Ally Spotlight: The Good Natured Contest Winner Stelios Cfd

Stelios Badouveris is an Ally All-Star. Also known by username Stelios Cfd, the designer/illustrator is a prolific member of Creative Allies who has won multiple design contests and other recognitions, including a nomination for the 2011 Ally of the Year.

Stelios’ most recent contest-winning design was a tour poster for British pop-noir trio The Good Natured. In our interview with the Crete-based Creative Ally, we asked him about his approach for the winning poster design and learned a bit more about his background and inspiration.

Creative Allies: How did you come up with the concept for your winning design?

Stelios Badouveris: The two things I wanted to incorporate into the design were the band’s name and the song “Wolves,” which I like a lot. So I choose to use an old photo of a Cretan couple of nobles from around 1910, and then I added the wolf and fire heads as a reference to the song but also to add a little irony to the concept. Finally I tried to combine the vintage imagery with funky colors and shapes to create some contrast.

CA: What is your background in design?

SB: After junior high I attended Mixed media studies—image, sound and video—in a Technical High School (T.E.E.) and then I attended a graphic design school to improve my knowledge of arts and design. All and all, the experience I gained from studying was too “sterilized.” The real experience came from working. Trying to fit the client’s needs and my personal aesthetic in one project was both constructive and fruitful, learning-wise.

CA: Where do you live? Does your location affect your work in any ways?

SB: I live in Greece, on the beautiful island of Crete. I draw a lot of inspiration from nature; it calms me down and picks me up too… so for me here’s the place to be! I love the serenity of the landscape, sunny beaches, mountains and lakes. I also love wildlife and I’m very enthusiastic about it. The mechanisms that drive everything in our ecosystems and the earth as a whole are very fascinating, and some are very unique sources of inspiration.

CA: What are your favorite types of creative projects to work on? What other hobbies, interests or specialties do you have?

SB: My favorite types of projects are the ones involving music, like posters for bands or album covers. Other than designing I like video editing and video animation. Some of my hobbies are music, reading, traveling, hanging out with my friends and creative writing.

CA: Who are some of your favorite visual artists and musicians?

SB: Some of my all time favorite musicians are Tom Waits, Bob Marley and Nirvana. I also like bands like Arcade Fire, Placebo, Florence and the Machine and The Kills.
Visuals artists whose works inspire me are Mark Ryden & Jasper Goodall.

CA: Any feedback from your experience with Creative Allies?

SB: So far my experience with Creative Allies has been great. It’s a great platform for artists no matter what age or experience to showcase their work and have the chance to earn money from it. Also the feedback and critiques from fellow artists is very important and constructive. Another awesome thing is that I get the chance to discover artists, like Katie Campbell or Ivan, whose work inspire me and makes me want to push myself and try to bring my “A” game into every contest I participate in.

Check out Stelios’ portfolio of submissions on Creative Allies here.