Interview with Elijah Meredith Head of In-House Design at Boardlams and former owner of Noble collective clothing company (a surf/skateboarding brand based out of Orange County)

I interviewed with Elijah Meredith the head of In-House design at Boardlams. I have known Elijah for quite sometime and he has had some success recently in the graphic design world and landed a pretty cool position. I thought he would be very accessible and the perfect person to interview for this project. It was a pleasure catching up with him and learning about his reasons and inspirations for designing.

Me: So Elijah how did you get your job at Boardlams and what do you like about it?

Elijah: I had been talking to some friends who work in the industry and they knew a higher up here and got me the interview. It turns out they needed someone with my exact knowledge and skill set and it was a plus that I had previously worked in the industry. My favorite part of working here is the flexibility and the fact that I get to do something I consider fun everyday while I work and make a living.

Me: Why did you choose graphic design as a profession and how did you get into it?

Elijah: I chose Graphic design as my profession because it is something I can be creative with and use as my artistic outlet but in a modern job landscape. I got into graphic design because I was always drawing a lot when I was younger, I wasn’t very good but I always loved to create and eventually I realized these tools could help me perfect my artistic tendencies instead of me continuing to draw poorly. I then started the lifestyle clothing brand Noble Collective which I eventually sold to someone near the end of high school.

Me: What is your biggest inspiration for your work?

Elijah: Well for the most part I get inspired by other designers work and books, magazines, pop culture, skateboarding and all that typer of stuff. A good amount of the time I am also working with customers artwork so being inspired isn’t always key but you need to keep that creative flare going because sometimes the customer may want your input on a design or help you fix it or add to it. The creative process never really stops.

Me: Last question. What would be your piece of advice for other prospective graphic designers?

Elijah: Okay wow where do I start. When you first start designing and tinkering with the programs it is going to seem super difficult and an incredibly daunting task but trust me it is so worth it. Put in the hard work and use all of the resources that are available to all of us on the internet, that is where you are going to figure out a lot of the tough stuff that seems extremely difficult. As long as you work hard and constantly absorb inspiration from the material and world around you and work to you maximum abilities, you will be successful and it will all pay off.

Some basic layouts of a Board that Elijah will design and print on.