“A graphic design company that is truly committed to producing effective, eye catching products to fuel the growth of YOUR business.” ~ Halo Dezign
Located in his almost “Von Sway” home, an “art geek” sits quite and intensely focused while meticulously crafting a new design for a client. His knees high and nearly touching his computer desk. He’s tall, very tall in fact, and no he doesn’t play basketball. He says he got it brand new. A little lost I ask what? He says, “My height and I’m selling it for $35 an inch…I hardly used it .” His name is Michael(Mike) Swartz, but to many in the Colorado Springs community he is knows as Halo, for Halo Dezign. Halo is a graphic designer who was in the United States Airforce stationed at Peterson Airforce Base. He left the Airforce to persue his dream and passion in graphic design, and founded Halo Dezign. I sat down with mike at picked his brain about where he draws his inspiration.
TS: Mike Schwartz A.k.a. HALO ONE, What Da Dizzle!?
HALO: Haha, hustling man, staying a float. It’s been my best year so far as an independent small business owner. That says a lot to me, with the economy the way it is, so I’m excited about that, but you know it’s a constant grind.
TS: You were in the United States Air Force, while running your own business. Was the success of your company your reason for getting out?
HALO: No, not entirely. My business was going good…….outstanding for being “gravy” on top of my enlisted income. But actually, the Air Force HELPED me make the decision to separate, and go for it on my own. They always say: “Nobody gets out of the military after ten years.” I got out at my twelve-year mark. The CMSgt that was over the Visual Communications career field decided he was going to make a name for himself by getting rid of graphic design and civilianizing it Air Force wide. I began in the Air Force as a B-1 engine mechanic because my recruiter told me graphic design did not exist in the Air Force. When I discovered I was lied to……I fought tooth and nail for 2.5 years to get into the career field. Design is what I am passionate about, and all I have EVER wanted to do. Eight years later, when they phased it out, I decided that if I could not do it for them, I would do it on my own. I was fortunate enough to be stationed in Colorado Springs during the last 5 years of my enlistment. The Springs is where I am from, and where I wanted to be anyway, so through my “moonlighting efforts” I was able to build my clientele and prepare myself a little bit when I saw what was coming down the pipe.
TS: How long have you been a graphic designer/illustrator? How did you get your start?
HALO: Well…I realized early on I was terrible at sports…umm (haha). Basically I stayed in the corner and drew pictures for people. That’s how I made friends and got girl friends. I started airbrushing clothes and creating art for people hoping I could make a few bucks, or lead to other opportunities. Clothes led to car murals……car murals led to wall murals. I was an art nerd from the jump, and though always fascinated by it, never had the opportunity to learn the digital side of art and design. In fact, I didn’t touch a computer until I joined the Air Force. That’s where I learned the software and started pursuing the marketing and advertising side of things. I noticed that traditional art was always subjective, and there were a lot of variables. The right person has to see it… like it, AND have the money to pay for it. At the end of the day…it’s a “NICETY.” With marketing…… everybody in business NEEDS it. The look of your business and how you portray yourself to the public is critical. I saw a lot of work out there that I felt could be improved on, and that’s where I decided to focus.
TS: How important is education in becoming a Graphic designer?
HALO: Hmmm, well, that’s going be a controversial answer because as far as what I do, and so many other people I have encountered in today’s society……. I am “anti-school” to the fullest. I tried it for a while at the Art Institute. It was an online school that I was able to take advantage of because the military does pay for a lot of your education. To begin with the school is extremely high in cost so I was confident it would be beneficial and rewarding in what I was striving to do. Instead, I discovered a group of people that don’t take their education seriously and proved to me that anyone that could pay for a degree could walk out with the degree. This was frustrating in itself because for me, half the reason you go to art school is to get inspired by your classmates and their capabilities as well. I would spend hours on projects, only to be countered by work that was completed 15 minutes prior to it being due……..and then I would have to “Critique” this stuff, and say something constructive?! I’d put more time on my critique than they put in on the project itself. I just thought the whole setup was a joke. Now I would have loved to go to the Kansas City Institute of art. I have a friend that went there, and that was always one of my dreams…. could’ve very well been a different ball game. But based on my experience, pertaining to this career path, and even the money my friend is making WITH his education……. just isn’t realistic. Colleges aren’t telling these kids that the market is flooded. That EVERYBODY wants to do this….and EVERYBODY tries. You are not only competing with everyone in the industry……you are competing with everyone that has Photoshop and THINKS they should be in the industry! They are also not telling people that shouldn’t even TRY the truth. They’d rather boost their confidence and cash their checks. Colleges and design programs are selling a vacuum, and it’s expensive. As long as you can draw the “turtle” or the “pirate,” you are in……then you have to figure out how to pay back all those loans working at Kinkos. (Ha ha!) Seriously though, until these colleges and art schools start guaranteeing placement and guaranteeing pay, in my opinion you are just playing the lottery. I know people that go to college, and wouldn’t even HAVE to work if it wasn’t for all the loans they had to take out for the “magical degree.” Then you get the degree, and maybe your even pretty good at what you do, but you are STILL overlooked because somebody else that was under-qualified “KNEW SOMEBODY.” At that point you are wishing you spent 4 years “networking” to meet the “RIGHT PEOPLE” instead of writing a paper on your persuasive opinion. Again, I am not saying this is the case with ALL occupations, and I realize in certain situations depending on the career, it is mandatory. (i.e. The Medical Field) But where I was concerned, I decided to skip the middleman, and pursue my future without accruing the debt.
