i’m mal—a visual communications designer, mixed media visual artist, and storyteller primarily creating work that serves a greater good, often focusing on optimism and new perspectives towards a better way of living and being.
throughout my work, i see with curiosity and never follow trends or care about the status quo of ‘that’s just how it’s always been done or how it is,’ aim to find a balance between order and chaos, and prefer to bend a rule or three when it makes sense to.
an autobiography, i guess
it started in the late 80s when i began to organize and design my world around me as much as possible; then i grew up, went to school, got a visual communications degree, and worked as a graphic designer mostly designing visual books and magazines.
years later, i added ux and ui skills to my life, started painting and experimenting with whatever material i could get my hands on to make some kind of art that didn’t require a screen, and creative writing.
during it all, i’ve always been a daydreamer and deep thinker, direct communicator, obsessive music fan [has travelled to shows a lot and will likely forever make art or design books about it all], and someone who loves and thrives in nature, living an active life by prioritizing health and fitness, and appreciates a good thrift find.
[written by me, probably on a whim one day, without editing or any help from AI]
the system / strategy [or something]
i lead with humility, not ego; i see mistakes as learning opportunities, and i will try things even if i don’t know how and probably fail catastrophically at some point. the bigger the fail, the more likely i’ll never do it again.
i’m driven by curiosity and ideas but i do love a clear plan… but sometimes i forget the plan exists. i’m meticulous yet chaotic and orderly yet experimental… and autistic and adhd. i didn’t know this about myself for a long time so i unknowingly hid it all and although my life looked OKAY on paper… this didn’t work out in my favour nor did it make me happy.
my best creative work tends to be work i do when i embrace my authentic, weird self, and so that’s what i do: the wild ideas that come out of left field, seeing patterns and possibilities most miss, and likely not doing what everyone else is doing.
some things i can do [but not limited to… never limited*]
1 creative direction or design consulting 2 website design [layout, information architecture, visual] 3 mural design + execution 4 brand identity design or refresh 5 editorial design [book, ‘zine, publication, documents, reports] 6 illustration + custom hand drawn lettering 7 art commissions 8 album artwork or festival/event identity design 9 organization [digital or physical]
*design and creative thinking skills are transferrable. if something isn’t listed above don’t assume i can’t or won’t do it.
for all inquiries, feel free to reach me at malcloke.studio@gmail.com
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if asking about a project you’d like me to help you with, i’d love it if you could include:
a brief overview about who you are [relevant info] and about the project [a few sentences],
your budget or budget estimate [prices vary greatly depending on specific project], and
an estimated timeline. :)
thank you!