, zero controversy.

Thinking about a specific piece in your portfolio, what was your initial goal? What parts of your creative vision did you have to sacrifice in order to complete the project?

Well it was always the same few things I had to take into account, so my answer applies to all of them to varying degrees. How much text would they be requiring me to make room for and how would that affect the image? More often than not I would think up a headline that would sell the whole package, or even be intrinsic to the concept. Too often words and pictures are seen as separate, when they should be shagging, or at least holding hands. "Under his Eye" is a good example of this, it brings the whole piece together, setting the column of text underneath the eye. The simpler the idea, the more powerful the effect.

What did you leave on the cutting room floor for your portfolio because it didn't give you the best chance of winning?

This year, I don't really think there were any other serious contenders. The juicy jobs had been drying up for some time. In previous years it had been much more difficult to pare a portfolio back. In any case I always tried to avoid repetition of styles and also colours, where possible. I felt variety was the best representation, in a field where I'd be competing against people with greater time and resources. A portfolio is like an EP. Do you want a handful of great songs, or one hit and a bunch of rewrites and remixes of the same tune?

What part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?

Honestly, kinda all of it. It's the progression from conceptualisation through to execution in its entirety. Each part brings its rewards. Seeing your idea come to life and knowing it's going to work . . . the satisfaction in knowing you've produced a real "banger" (on the rare occasion you actually know you have). Of course all of these highs come before somebody higher up the food chain asks you to change it or water it down . . . do I sound jaded?

What is your typical timeframe to complete a project? What resources do you have?

In my time at The Age, typically it was a matter of hours from brief to final execution, with the occasional exception. Not a lot of room for rumination and refinement, just punch it out to the best of your ability as quickly as possible please. The only real resource I had was the use of a photo library. And my brain, I guess.

What are you working on now?

I'm freelancing now, kicking around with what I can scratch up, but there's not a mountain available in the news media in Australia and I haven't had much luck overseas yet, which probably speaks to the general state of things in the industry. I did a series of illustrations for The Guardian a while back, which was fun (and in a novel twist I had time to refine each piece! Who knew such things were possible?). Mostly though I'm working on music, writing and getting back into screen printing.

If your SND46 portfolio were a playlist, what songs would be included?

• Divide & Conquer - Hüsker Dü
• New Dark Age - The Sound
• Aerial Troubles - Stereolab
• Nothing But Flowers - Talking Heads

Judging is a treat - having the privilege to see all the amazing work being produced across the globe, to discuss that work and learn from others with disparate experiences. It's like emerging from decades lost in the bush and finding my tribe.

What is your experience with SND and the competition?

Where do I start? For me, it's been hugely edifying and affirming. Appreciation for design and illustration in news media has been mostly elusive, and our place has been ghettoised. So having my work recognised by peers who actually understand has meant a great deal. Judging is a treat - having the privilege to see all the amazing work being produced across the globe, to discuss that work and learn from others with disparate experiences. It's like emerging from decades lost in the bush and finding my tribe. I think SND is playing a hugely important role in bringing people together and shining a light on a part of the media industry that is under-appreciated by most in the wider public and especially within newsrooms. Pictures really are worth a thousand words and the power we can wield with them is far too often downplayed. One would think it would be highly valued in such a time poor society, but you know, onwards and sideways!

Why are things the way they are?

It all starts with money. We as a society and species have allowed the unquenchable thirst of the few to outweigh the great many's basic right to a decent life. Corporate concerns have compromised the media, and as a result, the truth has become slippery. We've reached the "let's give fascism another go" point of the rinse/repeat cycle, let's hope the "overthrow the tyrants" part comes sooner rather than later . . .