One Minute With

Author Archives: Conor O'Driscoll

About Conor O'Driscoll

Conor O'Driscoll is a designer and writer, who writes for AppStorm.net. He also enjoys writing about himself in the third person.

The 1st Annual OMW Awards
August 29, 2012 7:24 pm Leave a Comment

A year ago today, I posted 5 interviews with 5 amazing people. Then, one thing led to another and I ended up posting 72 more. It has been an incredible year, during which I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, and would have seen a grown man naked were it not for some conveniently placed vellum. I honestly couldn’t have done it without a single one of you, whether you’ve been interviewed on the site, shared the site, or just read the site – Thank you!

It seems only right to celebrate some of the people who have helped me along the way – Some of the people who have provided great insights into their world, great jokes, great pictures, great stories, or simply those who have been great. But since I love all of the interviews, it was a pretty tough call to decide on the very best. So I called in a few friends to help me make the decision. The panel consisted of Dan Gneiding, Matt Chase, Simon Ålander, Matt Braun, Seth Nickerson, and, well, me. This crack team of design gurus chose the best interviewees in a few different categories, based on a shortlist drawn up by yours truly. Read on to discover the best quote, check out the most awesome workspace photo, and see whose interview will be crowned Interview of the Year…

Longest Interview: Mikey Burton

This one was really no contest. Mikey spent over 30 minutes on Skype to me, revealing all about his love for self-initiated projects, his style, and how he got into design. All of that translated into a whopping 2,769 words. And since it was over Skype, I ~~had to~~ got the great opportunity to transcribe all of those words!

Runners-up: Mackey Saturday, Ryan Hamrick

Most Referrals from Search: Claire Coullon

Nobody quite knows how or why Claire directs so much search traffic to my site. Some say her parents embedded <meta> tags directly into her DNA. Some say her middle names are “Make Money Quick Online Lose Belly Fat”. Some say she’s just a fantastic designer who a lot of people want to know more about. Personally, I’m going with the third option.

Runners-up: Ryan Brinkerhoff, Ross Moody

Most Referrals from Personal Website: Simon Collison

Back in September of 2011, Simon wrote a lovely little piece about his interview on One Minute With. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who thought it was lovely, and lots of people flocked to the site to read more of Simon’s writing. I don’t think they will have been disappointed.

Runners-up: James T. Edmondson, Simon Ålander

Most Popular Interview: Kamil Khadeyev

The day I posted this interview, I knew it’d be a popular one – It picked up momentum on Twitter very fast, and still gets lots of visits every week. I won’t reveal exactly how many pageviews Kamil’s interview has received, but I can tell you that it is more than the About page for this site has received. I guess people like awesome Russian icon designers. Who knew?

Runners-up: Luke Beard, Simon Collison

Best Photo of Workspace: Seb Lester

This vote was so close to unanimous it’s not even funny. Apparently people don’t want clean, minimal workspaces with 27″ iMacs and beautiful posters, they want honest, rough-and-ready workspaces that actually represent the life of a designer. Because let’s be honest: There does not exist a single designer whose workspace isn’t a little bit messy.

Runners-up: Darren Booth, Claire Coullon

Best Photo of Self: James T. Edmondson

Um… yeah. I ask every interviewee for a picture of themselves for the post, because, y’know, I think it helps to get to know the person in question. I think we might have gotten to know James a little too well.

Runners-up: Matt Chase, Evan Huwa

Best Advice: Simon Collison

This is Simon’s second big win in these awards, and boy does he deserve it. His advice for designers is not only immensely quotable, it rings incredibly true, and, well, it’s just great advice. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is not the same old advice that we see everywhere, but a whole load of unique tips from a man at the top of his game.

Runners-Up: Ryan Clark, Aaron Draplin

Best Quote: Matt Chase

“We stay up late to draw pictures of bears and letters and logos for things that only exist in our heads. Regular people don’t do that. Regular people sleep. How many accountants do you know who go home and crunch numbers in their spare time? The answer to that question is zero.”

In just a few sentences, Matt managed to sum up everything that is great about design – We do it because we love it. And it’s also a factually correct quote, as verified by Dan Gneiding: “My dad is an accountant. It’s true, they don’t crunch numbers in their spare time. They drink beer and go fishing.” So there you have it. True, funny, and factually correct. Who could ask for more?

