Denis Carrier is the mind and hands behind Studiofolk, source of a bevy of wonderful, unfussy and clever illustrations. We imagine him exactly as he describes himself – his work mirroring his persona, and according to him, even his looks. “Denis Carrier, looks like his work : not so big, not very muscular, but really funny and simple.” (the real mystery to us… how does a person look “simple”?) Simple and not-so-big as he may be, Carrier is a busy bee. In addition to Studiofolk, he co-founded the graphic design and art direction studio PNTS and has created work for books, mags and even mobile devices and iPads.

What inspires your aesthetic?
My aesthetic is inspired by lots of things. I try to read different kinds of books and look all around me. My aesthetic reflects my everyday life.
In the illustration world, I’m a big fan of Raymond Savignac and Seymour Chwast, I like how they manages to express complex ideas in very simple design. Currently Jean Julien is one of my favorite illustrators.

Tell us a bit about your work at PNTS.
I co-founded PNTS with Aurelien Arnaud a year ago. PNTS is a graphic design studio where we work on differents projects. We create cd packaging, layout, artistic directories, etc… At the moment, PNTS is my main daily occupation.

Your work has been described as naive. Do you agree with this?
I don’t know if my work is really naive but it looks that way. I think it’s more simple than naive.
I try to simplify each of my ideas and their shapes as much as possible. In my latest work. I decided to use only two or three colors because I thought the idea I want to translate doesn’t need more than that.

You create both vector illustrations and handmade drawings. Which technique do you feel most comfortable with? Why?
I prefer handmade drawings because I love spending time with my pencils. But sometimes, ideas are more powerful without human imperfections so I use vector technique.

What would you consider a great achievement for Studiofolk?
I would like to do illustrations for magazines I like (GOOD, the New Yorker, the New York Times for example). And I would like to make an illustrated book.

Describe a typical day for you (cereal preference, songs in your head, daily walk… whatever you’d like to share!)
7 : 30 : I wake up and listen to the news on the radio
7 : 40 : shower
7 : 50 : go to work on my red bike and listen tosome folk songs (This morning “The Tallest Man on Earth”)
8 : 00 -> 12 : 30 : coffee and work
12 : 30 -> 14: 00 : sometimes I eat a BigMac with my girlfriend
14 : 00 -> 18 : 00 : work
18 : 00 : coffee
18 : 15 -> 20 : 00 : work
20 : 00 -> 23 : 00 : back home and  have a sweet evening with my girlfriend