Sam Wightwick

Tell us about what you do

What were you doing before you joined us here at Pretty?

“Originally I started out doing as an AutoCAD draftsmen, but soon found it wasn’t really that creative. I figured out that I wanted to do something more creative and taught myself how to design and use Photoshop and basic coding. I then landed a more web designer job and have been at various companies of different sizes of the last couple of years. My last job was freelancing for a small graphic design agency but I’ve also worked at some big marketing agencies such as Vivid Lime.”

What are you passionate about professionally?

“I like it when you get to the stage when a project is launched and you’ve got the slick final piece of work that you’re proud of. You can show off and you can put your name to it. It’s nice when it comes all together. I also really enjoy working on responsive sites that look good across a desktop and phone etc. I would say I prefer 70% coding and 30% design - but understanding both aspects definetly help."

"Are there any particular websites you really admire or couldn’t live without?"

“Stackoverflow is one. I use it to find solutions when I have coding issues. It’s basically other devs sharing knowledge and is the go to resource for answers. I also use Instagram alot. I use it for promoting my clothing company Less Effort. I’ve found it’s a really good tool to use socially and promote yourself without spamming people. You can reach a big creative community - musicians, designers and artists.”

Tell us about your clothing company...

“Yeah, so outside of work I run a streetwear clothing label called Less Effort with a friend that I live with. We’ve been doing it for just over 2 years now... I designed and built the online shop, and design some of the clothes. We put on gigs and hip hop nights where we also sell some of the products and sponsor a couple of rappers and mountain bikers. It ties in all my passions of clothing, graffiti and hip hop.”

"We’ve just lined up 4 people for an artist series. One guy is a photographer that photographs from rooftops and cranes. We’ve got an graffiti writer with amazing typography skills lined up too - so we’re not just the designers… we like to get people involved. It’s cool becausecos I get to apply what I’ve learnt through web development and how I’ve seen companies run professionally and change up the clothing business model and involve people a bit more. It’s a lot of effort to do your own designs on your own - so we mutually collaborate with people because we’ve got it all in place and it’s running already… We share our knowledge”

“So other than your clothing line, tell us something we don’t know about you yet?”

“I’m quite into comedy and laughing - it’s a bit of a release sometimes. What’s the point if you can’t have a laugh? I also like travelling.”

“To anywhere in particular?”

“Europe. Mainly for the graffiti scene. Like Copenhagen and Barcelona. Graffiti is really part of the culture there and it’s a cool way to meet other people who are into it and do your own thing too. Copenhagen has their own graffiti park and I like the way the government respects it as an art form, rather than the criminilisation of it in the UK.”

“You mentioned music too…?”

“I do a bit of music as well - mainly hip hop. I do a lot of sampling so I have a good knowledge of 70s and 80s motown and psychedelic jazz. I’m really into my vinyls and antique synthersizers.”

See also