TS: What are three things every aspiring designer/illustrator should know?
HALO: Number one, know that the career is highly competitive. Everybody wants to do it and typically everybody has a cousin that has some kind of software that thinks their pretty groovy, so your every-day-joe would rather call their cousin and get it for next to nothing, then pay you to do it at a reasonable wage or what the industry standards wage should be. Second, in regards to wage, find out what the fair wage is. What happens is people want to get into graphic design so bad, they attempt to “under-cut” everyone else in the career field to generate more business. All this does is cheapen the industry. It brings the value down as a whole and before long, graphic artists in general are not able to make a suitable wage. I’ve seen it a lot within the graphic design world, there are so many people trying to get into it and make it, so they’ll sell themselves short on the regular, and when you come along with the industry’s “fair wage”, people think that its way too high. Well it’s not….it’s just that they’ve been getting things for a song from “designers” that are just trying to get a quick buck. The third thing is finding a niche. You either have to find a killer-niche, or be SO versatile that you can take on work from ANY direction. This is what I have found, in order to make it…… at least in THIS economy…..and that’s really the only type of economy I’ve experienced as a small business owner.
TS: What’s your niche? How much time each week do you spend working on designs and perfecting your craft?
HALO: I generally stay as versatile as I can because I don’t want to turn any client away. I don’t want them to look at my work and say “ Ahhhhhh ….that’s too hip-hop.” Some clients can’t look past the genre and see the capabilities. I keep my portfolio very wide, but my niche is that I’ve spent so much time in traditional art that when someone wants a logo or branding, I can create that from nothing. A lot of companies are forced to use clip art or images from the web, I’ll just draw it and the client will have something completely unique that no ones every used or seen anywhere. That’s where I think the value comes into play with what I provide, originality from the ground up.
TS: What’s the most difficult hurdle you’ve faced in starting and running a business?
HALO: All the paperwork. Finding out different write-offs available to small business owners. That’s been the hardest thing, taxes, and keeping track of all the boring stuff while trying to be a “creative.”
TS: I’ve seen a lot of your designs for t-shirts, yet many of them haven’t been printed. What’s the reason behind that? Is there a lack of quality screen printers in the area?
HALO: Ah, there are! That is the number one thing I’ve run into and I warn everybody before they do shirt designs. They always ask me, who do I recommend and I say: “nobody.” Number one, if they ARE a decent screen-printing shop they don’t respect deadlines because they feel they don’t have to. They feel they are so good people have to come to them regardless, and they are at the mercy of the shop once they give up the half down. If their not so good, they’ll try and add art fees on top of what I do, saying that it’s not “screen-ready.” I ONLY provide “screen-ready” art, but many try to add art fees on top of that just so they can make more money in the set up. The customer that doesn’t know any better will pay those fees, basically a second time, because I’ve done the work covered in those art fees. Thirdly, a lot of the clients want fancy designs, but a lot of the companies here in town don’t know how to screen them right. Typically, the fades will either be impossible or “suspect,” or the cost of the process will be too much. On that note, If you ARE good at screen-printing, and you respect deadlines…..PLEASE make me aware of who you are, so that I can not only add you to the endangered species list, but also refer my clients to you.
TS: What’s your favorite piece of work so far?
HALO: My favorite is probably the Westside Tattoo building. The reason for this is when I paint there, I can basically paint whatever I want. The other perk is getting to paint with a lot of friends that I bring in from all over ……..its kind of like a reunion with people from all over the state and sometimes out of state. Lastly, the exposure I’ve been so fortunate to receive from that building in particular has led to so many jobs and referrals all over the city……I can’t thank Brian and Aaron Moore enough, and I think it’s just been a win-win all the way around.
TS: Anything you would like to say to your supporters?
HALO: Gosh…hahaha! To my supporters; “THANK YOU SO MUCH! I don’t think I’d be making any noise if it weren’t for everyone that says something positive about me, my work and what I do! I am very appreciative to everyone in my life and extremely fortunate to be able to make a living doing what I love to do. To the people that have a similar passion…….that are airbrushing shirts for girls on Monday, hoping they can get a date on Friday…….stay driven. If that’s where it lies, don’t lose your zeal……and don’t let anyone steal it or choke it out. Some people don’t have passion for what the direction they start….or they get discouraged lose that enthusiasm along the way. People that are TRULY passionate about what they do produce the best work. Discover where your heart is and pursue it with honesty, integrity and all of your ambition.
You won’t fail.