Runners-up: Brandon Rike, Seb Lester

Best Answer: Ricky Linn – A Formal Education in Design

In his answer, Ricky provided a fantastic breakdown of the pros and cons of getting a formal education in design, giving a sincere, honest answer, with a whole load of great analysis that will ring true for years to come. An answer well-worthy of the award.

Runners-up: Dan Gneiding – Lettering vs. Typography, Matt Braun – A Typical Day

Best Interview: Greg Christman

What’s the perfect recipe for a great interview? Awesome design work? Check. Hilarious answers? Check. Excellent advice? Check. An answer that is only one word long? Check. Greg’s interview has it all, so it’s easy to see why people chose it as their favourite. It is worth noting, however, that every single nominee in this category got at least one vote, but Greg got two – Easily the most hotly contested award around. Well done Greg!

Runners-up: Dan Gneiding, Aaron Draplin, Matt Chase, Ricky Linn

So there we have it – Your winners for the 2011-12 season of OMW. Tune in next year to see who will get gold in the 2nd Annual One Minute With Awards. But in the mean time, do come back here regularly, because, as proven today, there are some pretty good interviews floating around.

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One Year With… Claire Coullon
7:21 pm 2 Comments

A year ago today, I posted an interview with the fantastic designer and letterer, Claire Coullon. Now, one year on, she’s back, to tell us about her year, her dreams, and, well, 80s fashion. As you do.

Hi Claire, thanks so much for talking to me a second time. For those unfamiliar, can you give a brief recap of who you are, and the sorta stuff you’re doing?

Hi Conor, thanks for having me back! I’m an independent graphic designer and typographer co-running a small design studio called Op45. I’m originally from France and currently live in Prague, Czech Republic. Recently I’ve mainly been working on logo design, lettering and branding but I also love print design in general, especially book/layout work.

So, what have you been up to this past year? What are your favourite projects you’ve worked on in the last 12 months?

Client work has focused primarily on logotypes and some more comprehensive branding projects, as well as other things like typeface posters and various printed materials. I think my favourite project though might be my own portfolio website, purely because it took so much time, abandoned ideas and tedious decision making, but it was so satisfying once it was online (however long it lasts until the next version).

Do you think you’ve grown as a designer this year? If so, how?

Things change and grow all the time, but I feel like it’s been particularly notable this past year. My workload has changed quite drastically which has definitely made me refine and improve both my approach and design process. Of course, the more work you do, the more practice you get anyway and growth emerges naturally as a result. It’s not just the execution itself that evolves (although thankfully that’s an important part), but it’s also the way you conceptualise and think about things that is constantly changing.

Has your workspace changed much? Discovered any new tools that help you make awesome work (not that you need the help!)?

Our studio setup has changed about three times in the past year; it makes for a refreshing change and almost feels like you’ve moved somewhere new. Although I make a mess while working, I get easily put off starting if there’s no clean space to begin with, so maximising desk area every time is important. In terms of tools, things haven’t changed too much except that I’m finally no longer using a 7 year old laptop as my main computer. I rarely feel the need to upgrade things if they still work fine, but obviously it’s useful if you can actually run more than one program at once. For drawing, even though I still mostly use regular pencils, having a more diverse set of pens as a starting point has been good for variety. Pilot Lettering pens (the ones with the widest nib) are rapidly becoming one of my favourites, along with the Rotring ArtPen.

Whether it’s about 80s hairstyles, the work of Darren Aronofsky, or the wonder of Emma Watson, you seem to spend a lot of time connecting with other designers online. How beneficial do you feel networking like this is, in a community as tight-knit as ours?

As weird as this question makes me sound, getting to know other designers online has definitely been beneficial (not to mention entertaining). Getting an outside perspective on what you’re working on is so useful as it helps you consider and (over) analyse every decision. Suggestions and feedback have been particularly helpful in many of my projects over this past year, either for relatively small but important details (like for the PixelCamp logotype) or general suggestions for further exploration (as with the Bookouture project). Of course, this depends a lot on the individual project and how much context you’re able to provide. That said, I can’t quite work out how discussing lettering leads to terrible 80s fashion, but there you go.

Let’s get a little bit reflective here: If you could change one thing about your career to date, what would it be?

