Mark Anthony Reyes

Mark Reyes is a jack of all trades and the Web Manager at Envelopments. Also a robot and ninja – though not too great as a ninja – he spends the majority of his time sketching, designing and scouring the internet. Being the internet sleuth that he is, he’s able to keep a pulse on art, film, design, technology and just about everything else that’s going on. Mark first started as an illustrator, then in college, a film/video artist, and now a multimedia designer; and He’s been working with paper and custom invitations since he was introduced to Deborah Hefter at Elements in 2003.

How did you become a designer?
It all just fell into place. My first love was illustration. I’ve been drawing and imagining stories since I was a kid. I’ve even written and illustrated my own comic books and shared them amongst my family and friends. In elementary school, I experimented with portraiture and practiced classic illustration techniques. I would take pictures from magazines, at that age ZooBooks was a particular favorite; comic books like Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-men; and photos of my friends and family then reinterpreted them through illustration.

My appetite for reinterpretation and storytelling soon evolved, where illustration alone would no longer suffice. Beginning in high school, I began experimenting with motion and narration. Film and video had become my next love. Since then and throughout college I wrote, directed, filmed and edited a variety of projects ranging from PSA’s, self portraits, narratives, short films and my favorite style of film, experimental. I delved into and became enamored with the styles and ideas behind abstract expressionism and minimalism, which would soon become the basis for my own design aesthetic.

My affinity for structuring time and narration, reinterpretation through illustration, and the combination of abstraction and simplicity made it fairly easy for me to transition into print and web design. The technical practice of image manipulation, vector illustration, and web development however, was a completely different story.

What kind of kid where you in high school?
I was a nerd, then a loner. I observed reality from a distance and I kept to myself because I was more interested in my own imagination. When I began experimenting in film and video production, it required collaboration and conversation, and soon I broke out of my shell. I then somehow managed to date the popular girl, and was automatically in the cool kids group. I didn’t care for that too much, the cool kids group, not my girlfriend at the time…so I went back to what was comfortable, my work.

What was the last custom communiqué that you’ve mailed?
I designed cartoon-dinosaur themed invitations for my son’s birthday. And yes, I’m guilty of constructing it with Envelopments product 

Do you have any hidden talents?
Yes, many… but if I told you, they wouldn’t be hidden anymore now would they? I can tell you however, that I dabble a bit in break dancing. There was something about the intensity and confidence in this style of dance. I saw such beauty through its manipulation of movement with abstraction, all combined with balance, rhythm, and an individual’s own sense of style. So I learned a little bit… Just remember though, I never claimed to be good at it… I said I just “dabbled” a bit.