6 June 2022
Welcoming our new Voiceworks Designer, Cecile Richard!
Express Media and Voiceworks are incredibly excited to announce that Cecile Richard has been appointed Voicework’s new designer!
Cecile Richard is a graphic designer, zine maker and game designer living in Melbourne whose most well-known works include award-winning short Bitsy games novena, ENDLESS SCROLL, and UNDER A STAR CALLED SUN.
We are incredibly thrilled to have Cecile join the team, and sat down for a chat to learn a little bit more about them.
1) What part about being the Voiceworks Designer are you most excited about?
I’m just so excited about being able to work on something on my little computer and then it becomes a physical object! Best feeling ever. Also having been a solo freelancer for a very long time I’m pretty stoked about having a team to chat and bounce ideas around with as we work together.
2) Are you a writer/artist yourself? What do you like to create, and what do you like to read?
I am! I write and create a lot of games and game-like interactive things, because I think they’re neat. I like reading works that are a bit esoteric and often hyper-specific, like Jon Bois’ work that mixes extremely heartfelt stories with sports/sport statistics. I also recently read The City & The City by China Miéville and I’m obsessed with the way it describes the titular cities overlapping. It’s extremely my jam. I also like scary horror stories that I can read on the internet or in a book.
3) What is something you hope to see from Voiceworks now that you are at the Design helm?
Hmm! It’s hard to say, because Voiceworks has been around for so long that I’m like, there’s no way I can come up with something entirely new! But I think I’d want to inject even more of this playfulness that I bring onto most of the projects that I work on, make the magazine itself a fun object to navigate and read.
4) You have been involved in a lot (a lot) of Express Media/Voiceworks programs, what finally pushed you to apply for the Voiceworks Designer role? And what advice do you have for young designers/artists wanting to further their career?
I saw the role being advertised and the timing felt like serendipity as I was just wrapping up some big-ish projects. I felt like I just had to apply and give it a go! In terms of advice, I really do want to stress how important it is to not just make things but finish them, and share them with others! Ideally you want to find a community of peers in which you can uplift each other and help each other make better, more interesting work. I do believe in most creative fields career opportunities and visibility come naturally once you have something to show for it, but furthering your career should never be your first goal when being part of a community. Supporting each other always comes first.
We’re excited for Cecile to take over for our current Voiceworks designer Selena, and can’t wait to see what new form Voiceworks takes, kicking off with issue 127 GLEAM!