It’s quite a small thing, but if I could change something work-related in the past it would be to have spent much more time in the letterpress and screen printing studios at university and less time worrying about lack of experience tackling ‘real world’ briefs. I didn’t quite appreciate how amazing it was to have such easy access to workshops and I definitely regret it now. Otherwise in terms of current career, I’d love to have the chance to work on self-initiated projects more as they’ve been really lacking in the last year or so, but I can’t seem to manage to specifically set time for them.

I ask this to everyone I interview, but unfortunately you came a bit too early to the game, so I’ll use this opportunity to ask it: If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

I was quite happy to have missed this question the first time around because I have no idea. Maybe Herbert Spencer at some point in the 1960s, to see what it was like to work on the Typographica design journals. It was such a brilliant, innovative publication that was also beautifully made and it would be fantastic to know what it was like to have created it.

So we’ve looked back at the last year, but let’s look forward: Where do you see yourself, in, say, 4 or 5 years? Do you still hope to be making amazing type and running Op45, or do you want to have moved on to something bigger (or perhaps smaller)?

I’m not really one for planning ahead (no idea where we’d even be living in a year), but I imagine I’ll always keep focusing on typographic work, whether it’s with regards to hand lettering, branding, book design or something completely different. I do plan to do more explorative work in different styles, as this year has been very script focused. As Seb Lester touched on in his interview, client commissions are very often based on your previous work so it can be hard to break away from that (another reason to find time for those side projects). I do also see myself still trying to draw the lowercase alphabet for my first typeface by then…

Thanks Claire!

Many thanks to Claire for taking even more time to talk to One Minute With. I really enjoyed interviewing her for the second time, and hopefully you enjoyed reading it!

Why not check out Claire’s site, and follow her on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Tymn Armstrong
August 27, 2012 3:01 pm Leave a Comment

Hi Tymn, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

Thanks for having me!

I’m a designer/illustrator working out of Florida. I have a wife and daughter. I am most passionate about the arts & sciences.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Tymn Armstrong.

I run my own studio from home. So a typical day involves me waking up, greeting my family, eating breakfast, checking/responding to email and getting to work. I love checking email in the morning because you never know what the next exciting project is gonna be, or when it might arrive!

I work until 5pm, eat dinner then get an hour bike ride in. The rest of the evening I spend time my family.

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

I got into it by accident actually. I had always been into art; I drew type in high school, designed logos for bands and friends’ companies and such. But I didn’t really know that graphic design was something you could make a career out of until I was in college. I went to study animation/film and took a course on design. This world I’d been quasi living in suddenly became very clear.

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

It depends on the project, really. But I always like to have an in depth conversation up front about the project though. This helps me understand how the client sees the problem, and also allows me to get to know them.

I probably have a very informal creative process. Most of it involves activities that don’t look a lot like work and they always change. But whatever I am doing, the problem is always in the back of my mind. And changing the activity or scenery always produces new ideas and solutions. I very rarely get good ideas sitting in front of the computer.

A lot of people will know you from your Fauxgo project – How beneficial do you think self-initiated projects like these are? Have you gotten any work from it, or do you view it simply as a fun project to improve your skills?

Fauxgo is more just a fun personal project for me because I love film and I love logos. It wasn’t intended to attract work because I’m not designing the content. The content already exists out there, I’m just presenting it differently. However, other self-initiated projects have been important for me in developing my skills and attracting the kind of work I wanted to do.

You’ve got a colorful, retro-inspired style, featuring a lot of geometric elements. Where do you get inspiration for your work?

I think the “retro” or “mid-century” look comes more as a result from the thinking, rather than just the technique. This approach (I’ve heard it called “thoughtful reduction”) was pioneered and used by designers and artists from the mid-century, which is why the art from that period looks the way it does. It’s really about creating something out of as little as possible. This is why my stuff tends to be more geometric.

As for inspiration, I get inspired by anything that innovates, pushes my understanding of something or challenges the reality of what I thought it was. In my work I generally get inspired by like-minded peers, this pushes me to try and do better.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

I actually don’t think I’d switch with any designer, because I’m happy with my place in the community. But I would definitely switch lives with Prof. Brian Cox for a day! (I’m a science fanatic) He’s a particle physicist at CERN (which is cool enough) but he’s also paid to make and present incredible cosmology documentaries for the BBC. He’s paid to travel all over the world, and gets to work and converse with the greatest minds of our generation. I would love to experience his life for a day.

What design tools could you not live without?

