MacStories Festival has come to its end, but I’ve got some last exclusive articles for you guys.

Today I had the chance to talk with Matthew Rex. You can find his official portfolio here.

Enjoy! ;)

Hi there! Can you please introduce yourself to MacStories readers?

Hello Everyone! My name is Matthew Rex Downham, nerd extraordinaire. I’m obsessed with outer space, cinema, electronic music, toys and art. I usually consider myself a bit of a designer, but I also do quite a bit of audio and video production as well.

How did your interest in design - especially icon design - get started?

I was a very artistic child, I’ve always been artistic. Even when I was 14 I’d use the crayons in local restaurants and sketch on the placemats. Naturally, in this day and age, my love for traditional art evolved into digital art. Before I even heard of Photoshop, I was crafting complex Final Fantasy wallpapers in Windows 95’s MSPaint.

Once my father showed me Photoshop 4, I was in love, and have been ever since. As far as icon design goes, I’ve always been a huge fan of the work of Jonas Rask and Laurent Baumann. Seeing the stupendous creations they’d made inspired me to start trying my hand at icons and GUI.

- What would be a typical process for you when starting out a new design project?

I think my process may come off a little abnormal to the traditionalist. I rarely use a sketchpad anymore. Nearly all of my conceptualizing and brainstorming is done in Photoshop. Either by Wacom tablet or with standard shapes. Quite often the rudimentary beginnings of my work actually end up as the base for my final product.

When working with clients, I’m a firm believer in client input. I think a lot of times, regardless of my experience, discussing themes, colors and techniques with your client can be a very beneficial process.

- Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration everywhere! If I had to name my strongest inspiration, it would be seeing things that excite and interest me. A lot of my work is science-fiction based, either from films or television programmes. Nearly all of those are a result of watching the subject matter, and having an idea to present a character or design in icon form. There’s something about taking a character or object from tv or film, and drawing them, that makes me feel like I’m making my own version.

It’s quite exciting to be honest.

- Has Mac OS  changed the way you design / work?

Yeah, I’d definitely say so. It’s funny, because my first computer was actually a black and white Macintosh. It was a hand-me-down from my father, and back then I mainly used it to play ShufflePuck . From there, I was a Windows user.

I got my first “new” Mac around 2004, it was a PowerMac G5. From there, my computer lifestyle has been lightyears more enjoyable. I personally find things easier, prettier, and more efficient on Macs; but I think we can all agree on that!

Which apps do you use most to create your works?

As far as graphic design goes, the big three are Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4 and Kinemac. I only use Kinemac when designing in 3D. I usually draw my designs in Illustrator, import the paths to Kinemac and from there I bring them into Photoshop, etc.

For web, I use Textmate. Can’t beat it! And for video, I’m pretty much always using Final Cut Studio and have the occasional stint in After Effects.

Do you have a “favourite” icon among the ones you’ve designed?

Ooh. Hrm, I think my “Where The Wild Things Are” may be my personal favourite. I surprised myself with the hair and fur with that one! A close second would probably be the Cylons.

Can you please describe us your workstation?

I like to think of my home office as my personal Matcave. My main work configuration is a 17” Unibody MacBook Pro, hooked up to a 28” widescreen display. I have a few external drives, a Wacom Graphire, and a few different mice & keyboard setups. I also have my PowerMac G5 and 23” Cinema display setup for a backup station / media server. I can’t forget the Wall•E, Cylon and Doctor Who figures strewn about either!

I often find myself getting quite jealous of some really nicely presented workstations, Adam Betts and Rob Sheridan come to mind. I’m probably going need to replace my desks soon ;)

Can you tell something about your future releases?

I’m in the process of working on a couple of great applications with Vibealicious. One of course, is Notify. The other is going to be called “Walls”. I can’t go into detail, but I can say it will be fantastically huge. I’m also trying to get an iPhone app or two off the ground. That, and I’m constantly looking for design projects!

As far as my personal releases go, I’ve been working on some Halo related icons, and may have some more cool stuff to share soon!

Thanks for chatting with us! Have a great Festival :)

Thank you so much for having me! May The Force Be With You!