mike

The first draft of the words I would put in Mike's bio for our french fold book layout project.

I focus on the simple details.

There’s a refined simplicity about him. He’s clean and neat with his work, his clothing, himself. His self-described loner status adds to his self-described plainness and lack of extravagance. But like it was stated – this simplicity is refined. You can see his interest in fashion; the simplicity in his work describes the way he wants things to be: simple and clean. It’s a contrast to the connotation of his home town, New Orleans. The multiple-weekend-long-seven-stage-various-genre jazz festivals, the purple and gold and green Mardi Gras, the art scene that inspired him to become an artist, starting with graffiti, then photography and fashion. It lead to graphic design, where he could combine all of the things he loved into one field. It might not initally seem that New Orleans is his home town, but there are subtle clues – a slight southernness to his deep-almost-too-deep-to-hear voice, the drive he has to better himself; New Orleans kept him motivated to do better for himself. This is a picture. This is him. This is Mike Batiste.

If I’m going to do it, I’m gonna try to be the best at it. [Graphic Design] is my hobby. I’m always designing. My computer is always running.

The first line is a quote that would start the bio. The paragraph would read together, somewhere within the layout. The last is another quote that finishes the book.