My Mac, Adobe Creative Suite, a good pencil and my Dot Grid sketchbook. I recently ordered a stylus for my iPad cause I’d like to teach myself to sketch with a tablet. I’ll keep you posted on that.

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?

1. Be prepared to work.

2. Don’t wait for opportunities to do the type of work you want; Create them.

3. Don’t think getting started is ever an excuse to stop learning.

Thanks Tymn!

Many thanks to Tymn for sharing his thoughts with OMW. I had a lot of fun talking to him, and I hope you love the interview as much I do!

Why not check out Tymn’s site, and follow him on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Lydia Nichols
August 23, 2012 2:51 pm Leave a Comment

Hi Lydia, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

Hullo, there! I’m just your average illustrator/designer living on the east coast. I went full-time freelancer in 2010 after working a string of unexciting design jobs and decided to return to school to my MFA this past year. The decision to go back to school came from a desire to work on self-authored projects and to push my hybrid illustration-design approach further. My work is inspired by printmaking, folk art, textile design, and mid-century art and design.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Lydia Nichols.

I like to start the day with a cup of tea and bit of breakfast before hitting the sketchbook and/or computer. Then it’s just a matter of setting to work on whatever project is at hand. It’s usually a back and forth process, going from sketchbook to computer and so on and so forth. Pretty straight forward!

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

Like pretty much every single kid on earth, I really liked to draw growing up and just never stopped. In high school, I was torn between art and music, but ultimately decided on art and headed off to Syracuse to get my BFA in Illustration. Since then, I’ve just continued drawing away and found that design has had a strong influence on what I do. Returning to grad school has really pushed my work both aesthetically and conceptually. It’s also a great way for me to push my conceptual skills and to explore some personal work.

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

I always start with thinking and sketching–and research when appropriate. I don’t like to begin with very detailed sketches, so I usually do a bunch a sloppy little thumbnails in an effort to nail down a concept or composition before moving onto more refined sketches. If I get stuck, I go back to researching the subject or just all together step away for a few minutes–sometimes I need to forget about the problem before I can come up with a solution. Once final sketches are done, I move to the computer. At this point, I can tweak the composition more if I find that something isn’t working and then I spend forever working on colors (even though I often return to the same sort of palette).

You’ve worked on a lot of collaborative projects (The Silver Screen Society and To Resolve projects, for example) – With a community so tight-knit as ours, how beneficial is it, in your opinion, to constantly get involved like this?

It’s a great way to 1. stay connected with my peers, 2. do something for “myself,” i.e. not for a client, and 3. see how different people approach the same problem. It’s a great exercise that allows me to experiment more than I might usually, so I find it really important to participate in these sorts of projects.

You, like many designers and illustrators, run a store, in which you sell various lovely prints. In an industry where work can fluctuate so greatly, how important is a passive income source, do you feel?

To be honest, it’s something I’ve been meaning to invest more time in and just haven’t. Therefore, I can’t say that I really rely on it as another source of income. If I could get my act together, perhaps, but I mostly have it because every now and then I’ll get an e.mail asking about a print.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

This is an incredibly difficult question–one that I want to hide from (how to pick just one??). David Weidman would make a great swap. I picked up a book of his work a few years ago and was blown away. He mostly focuses on screen printing, which I’d like to eventually move to, and has a great way with illustration and hand typography. I think his heyday was in the 60s-70s, but his work still holds up really beautifully today. He really exhibits a mastery of his trade and I can only hope to one day be half as good!

What design tools could you not live without?

Sketchbooks, stick eraser, pencils, and other assorted drawing implements (charcoal, ink, brayers), first and foremost. Then scanner, MacBook Pro, Illustrator and Photoshop, and my Wacom Tablet. Also, a huge collection of books (I love books) because books are the best source or inspiration and solace.

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?

Keep on keepin’ on! Draw, think, and design as often as you can and make sure you enjoy doing it.

Thanks Lydia!

Many thanks to Lydia for taking some time to talk to One Minute With. I really enjoyed interviewing her, and hopefully you enjoyed reading it!

Why not check out Lydia’s site, and follow her on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Matt Stevens
August 20, 2012 4:15 pm Leave a Comment

Hi Matt, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

I am a designer and illustrator living in North Carolina. I have a wife, 3 kids and a German Shepherd. Up until about 6 months ago I’d always worked in small brand shops and agencies…I was at Facebook for 3 months from March-June on a contract and am now on my own running a small design studio.

