© Photo By Scott Kelby
For those who don’t know who RC is just “Google him” (Just kidding).
Rafael Concepcion (RC) is an Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. An Adobe Certified Instructor in Photoshop and Illustrator, he has over 10 years in the I.T and e-commerce industry. RC has held training seminars in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. His training and technical experience has allowed him to work projects for IBM Global Services, Buy4Now, Intershop Communications GmbH, Time Warner, Bertlesmann, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, and Grupo Financiero Banamex. He holds a B.A.in Education and English Literature from the State University of New York college at Plattsburgh. (source kelbytraining.com)
So .. let’s see how went the interview …
First off, whats the typical day in the life of RC ?
Typical day starts off at around 5:30am. I get a cup of coffee and check out the news on the internet (graphic design, photography, web design). I use Bloglines to keep my list of blogs updated to check. Managing a blog myself, it’s important that I keep aware of what’s going on out in the world.. So this time is very important. After that, I spend some time doing some recording in my office – tutorials, new DVDs that I’m working on, show ideas.. The things tht involve me being in front of a microphone.
In the office, we can spend it doing a variety of things- meetings on content, generating idea for upcoming shows, writing articles for magazines, setting up Photo shoots. On specific days, we tape the Layers TV episodes – so that’s a day in of itself.
How did you get into this field? Did you study anything?
Oddly enough, as much as I am involved in working with Adobe products, Teaching was the most important thing for me during university. I graduated with a degree in Education- specializing in teaching English literature to students in grade 7-12. I even spent some time in a school as a teacher. One of the things that I enjoy more than anything is teaching, whether it be Photoshop, or how to give a speech. The teaching is what did it for me.
As much as I loved teaching, I wanted to go and see the world. I had always done computers.. But it was more of a hobby than anything. I figured now was a good time to put both together- teaching and computers. I went to work for IBM for a few years doing technology and working on data warehousing teams. From there I moved to Germany and worked with an E-Commerce company on websites and internet commerce – all the while still working on the graphics and web stuff. After a few years of that, I came back to the states and worked at a technical school teaching Adobe and Macromedia products. I travelled to Photoshop World religiously to keep up with all of the latest trends and techniques from the worlds best instructors. Fast forward to today.. Now I work with them!
What sort of applications / tools do you use to create your work?
I’m considered a Jack of All Trades – I can work on many of the Adobe applications. I can use Indesign, Illustrator, Fireworks, Acrobat, Photoshop, Lightroom, Flash, Premiere, After Effects, Audition, and Soundbooth. I’ve even been known to play around in Director from time to time.. But that’s not much as of late. On Scott Kelby’s blog I did a guest blog post talking about the importance of being well rounded. There are a lot of things that you may already know about an application because of your experience with other applications. I included a video where in 20 minutes I ran an idea through a bunch of different applications- In the tutorial, I cover Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Lightroom, Dreamweaver — editing it in Premiere, with a little Soundbooth for music. It’s long because I didn’t want it to be edited: http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2008/archives/2244
How long Do you work at Kelby Media?
We have the usual 12 hour work days.
I’ve been here over 2 years now.
Are there any places you get design inspiration from?
I love getting inspiration from places like the Web Designer Wall, Just Creative Design, All Graphic Designs and Graphics, and ALLTOP. That place is a great resource!
How did you come up with the name R.C. Conception?
Well, my name is Rafael Concepcion – and no one really calls me Rafael except my family. Everyone else for as long as I remember (and that’s a long time) has called me RC
What web design blogs do you read online? Do you have a favorite?
See above.. Those are the same places I like to check out online. I’d say Just Creative Design and Alltop are my fav’s
Have You Got Any Advice For Taradaciuc’s Blog Readers?
Always look for more ways to express yourself. If you’re good at Indesign, consider Photoshop. If you’re into Photography, consider video. If you’re into print design, consider the web! The arts are at a very interesting place these days, with all of the disciplines crossing into one another. The individual that embraces that and comes out of it is going to be a very powerful artist. Be that individual!
You can also catch RC each week on Layers TV, and he writes the daily blog over at LayersMagazine.com
