In the dynamic world of creativity, few achievements shine as brightly as a Creativepool Annual Award, if we do say so ourselves. This year, Laimute Varkalaite, an acclaimed illustrator and graphic designer, captured the spotlight with her stunning project "PASTEL CIRCUS."

Known for her unique ability to weave delicate narratives through colour and form, Laimute’s award-winning work stood out for its originality and craftsmanship. In this exclusive interview, we delve into the creative process behind her success, explore her inspirations, and uncover the personal insights that continue to fuel her artistic journey.

Join us as we celebrate her incredible accomplishment and gain a glimpse into the mind of one of the industry’s finest.

What inspired your award-winning project, and how did you approach it differently from past work?

The inspiration of PASTEL CIRCUS was the content of the topic. It was unusual and required to find another way of visual expression. The greatest challenge was to transmit the theme into extraordinary shapes, details.

Four illustrations tell the sensitive story by using the soft palette of colours, gentle lines and creating memorable inspiring characters. For the first time I had an opportunity to create distinctive drawings for coin design. That was a new artistic experience for me.

How does winning a Creativepool Annual Award impact your career or your company?

Every win brings more motivation to keep creating and know that your creation is visible and stands among other works created by talented artists from over the world. 

What role did collaboration play in your award-winning project?

Thanks to the team of Lithuanian Mint I had a great chance to express my imagination in a new topic for me. Throughout the creative process, from the very beginning to its end, I felt their support and confidence in what I am doing.

It gave me a lot of freedom and assurance. So, collaboration, in such projects like this, plays a great role and could be illustrated as a bridge where all sides of the project gather to talk about that which cares for moving on.

The Creativepool Awards often introduce new categories to stay relevant. How do you feel your work fits into or redefines emerging categories in the industry and do you have any ideas for categories we could potentially add next year?

There are plenty of categories which the Creativepool Awards have. May it could be added one more category, dedicated for conceptual projects, not commissioned.

What advice would you give to creatives aspiring to win a Creativepool Annual Award next year?

The winning should not be the aim for participation in the Creativepool Annual or any other contest. When it becomes the main focus and is not reached, that brings a lot of questions and doubts for the artist.

So, my advice would be to focus on your own artistic experience improving your distinctive style and observing the field of global art. The participation in the contest, firstly, is a good verification of your creation internationally. And that is a way to feel the ‘pulse’ of art and see your own artistic possibilities and make progress. 

What were some of the key challenges you faced during the creation of your award-winning project, and how did you overcome them?

‘PASTEL CIRCUS’ was one of the most challenging projects I’d ever created. The first challenge was to find another view to a well-known topic. Secondly, the aim was to create a short visual story made of four illustrations. So, the big question was who would be the main character of the story? Should he be related to the circus? Yes. Should he be well recognizable?

Yes. Finally – is he supposed to be extraordinary? Yes! And all these questions transformed into a great task to find the character well recognizable, linked with circus and original at one time. The third challenge was to combine all the graphic details in four compositions of visual story so that they could be adopted for the coin design.

What unique tools or technologies did you use in the development of your award-winning entry?

Firstly, I created a lot of hand-drawings using ink pen on paper. I love traditional graphic techniques and all my ideas start in this way. Later, after selecting the most appropriate idea, it was continued and improved by digital tools, such as iPad, Adobe Photoshop, Wacom Intuos Pro. And so, the final result is achieved.  

What role do you think awards like the Annual play in motivating creativity and innovation within the industry?

To my mind, it plays like an indicator, which shows which tools, medias take the main roles in the artistic field and why.

What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?

Find your creative pathway and do not miss it, on the contrary, be patient, curious and focused on what your heart and mind create.   

How do you stay inspired and continue producing innovative work in such a competitive industry?

I just try to stay loyal to what cares for me, what touches my heart and my mind, what shows my perception of my surrounding. That is my inspiration.  

How important is sustainability and social responsibility in your creative work, especially in the context of winning a Creativepool award?

In general, sustainability and social responsibility in my creativity is very important. While creating the winning work, I tried to use less colours and concentrate on using only details which were necessary to transmit an idea.

Even though the final result-coins became like a luxury item, it also could be evaluated as a sustainable thing avoiding its throw away to the environment and do any harm in this way.

What do you think sets apart truly exceptional creatives apart?

I always pay attention to those creatives whose works stand out with ideas, professionalism, high quality of technique and distinctive graphic style. But the most important criteria for me is an individual perception of the world and how it is depicted in the work.

What has been the reaction from your team or colleagues to winning the Creativepool Annual Award?

When I shared the news of the winning work, the team of Lithuanian Mint congratulated me and shared this wonderful news on their social networks.

They were happy, as I was. So, such things show what the team is and motivates me to move on. 

What does the Creativepool community mean to you, and how has being part of it influenced your work?

Thanks to the Creativepool community, my creativity became even more accessible and visible. Also, every winning work is a great encouragement to keep creating and share my ideas with others. And that makes me feel happy and create with joy.