Dase Boogie
Dase Boogie
A spotlight on Alex with 8 questions and our favourite pieces.
Dase Boogie (Alex Belenkiy), Independent motion designer with emphasis on type. Coming from a graffiti and hip hop culture background. Currently based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Do you remember the moment you knew you wanted to become a designer?
Maybe not the exact moment, but definitely a period of time. I started getting into hip hop culture around the age of 13-14, graffiti, bboying (breakdance), and later DJing. Back then all I thought was how can I keep doing it in the future, and many graffiti writers I looked up to at the time became graphic designers. This transition felt natural to me, I thought as long as it’s letters, shapes and colors I’ll be ok. Guess I was lucky because I knew I was going to become a designer since the age of 15-16. Today I’m glad that besides working with letters I managed to preserve a similar attitude, philosophy and mentality from hip hop to graphic and motion design.
Did you go to design school? Do you think it was necessary to get to where you are today?
I studied Visual Communication in a university. Small parts of it were a waste of time, but in general I learned a lot during the 4 years and even made some connections with the lecturers (senior design-ers) with whom I collaborated a few years later. I think it’s possible to be good without studying in a conventional school (especially today with the vast number of professional courses online) but it’s really difficult to become really good at something without studying it properly. You can learn how to use an app, but not design thinking or problem solving. I mean, I had 20-40 case studies broken down in front of me every day, the knowledge is there, you just need to want to learn. Anyways, I always say: no school will make a bad designer good, but it can help convert a good one into a great one.
Who is your favorite designer right now?
What is your all time favorite font?
Back at school I was obsessed with the versatility and historic importance of Futura by Paul Renner. Today I’m more of a Degular by OHNO type of dude.
What is your method of getting out of a designers block?
Logging out of IG…
Taking a break from screens, cooking, listening to music, looking into design books and ordering more of them (; observing architecture and environment during the walks with my dog… Sometimes I just push myself to keep working until something good starts to happen, I trust the methodical process and am confident “it” will come. Also re-reading the brief many times can help, the solution is often inside the problem. Some say inspiration is for amateurs and most of the time I’ll agree.
Can you describe your ideal working environment?
I like working from home, it gives me control over when and how much I’m gonna work. Sometimes I enjoy working really late at night and that’s when I usually bring the best results. And I have to hear the music bumpin’ from the speakers all the time. A good machine and screen real estate are Import-ant to me as well.
Some of our Favorites
What advice would you have given yourself 3 years ago?
Get a better chair!
Invest in personal growth, improve your diet and do more physical activity. Career-wise, do more personal work, concentrate on one field and become good in it. Learn more about business aspects of design.
What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career so far? How did you overcome it?
Procrastination. I guess by getting more mature and experienced, making better decisions faster.
