In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Catherine Faletanoai (crowdSPRING username: Catalyst) today. Catherine lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand
1. Please tell us about yourself.
Ok, sure, or should I say ‘surrrrre’… I grew up in Wyndham, Southland, New Zealand – and we Southlanders are know to roll our ‘rrrs’ I live at the other end of the country now, Auckland, New Zealand and often get asked with questioning looks… “where ARE you from??!” So apart from rolling rrrs Southland is a beautiful piece of New Zealand, perhaps the most beautiful….yes. I was raised on a sheep farm with my 3 sisters, Mum and Dad. Great times, great childhood. I completed high school at Menzies College with Dux in my final year and went on to study at Otago University. I completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Design with my main focus being on Design and Communication. Fast forward a few years of working for Woodworx Design Agency, Chipmunks NZ Ltd, Kiwi Mortgage Market…. and we arrive in Auckland. I moved to the other end of the country to be with my Prince (Dwaine) and we now live here with 2 young children, (Mia, 4 and Mason, 1). Oh yea – I nearly forgot – work now?…I don’t have a lot of time for a whole lot of designing – kids have that affect on 
us stay at home mums! But I wouldn’t have it any other way, love being home with the kids every day and fit my work around that – when they’re sleeping, glued to the TV (I mean books) and in the evenings with a tall glass of Coke to keep me awake!
2. How did you become interested in design?
I remember knowing logos – from a very young age I could remember a whole street of shop signage, logos, colours, fonts – I’m a very observant person by nature, and I see it in my daughter too. I’m also a visual person, and have always been interested in art and anything design. That’s why I love my job as I don’t really see it as a ‘job’, it’s more an outlet, a relaxing thing, entertainment for me. I look forward to evenings where I can sit down and just design, no pressing deadlines, just let the creativity happen. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and I think that’s the key to a good designer is knowing when to stop and when to go for it when you’re on a roll!
I’ve learnt to trust my instincts – if something moves me, it must have value…so I strive to design with that in mind.
3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why?
It’s not a graphic piece – but it’s something I did in design school that I’m very proud of. A scale replica or Alvar Aalto’s 406 Armchair, made completely from paper (see picture). It’s about the size of a matchbox, and took me many painstaking hours to weave the paper and get it just right. It’s perfect and still sits by my computer and reminds me that anything can be done with a bit of persistence!
I am a crank. There, I said it. Around the cS offices, I have a reputation as a curmudgeon and grouch. I have never been slow to voice an opinion, file a complaint, or take a company to task for everything from a unreliable product to poor customer service. This post is intended as the first in a series of “free advice” columns for producers of software and other services on how they can improve their products, marketing, messaging, branding, strategy, tactics… I could go on and on. And I plan to.
