Here's a translation of an interview I did for Grito.com, a Brazilian design site. You can find the original (in Portuguese) at http://www.grito.com.br/entrevistas/joshmckible.asp

Josh McKible is American, lives in Brooklyn, New York and is a professional designer and illustrator. Here he gives an exclusive interview to "Shout".

When did you start designing?

Well, I didn't really start designing until a few years after I graduated from art school. But I've always drawn. Actually I went to art school for painting, came out doing sculpture and it was only after I found the Mac that I started doing design. I've done mostly magazine design. With access to the Mac I was able to teach myself how to design a page.

In fact, the first magazine job I had, I had never designed a page before, but it was Penthouse magazine, so it was pretty easy... Make a box and put a picture in it, done. Not allot of people were paying attention to the design.

Do you draw immediately in the computer or the process starts with paper and pencils?

Hmm, both. But usually at some point everything is worked out on paper, even if it's just sketching out the basic design. Sometimes, I'll start right on the computer and then have to slow down and block things out on paper to sort things out. Also, when I'm working with a client I usually submit 4 to 5 sketches until we agree on an idea, and then use the winning sketch to start the final piece. Giving the client sketches as early as possible can save allot of headaches. I've learned this from experience. With my personal pieces, I sometimes start right on the computer. I've usually been working the thing out in my head for a while before I sit down to do it.

Do you use just vector software?

Yup, just Adobe Illustrator. Sometimes, I'll use Photoshop to increase the contrast or sharpen an image I'm using for reference. But pretty much everything is drawn in Illustrator.

When you are drawing, what's the moment you say: "Ok, that's all. It's finished"?

That's a tough one...usually after I've already done too much! I always find myself simplifying, simplifying, removing extra shit I don't need. I have a tendency to push it too far, add too much detail and then have to clean things up. It's a struggle between the pleasures of detail and keeping things graphically sharp.

Do you see your artwork as experimental or professional? What are the most important clients / applications?

The "mckibillo" stuff is definitely geared towards the professional side. And the most important clients are the one's who pay in a timely fashion. But my favorite ones are those who give me the most freedom and usually (unfortunately) they're the ones who pay the slowest.

Your biggest strength as an artist?

Discipline, sticking to a deadline. And patience with clients who sometimes piss me off.

What things you would like to ad to your style?

Actually, I'm a bit schizophrenic on this point. I've developed a style that's clean and flat and graphic. I'm a real big fan of Takashi Murakami's "superflat" aesthetic. But I'd like to get back into my work a sense of the hand drawn, the dirty and imperfect. Kind of the opposite of what I've been doing... I'm not sure I can do that with the "mckibillo" stuff, I might have to spin off another alias for that.

What's your favorite thing about Internet?

Porno, online bill payment, google image search, email, cruising design sites, streaming mp3 sites....did I mention porno?

Do you like what you see online? Or is web design dead?

Things are just getting started

Any last words?

"Regime change" starts at home.