I’m a hybrid designer and illustrator. I think my design work tends to lean on the illustrative side and I’ve been told is heavily “American” whatever that means :) I think that what I really try to do in my work is have it be well thought out and meaningful. Really solving the problem at hand vs. just decorating. I tend to be a pretty instinctive designer, rather than really formal or process focused.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Matt Stevens.

Well, it’s pretty different these days than it’s ever been, meaning, most of my career has been very much a routine and more of a set schedule. Being on my own has been a challenge to embrace every day being different.

I usually get up and say hello to my family, wade through my children, make it upstairs to my office and answer emails and figure out what I’ll be working on for the day. Hit up Twitter, etc. to see what’s going on then dive in on something. My book project means that books are still selling so a few days a week I package up some books, head by the post office on my way to the coffee shop in the afternoon and work from there for a bit – I really need to get out of the house by that point…

Sometimes I have meetings or lunches sprinkled in there, and at some point during the day, I take my dog for a walk.

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

I think like most in this industry, I was very interested in art and creativity from an early age. I think around late elementary or middle school, I learned there was this thing called a logo, and someone got to design it. My interest kind of grew from there, but I was always drawing, etc.

I would say my defining point probably came just a few years back. I realized no one was going to bring to me the kind of work I wanted to do and provide me the projects that interested me so I started doing a lot of personal and self initiated projects…that has provided a lot of new opportunities in this connected world and has been a new chapter for me.

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

I think for self-initiated stuff, I just try to have a few things going, so that at any given time I can move to something that interests me most at the time…

In general, I usually begin with research. It doesn’t have to be anything formal, but looking at relevant things tends to help. I always start with sketching. They don’t have to be great sketches or anything super tight, but it’s really important for me to establish basic ideas and composition in that form. The times I try and skip over that, I always regret it and it ends up being more difficult. If it’s an illustration, I typically work right over top of my sketch in Illustrator.

It also helps for me to do something and then move away from it. It’s good to get some time away and come back with fresh eyes – You see things that you didn’t see before. Some things hold up and others look terrible the next day.

You’ve recently been involved in the awesome design for JJ’s Red Hots. How did you find the experience of such a huge project? What new challenges did it bring?

I loved that project and it represents probably my favorite thing to do in design: to take an idea or a brand and have to communicate it and reinterpret it in a lot of forms. I find it very satisfying to be able to build something and then influence how that thing lives in physical space, online, in printed form, on apparel, etc. It’s a testament to the client as well that it went as well as it did. We got on the same page early on and really had a good feeling for what the brand is and how it needed to be built so there was a lot of trust.

As far as challenges, it was just a lot of little pieces to manage, so again, a testament to the client and the people I worked with that it went smoothly and we had a great result.

You’ve got a great, retro-inspired style with a brilliant textural quality to it. Did you try and develop this style, or was it something that evolved? How important do you think maintaining a style is?

I think much of it is just letting the things that I love start to show through in my work… I’ve done lots of clean, corporate work for most of my career, so when I started to do personal work, I gravitated towards things that interested in me and were my own personal taste, so I guess those kinds of things just start to show up and to feel right. It’s not something I tried to achieve or had to figure out. I guess it’s all those influences in your life and things that you’ve seen and loved and they just start to bleed through.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

Hmmm… Well, I’ll have to give two:

One – Christoph Neimann. I just think his work is so smart and he does such a variety of things. Stylistically it’s all over the place but also feels very much the same because of its intelligence and wit. Always amazed by what he does.

My second would be Aaron Draplin. I love that he is a no nonsense kind of designer. He’s very much who he is and puts it out there very honestly. He’s built a whole personal brand by putting himself out there and doing work that matters to him, unapologetically… People come and see him speak, because of his passion and honesty. I also love the side ventures he’s created with Field Notes, etc.

On my about page on my website, I have a whole list of people, so that’s why it’s tough to choose, but those two are first that come to mind…

What design tools could you not live without?

Sketchbook, my camera (Lumix GF-1), Illustrator and Photoshop.

I really don’t have a go-to sketchbook. I’ve used a lot of different things – as long as it lays pretty flat, and is about 6×9 inches. I end up getting spiral bound stuff a lot, because I can fold it completely back.

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?

If you don’t know what kind of work you want to do, try lots of things when you’re young to figure it out. If you know what kind of work you want to do, find ways to do it, even if you have to make it up and do it for free.

