Sneh is normally our interviewer for our Showcase Designer segment, but the thing about that is: she’s also an amazing designer. We couldn’t very well ask her to interview herself when we decided to make her our latest featured logo designer (though she offered to try), so we tried our best to fill her big, yet still ladylike shoes.

We’re sure many of you are already aware of Sneh’s presence in the graphic design community and her tireless effort on her blog, Little Box of Ideas. For those who aren’t familiar, that’s perfect because we conducted a little interview so you can get to know the very lovely Sneh Roy.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Sneh. It’s your turn to bask in the interview spotlight.

1. Who exactly are you? Tell us about yourself, please. Name, age, occupation, birth place, credit card numbers?
In my past life I was Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots on Cybertron. I was red, blue, shiny, brave and noble. In this life I am Sneh Roy, best friend to Nick, fighter of my older son’s dragons, ass-kicker of my younger son’s nighttime monsters, serial coffee chugger, sees-logos-everywhere-designer, Pixar fan, hopeless romantic, compulsive list creator and a chatterbox. I am 32. I do several jobs a day, the most favorite would be sketching, planning and designing, the least favorite would be changing diapers and re-filling sugar. I was born in a city called Pune in western India in 1977. I have put a scan of my credit card in the mail and you should be getting that shortly.

2. For those who don’t know about “Little Box of Ideas,” could you tell us a little bit about it and its origins? (This is your chance to plug!)
I was going to be a neurosurgeon, and no I am not kidding. It was all I had ever known and worked for. Right before admission into medical school, I spent a day at a hospital watching how it all worked. At the end of that day, I broke down, cried my heart out because I knew I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t that I wimped out, just that I couldn’t take all that pain and suffering. So I enrolled in engineering, met Nick and flew blind for a bit. Then I discovered HTML and started designing websites. We started working on projects together back in 1998 and the seed for LBOI was planted. In 2005 when we officially set out to register our company, Little Box Of Ideas was a fitting name, seeing that my head is exploding with a bunch of them every single minute. In 2009 I designed my first logo and we rebranded to LBOI studio, taking our skills and work to a new level, offering a wide range of creative solutions for businesses.

3. Is designing/blogging a full-time thing for you?
Yes, it is. I have been freelancing for over 12 years now but it was only last year that I started blogging. Designing is a need that I have to fulfill, blogging is my salvation.

4. How did you get involved with Brandstack?
I went on a 6 month long break to sort out my career plan in 2008. In December 2008, I joined Twitter. I installed Tweetdeck and was totally befuddled and confused. I didn’t know what was going on or how to use it. Someone wrote something about Incspring and the name caught my eye, so I clicked on the link and a pleasant looking website with a very fresh leafy graphic opened up. I saw some logos and thought “Hmmm, interesting!”. I bookmarked it and went back to it a day later, signing up. In February I made my first logo in Illustrator, specially for Incspring. It was called Notesies. It sold in days. The fire that sale lit in my belly is still going strong. Incspring became Brandstack and I will always have a soft spot for Brandstack for that boost, LBOI’s first source of revenue.

5. Do you like us? We like you.
Oh I like you, try getting rid of me… it won’t work!

6. Give us some insight into your creative process, please. Where do you usually start?
With a cup of coffee
My creative process for a logo is pretty much the same for anything else I create, whether it is a website or a character or an exotic dish. For a client project, I sit down with the brief, reading and re-reading it till I know it by rote, word-mapping in a sketch book, doodling ideas, wireframing and drawing lots of little arrows to connect the words, ideas and doodles together. I like to do this before I start my research because this puts all my non-influenced, raw and original concepts on paper. After a couple of hours of doing this, I start the actual research. The research results in eliminating stuff that has already been done before … logo concepts, website domains, brand names and mission statements. After striking out stuff i cannot use, I go back to work on all the original stuff that has remained untouched and start developing that in more detail.

For a fictional project, like creating a logo for Brandstack, my creative process is the same as above, except that there is no brief from a client.

Because I blog everyday, I see a lot of inspirational designs and websites on a daily basis. Once I start a project, I try not to get online as I feel that muddles my thought process. I sketch extensively and I write. I don’t actually type stuff on the computer, I get a pen and paper and write the old school way. A lot of my posts have come to life in that fashion. I read a lot of books, I have always been a voracious reader. The words in purely textual books feed my visual imagination

7. What is your core design philosophy?
You have to love it, like you would love your child! Not exactly the same, but with an unabridged passion. Passion brings hunger and hunger will keep you going strong. Don’t just design with your heart [because the heart is the designer's Kryptonite], use your head too. The head and heart combination is unbeatable. And always, always keep an open mind and “That’s different, but I can do it!” attitude.

8. What about major influences? Is there anyone or anything that has informed your work?
In the past year, there have been so many people that have influenced me, in the way that they design, in the way that they interact and simply by being who they are. I am here to learn and I love the randomness of the learning channels. I could pick up something from a seasoned veteran who has been designing for 20 odd years or a newbie who just designed his first logo. Everyone has a story, everyone has a method and if you keep your mind and eyes open, it is amazing what you will learn.

I would like to add that I wouldn’t even be here today if it wouldn’t have been for Nick giving me a pep talk when I needed it the most a year ago, when I had no clue what to do after doing the same old thing for 10 years. He influences me a lot.

9. What is your favorite logo you have designed and why?
Out of all the logos I have designed, the LBOI logo would have to be my favorite. Why? Because it is big and bold and bodacious [I believe that term was used by a visitor to the blog] and has that quirk factor that we so badly wanted to represent our business. It has hidden meanings and symbolism for Nick and me and it has an owl in it. What’s not to love, right? And it took 4 years to arrive at.

10. What advice would you give to young designers just starting out?
Watch and learn. Don’t copy, but observe and absorb. Not everyone is going to like your designs and not everyone is going to be nice about it. Don’t let the negatives bog you down. You will know when criticism is constructive but stern and when it is just downright mean. Focus on the constructive bit and you will be fine. Push yourself harder every time and once you start something, don’t give up cause you got up too late or someone, online said something rude!

11. Is it weird being on the other side of the interview for a change? Did I forget to ask you anything? Would you have done a much better job? Do these pants make me look fat?
Not really, it has actually been so much fun, sipping on some wine at the end of the day, answering questions and not having to think them up. You my friend are the best and your questions made me laugh and they were perfect for my whimsy soul. No, I don’t think I would’ve done a better job. Those pants actually elongate your frame perfectly, are those the “no need to iron” kind. I love those kind, they are so handy!

12. And, finally, could you do a little dance for us?
Shuffle, shuffle, … Robot, Hang Head, Swivel, Robot, .. shuffle, shuffle, Moonwalk, Moonwalk … stop .. Chicken Robot, Chicken Robot ….. A shake, shake, shake … step, step and RUMBAAAA!! (*bows, blows a kiss and signs out*)

Thanks very much Pablo, for putting together this interview and for having me on the blog. I really appreciate it!

And thank you, Sneh, for letting us get to know you better.

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Sneh Roy is a designer and creative trends blogger. You can follow her @LBOI on Twitter and keep up with her at her site, Little Box of Ideas. Be sure to check out her Brandstack profile as well!