Christine and I met through a mutual friend. She hails from down under and she trekked all the way to Vancouver to study at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design. At a very young age she has established herself in a position most young designers would kill for. Here’s your Industry Insider this month:

Who do you work for and what is your official title? Russh Magazine, Art Director.

What are the core duties and responsibilities of what you do? Russh is an independent magazine, so I’m involved in every facet in a really hands-on way. From working on the overall look, feel and theme of an issue to physically designing the pages, working on creative concepts for shoots, picture research, maintaining the flow of the book and liaising with photographers and retouchers. I also work on developing the design handwriting of the magazine with regards to the fonts and page layout.

Tell us a little bit more about your background. Where you went to school and what you studied. I started out going to university in Australia at UNSW (COFA) Studying Art Education, I taught high school for about six months and knew it wasn’t for me. One of my lecturers had spent time teaching in Canada and recommended Emily Carr Institute. So I moved to Vancouver and was accepted into the communication design program.

During my final year I landed a job as assistant art director at Adbusters magazine and this started my career in the magazine industry.

Your thoughts on the magazine industry versus the internet. What are some of the trends in both these industries? Magazines will always be around… There is a lot of debate about the internet being responsible for rapid drops in sales and circulation of magazines, which is true but this is for more gossip, celebrity-based magazines, because you can get it instantly on the net. I think there is something more tangible and honest about a hands-on published work. There is more thought involved. I would rather turn beautiful pages full of inspiring imagery rather than the next button or downward scroll.

What inspires you? To be vague, everything and everyone around me. We all draw inspiration from such random places in our lives and loves.

In Russh we have a “We Love” page each issue, this is a collage of everything we are feeling, seeing, watching, tasting, listening to, basically everything we love at the moment. The entire team puts together and we get inspired from each other and discover new things during the process.

I find the pages of Self Service, Paris Vogue, Lula, Numero, Another magazine and V to be amongst my favorites. And I find the portraits of Bruce Webber, Jugen Teller, Slim Aarons, Derek Henderson, Benny Horne, Bob Richardson to name a slim few out of many of my favorites.

Out of all the places you’ve traveled to, which has been most memorable? And why? I would have to say it’s probably a split between Vancouver and New York for different reasons. Vancouver has been significant because of the life I made there. The amazing design community of talented people, whereas New York, is just so inspiring and amazing. So much going on, it really is a bigger world.

Any other side projects on the go? I am always working away on my own design and illustrations.

From time to time I help out friends on design work they might need, I have a few ideas for the future but nothing concrete at the moment.

What you love and hate most about what you do. One of my pet dislikes is how repetitive it can get, laying out every page but that’s what you have to love about it - trying to come up with fresh ideas and new ways to make the magazine look interesting from a commercial and artistic point of view.

The most amazing thing about my job is the people around that I work with and work on the magazine with. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most respected photographers, writers, artists, models and other professional throughout the years. It’s always exciting when you get approached by an incredible talent who wants to work with you.

What advice would you give to anyone just starting out in the business? Be involved in everything, it all counts. Broaden your skills in design, art and photography, because it all becomes so relevant in the end.

No question here so you can say and tell us anything you want: Shout out to all those people that have helped me along the way. All your generosity, support, criticism and feedback, even though sometimes it hurt, it’s made me stronger.

Sunny Shum, Your Industry Insider