Yoffdog

At just 22 years old, UK based graphic designer Yoffdog has already carved out a name for himself in the scene, collaborating with brands such as Corteiz. Remarkably, he is entirely self taught, having never attended design school, and has been steadily building his career through sheer passion and dedication. In our conversation, he shared insights into his background, his creative journey, and the path that brought him here.

Before focusing on graphic design and clothing design, what kind of work did you mainly do?

I have been using photoshop for over 10 years now, I started when I was 12 years old so creating has

been a hobby of mine for a majority of my life. Before I moved into what I do now, I was just making

gaming related youtube banners and twitter headers for Call of Duty and Fortnite Teams/Players.

Do you have a favorite project or collaboration that you’ve worked on?

For me, I think it's all the stuff I create with the musician Re6ce. They are a good friend of mine, so when we put our minds together the outcome is always something special, there is never any pressure involved and I get a lot of freedom to make what I think works best. Since 2021, we have made countless pieces of cover art, flyers, merch & logos together.

How did you start your career as a designer?

As I mentioned earlier I started learning photoshop when I was 12, I have been learning to be an illustrator for around 5 years too. Everything I know is self taught, or through youtube tutorials and online forums. When I was 18 I was a very arrogant teenager who thought they knew best, so I opted not to go to University to study a higher level of graphic design. Looking back I do regret it massively, the opportunities and equipment I could have been exposed to

would have been invaluable. But because I had been making money from my work years prior to then, I thought going straight into freelance fulltime was the best idea.

You’ve already collaborated with many well known brands. How did those opportunities come about?

Most of the opportunities that have come to me, have come naturally. People seeing the work I post, or word of mouth. Cold emailing has never really worked for me. The biggest opportunity I ever got was the opportunity to work with Corteiz, this was in 2023. Prior to this I had been a fan of the brand for years, so one day I tweeted at Clint asking to work for the brand. I never thought it would work but it never hurts to ask. A few months later he asked me to meet him and I was able to work for him. Sometimes a simple tweet or message at the right time can put you in the right spot.

When creating a design, do you rely more on your feelings or on logic?

I think it depends on what is the purpose of the design, feelings can cloud logic and make a design over complicated. This is something I have been learning for the past few months. But I think in design you need both to really succeed. If a design has no feeling, people can't relate to it. but if there is no logic to it, people won't be able to understand it. Its the task of finding the balance between them.

What inspires you, whether in your work or in your personal life?

Everything is inspiration. I love to take in as many different mediums as I can and not be closed off to anything. There is inspiration all around you, signs on shops, the colours of nature, sounds whilst you are out walking. But the things that get me inspired the most are film and music. I think music for me is what gets me the most creative, different song's bring up different feelings that can impact a design in their own way which is really special I find.

You don’t share much of your private life on social media. What kind of lifestyle do you lead? Is this a conscious decision for your branding?

I never used to be so private, but I found myself using social media too much so as a combat to this I stopped using my phone as much. And it has sort of just stuck. So now I just use social media to share my work and view other peoples work rather than it being an outlet for my thoughts and feelings. But I live a simple life, I design a lot, I go out with friends, I watch the tele, I go for walks. Nothing overly interesting really, most of my time is spent sitting at my desk creating things.

When you first started this career, did you have any big ambitions? And what are your future goals or visions?

When I first installed photoshop, it was for the sole purpose of me making myself a youtube banner. I never had a creative inclining in me. I wasn't good at drawing or painting, and I was more interested in playing video games. So the fact my job is inherently creative Is still a surprise to me. So I don't really have any huge ambitions or anything, I Just enjoy creating, so as long as I get to do that I am happy.

Finally, do you have a message or any advice for people who want to work in this industry?

f you want to do this, just do it. Make something without comparing it to anything else, do it because you want to and you enjoy it. Enjoy the process of learning, figure things out, experiment every chance you get