Following our recent post “Who are the BootB Creators on the Planet?” we’d like to present you an interview with Armint, a guy who occupied the top line of the list.

This interview was done by Visualchemist (as usual :) and here is her intro:
“It was a great experience for me to get to know BootB creative “Armint.” As a winner of two BootB pitches and currently ranking in the top slot of the BootB creative rankings, I was very interested to know what makes him tick.“

Enjoy the interview!

VISUALCHEMIST: Tell me a little about yourself? Who is “Armint” and what does he like to do?

ARMINT: Armint is a 30 yo man from the south of Italy, who lives to communicate, in every possible way.

I graduated in Communication Science, I work in communication and advertising as a freelancer since I was near 14, or something like that, and since 2002 I’m the communication, adv and graphic chief, for the region I live in, of a large distribution group in Italy.

I love, first of all, advertising and design (especially logos), and then all the arts, in each way it could be expressed: image, photography, music, acting, painting, fashion, comics, movies… and I love tv too, as a great way to share ideas, like every other media. I like the net, of course, and I thank it to make the world so little but so enormously active and alive! But, at the same time, I really prefer human contact, ’cause of all the things you could say with your eyes only: all things that I would put in an adv, to give it real strength. I like to speak too, ’cause talking means sharing each others’ worlds and a better understanding of yours.

Something practical: I’ve a girlfriend I love, and I hope soon we will live together. I collect watches and clothing labels. I dance, I like to play table games and I’m a passionate fan of Disney and Marvel!

Congratulations on winning two BootB projects, and especially for being in the top spot out of 12,000+ creatives registered! That’s awesome!

Thanks a lot! You’re right, that’s awesome! I think BootB is so different from other sites that post communication and advertising contests, ’cause it links you directly to the clients, and so you can work on a very definite project, to realize something they really want, because they’ll use it! And so, I won two pitches and I’m in top of the ranking not necessary because my works were the best posted, but maybe only because they were what the builders wanted at the time. So, I’m so honored, but I’m far from the best creative in the world (ok, maybe one of the best ;)), there’s a lot of work to do yet!

As a winner of two BootB pitches, what friendly advice do you have for others in this community who are hoping to win a project?

Sometimes advertisers (me too) are so happy and impatient to create that they go far from what the builder really wants, and they focus on creating something wonderful only for their eyes. As I said, me too I really believe in what I think is “good”, but I often have to conciliate it with what your client requires, ’cause he’s the only one who has a clear idea of how his product has to be shown (fortunately, sometimes he has no idea, so you can go to free-wheel!). So, the only advice I can give is to read very carefully the pitches: almost always, the good solution is already there.

May I ask how you stumbled upon BootB?

A very big friend of mine, who often “creatively” collaborates with me, told me about BootB as a site definitely different from other sites we were attending, ‘cause of the possibility to win “real” communication contests, being judged and paid by the “real” clients, and not only confronting between users. Such an attractive opportunity for me to reach contests I couldn’t be in, as a “poor” south of Italy freelance creator!

You seem to be very well plugged in creatively. What is your inspiration that keeps you motivated?

Thank you! I hope I don’t only seem, I hope I am! I think the creative passion is born within you, I think you can’t become a creative, so I don’t know what’s my inspiration, it’s part of my life. You can learn rules and techniques, so you can be a marketing expert or an advertiser, but you can’t learn to be creative, you are. I don’t know if I really am, ‘cause I daily create since I was a child (as part of my life, as I said): I always disassembled my toys to build something new. On TV, I looked always for adv, with my first PC (I think I was 12, or something like that) I started to create a lot of print adv of Swatch watches (that I loved and I collect yet) or other interesting brands for me… until I studied and then my passion became my work, and I’m here now! Nothing special, it’s the story of most of today creatives, I think.

What are some artistic non-ad/graphic design things you have created that you are most proud of?

Oh, I’m proud of a marionette of a ghost I made with two pieces of wood, some colored paper… and a yellow rounded duster! And I can clearly remember a small replica of a skylift I made for my “Big Jim” (can you remember? that is a toy, a puppet, very famous in Italy), only with some rope, iron wire, a button and a skypass keeper, the one with the rope rolled as a yo-yo! And then… a lot of carton board houses, a big petrol pump, a big tube with a fan and a lot of flying banknotes…

So you’ve freelanced for quite some time. How did you like it, in comparison to working inhouse at an agency or studio?

Now I work for a marketing and communication studio, but I’m still a freelancer too, ‘cause I like freelancing so much! I think it’s really rewarding to address new challenges alone, so I can prove everyday my creative potential. But I like to work in groups too! Single clause… I’ve to be the boss (and in the office I work in I am, fortunately)! Because I strongly believe in my ideas! This can lead to some problems, but with some compromise everything goes good!

What types of clients do you like to work with? Is there a special project you felt you were most creative?

I like to work on products, less on services, and especially I like luxury goods, for the use of images and pictures I could do, and non-food items. So I don’t like very much foods, but, ironically, I have a lot of experience on them, ‘cause I work everyday in the marketing office I work in (as I said, it handles the image of a large supermarkets chain)! All my freelancing works are saved, of course, on my home PC, that now is down for a problem of “communication” between the operative system and the motherboard! Attached there’s something I have here, a communication campaign I created for an Italian mineral water.

Creative enough?

I’m very curious what your studio/work space looks like. What is the most interesting thing on your desk right now?

The most interesting thing… mmh… right now… I think it’s a pot full of “magic” balls, very very small that become very very big and transparent adding some water, and that are very useful as an anti-stress! There’s also a fatty little plant in a Mickey Mouse (I love him!) red pot, and a magnet I bought at the Venice art biennial 2 years ago, that I’m very affectionate to: it says “There are no foreigners in art.” I think it’s a big truth.

What do you daydream of most often?

I dream of a house and a family with the girl I love. And I dream of opening an agency on my own, I dream of having “a name” to be most considered in Italian communication market. I always dream of escaping from my little reality, or to change it! I dream of a world, my world, full of communication and art: I dream of the place I live in where finally communication could be consider as a real job.

What do you do when you are not being creative?

I try to be always creative! And so, most of all, I can dance. Dancing means self expression, and I’d love to always do this. I watch tv, I go to cinemas or theatres, I travel, I look everyday for something new and stimulating for my work and my future. But I like my everyday trivial life too! Stay at home with my family, my sister, my girlfriend, my friends… and I like to sleep too!

What creative thing did you do this past weekend?

I designed with my girlfriend our next bedroom! We thought about a “no-time place,” to decline between the topic “music” and an Arabian atmosphere. And so: chandeliers as in a kashba, old radios as nightstands, and a big steel sentence on the wall that says, “Let’s get unconscious, honey!”

Read any good books lately?

Not very good, indeed. I bought Twilight saga, ’cause of the rumors about it, but I found it a bit disappointing, maybe overestimated. But the second book of the saga, New Moon, shows a good representation of depression and diversity. Fortunately, every book can give you something, you’ve just to look for it!

Well thank you for your time, Armando. It was a pleasure getting to know you. Ciao!

That’s all! Thank you so so so much!!!