Conversations with Cade Buckus

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cade Buckus.

Hi Cade, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As a kid, I always had an affinity for art and creativity. The adults in my life were always trying to convince me to be an artist, but I always had an aversion to people’s suggestions, for reasons I can’t explain. So rather than accept my true path and go into the arts (as much as I enjoyed it) I was convinced I wanted to become a dentist. And that’s what I told everyone, too. It felt like a more respectable (and more lucrative) career path as a young person. Especially growing up hearing about all the “starving artists” out there. But by the time college came around, I came to my senses and started to think about attending art school. I ended up going into Graphic Design, as it felt like a more practical route for me. I graduate and began working in the real world as a designer, and have been for the last 15 years. But my true passion of fine arts and creative ideation has always been main true love and driving force for this life. Design has been my day job for many years now, and I do love aspects of it, especially where I find the overlap. But in my spare time, I’d rather be chipping away at a detailed drawing, paying with paint, sculpting, wood working, experimenting with new ideas and materials. Working toward one day being able to do it full time and really get neck deep in it.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an artist has never been a particularly smooth road. It takes a lot of your time and energy. Countless hours spent on works that’ll never see that light of day, but do act as a form of mediation with a personal lesson attached. Every minute spent working on a piece of art or design is valuable to your experience and skill set. The mistakes are just as important as the triumphs. As an artist, I feel a constant search for identity and purpose. Its maddening to live for years not really knowing who you are as an artist and what you stand for. Or even as simple what your artistic style is. I often find myself trying to go against my better judgement and try techniques or style that don’t come as naturally to me. I think its good practice and there is a lesson to be learned at the end of it, but ultimately trusting your natural instincts seems to be the path of least resistance.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Aside from art making, I am a graphic designer who specializes in brand identity. Brand identity is the visual foundation upon which a brand exists. The logos, the colors, the appearance of graphics, the printed materials, digital facing content, patterns, and overall visual aesthetic. Over the past 15 years I’ve worked at a handful of unique companies that all do different things. A small web design agency, a large greeting card company, a large ad agency, a consumer product company, and a B2B software company. All the while doing freelance work on the side. Over the years I’ve accumulated a lot of logo designs and illustrations that I can be proud to hang my hat on. I’ve ,managed to stay fairly busy with design jobs over the years, which sometimes leaves me burnt out and looking for alternate means of expressing my creativity.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my journey as an artist and designer is to stay curious. Staying curious about new trends, staying curious about new methods of creating, new points of view, and especially new interests, whether they have anything to do with the arts or not. Maybe you suddenly find your self obsessing over a sport, cooking, hiking, reading, podcasts, whatever it might be. Follow your gut, be willing to allow your self to dive head first into something that interests you. Because at the end of the day, it’s all going to feed into that creative process and broaden your perspective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cadebuckus.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cadebuckus/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cadebuckus