Do the kind of work you want to do, make it really great and put it out where people can see it.

Thanks Matt!

We’re really grateful to Matt for spending a few minutes with One Minute With. Hopefully you found his responses as interesting as I did!

Why not check out Matt’s site, and follow him on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Tavish Calico
August 16, 2012 5:38 pm 2 Comments

Hi Tavish, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

Thanks for having me! Very honored by this opportunity.

I am a freelance designer living in North San Diego County but am originally from the deserts of Southern Utah. I’ve been designing for about 5 years now and pretty much wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Tavish Calico.

Wake up at 6:45 and go surfing. I’m pretty sure that there is nothing better than waking up and surfing.

Get home around 9 and either get right to work or take care of some things around the house first and then get to work, just whatever needs to happen.

I work until about 5 or 6, sometimes later and if the swell is good I’ll either take a break in the middle of my day or paddle out in the evenings as well. I like to keep it mellow and enjoy life as long as I’m hitting my deadlines and working on my personal projects as well. I’ve got an awesome wife who is the best to just hang with and she sometimes comes surfing too, so that’s awesome.

I might take care of some more work later in the night if I’m up to it.

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

I grew up always drawing. I loved to draw dinosaurs and band logos from my parents’ vinyls like The Beatles, The Doors, The Kinks, etc… My good friend (pretty much my older brother) Travis Topham was always a huge inspiration to me. He was and still is one of the best artists I know. He got into doing design work on the computer back in 1997 and I always thought it was awesome that he was making a career out of art. I felt like it was something I always wanted to do.

I lived in New Zealand from 2005-2007 and while I was there I always thought that I would like to come home and get in to doing graphic design. So when I returned, I started interning with Travis and he really helped me to find myself. He was pretty much my Yoda. I had no money and asked my parents to co-sign on an $1,800 loan so I could buy my first laptop and really start working. It was a huge gamble for me at the time, but I felt like it was right and it hasn’t done me wrong since.

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

I don’t know if I have a particular approach. If I do, it’s probably not a very good one. But I like to communicate a lot with the people I work with and make sure we are all on board and heading the same direction mentally. I believe in meeting people face-to-face if at all possible and becoming good friends.

I usually sit down at my computer, put music on super loud and zone out. I will do some preliminary sketches a lot of time and if I hit a block in the road, I’ll head out into my backyard and do something with my hands. I like to build stuff with wood a lot lately.

You’ve got a distinctly retro style, with a focus on geometric shapes and sweet typography. Where do you get inspiration?

Thanks! As you can image, living near the ocean is a huge inspiration for me. Moving here was one of the best things I’ve done.

I also get a lot of inspiration from a lot of the stuff you find on ISO50 and the people that are involved with that. Scott Hansen has always been a big influence for me. I’ve had the great fortune to become a contributor to the blog recently as well, so that’s pretty awesome. I like to go rummage through second hand stores and antique shops and see if I can’t find any old type or imagery as well. I just picked up a few old farm animal feed bags that have some pretty sweet type lockups too. You can find inspiration anywhere if you keep your eyes open.

And whilst we’re on the subject of your style, do you think it’s important to have a style in an industry as diverse as ours? Did you set out to develop this style, or did it just evolve naturally?

Sure I think it’s important. I am always drawn to people that have a distinct aesthetic to their work and I am amazed at people that can establish a career based off work that they are passionate about.

Too often we are forced into being “chameleons” these days. Everybody wants someone who can do everything, even if it’s just mediocre. I appreciate someone that can do a few things brilliantly and in their own way.

I am still trying to figure out what “my style” is everyday. I’ve had a few people recently tell me their interpretation of my style and I am cool with what they said. It’s good to know I have “a look” even if I don’t really mean too. One day I’ll know what I’m trying to accomplish.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

Anyone as long as it’s not Jodie Foster or Jamie Lee Curtis. But really I would love to live a day in the life of someone like Ansel Adams who travels to some of the most beautiful places in the world and takes photographs. He probably made some decent cash while doing it too. That sounds pretty good to me. The guy’s got some pretty wicked style too.

What design tools could you not live without?

Apple & Adobe.

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?

You don’t have to be an amazing artist to be an amazing designer, you only need to have good taste and be able to recognize what is beautiful.

Thanks Tavish!

Many thanks to Tavish for sharing his thoughts with OMW. I genuinely had a lot of fun interviewing him, and I hope you love the interview as much I do!

Why not check out Tavish’s site, and follow him on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Seb Lester
August 13, 2012 2:56 pm 1 Comment
’10’
Client: ‘Semi-Permanent’

Hi Seb, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

I’m a designer and artist. I love letterforms and they’re the focus of much of my life. I recently moved from London to Lewes in East Sussex, where I now live with my patient partner, Pamela, and our cat Pye. I have been described, mainly by myself when I’m drunk, as a leading image maker.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Seb Lester.

It varies, but I’m currently working on a huge Christmas campaign. First thing in the morning, before work, I go out on my BMX to a local skatepark. It’s a good way to get some exercise and think about what I have to do that day. I work long hours and tend to do my best work in the early hours of the morning.

When I’m not working I spend time with my partner, practice calligraphy, doodle, develop ideas and post stupid pictures on social networking sites. I try and socialise a couple of times a week.

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

I was always going to work in art or design. I suppose being offered a full time job as a type designer in 2001 was a defining moment of sorts. I was pleased when my typeface Neo was the official typeface of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and when I designed the book jackets for J. D. Salinger’s back catalogue. He signed the work off personally shortly before he died. I hope my book jackets didn’t send him over the edge. But when I look back at my life I hope these aren’t real defining moments. I hope they’re simply fun things that happened along the way.

‘I’m the Man’
Client: Nike
Art Direction: Mark Thede

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

I try not to be a stylist. Bruce Lee believed in being ‘formless’ in his discipline and I aspire to be the same in mine. Ideally I want to try to constantly evolve and progress, with quality being the only theme running through my work. It’s easier said than done because clients tend to want to commission work that looks similar to something you’ve done before, which is often commissioned work based on other work you’ve done. But it’s achievable. No one would guess the project I’m currently working on, for example, had been done by me.

Time is the most valuable commodity we have, so I increasingly try to only take on projects that really excite me. If a job is too prestigious and well paid to say no to that can tip the balance as well. Otherwise my time would be much better spent working on new personal work.

When this client project is over I will be focusing entirely on a major personal project. I’ve wanted to do this project for three long years but haven’t been able to for a number of reasons. I’m very psyched up about finally being able to do it because it’s going to challenge me enormously. This project will happen. In all seriousness, unless Giorgio Armani calls personally to say he wants to fly me over to New York to write calligraphy all over Claudia Schiffer’s glorious naked body for a global ad campaign, I will be fully booked for six weeks.

Like a lot of designers, you sell prints of your awesome type work online. How beneficial have you found this?

Very beneficial, they’ve opened doors and kept me sane. I’d spent nine years designing corporate typefaces for clients like British Airways, H&M, Barclays, Intel, The Daily Telegraph and many others. I needed an outlet during this phase for my own ideas, which was why I developed the typefaces Scene, Neo and Soho. But they’re still corporate typefaces, which means they’re relatively conservative. They’re driven by functional requirements and common corporate aesthetic themes. I really needed a counterbalance to that so I started producing what are often very elaborate, intricate, showy, expressive prints. Thankfully people seem to like them. They sell well but, as time passes, I find myself less motivated by money. I’m more motivated by trying to fulfil my potential, whatever that may be, and produce the best work I am capable of.

‘Hederman’
Client: Hederman Smoked Fish
Art Direction: Kenney Hamill

You’re perhaps best known for two things: Great lettering, and fantastic fonts (such as Soho Gothic, Neo Sans, etc.) – How do the two disciplines compare? Which do you prefer, and why?

I love both. But designing typefaces can be a bit like designing currency or street furniture. Your work can end up being all over the place but almost no-one knows who designed it, especially when you work for a large corporation. With art and illustration it’s very different because work of this nature has broader appeal and people associate you with it more. I like that.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

Paul Franck. He was a calligrapher working in the 16th century. His most impressive work is a set of capital letters he produced. They look incredibly archaic now, but they have been described as the last word in flourishing. They’re so intensely florid and rich. He was very talented and I’d like to get inside his extraordinary head for a day to see what made him tick.

What design tools could you not live without?

I really just need sketchbooks, pens and pencils, a scanner and FontLab and I’m ready to go. I am burning through sketchbooks at the moment.

Sexy, aspirational lifestyle photo

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?

Mother Teresa once said “Work without love is slavery.” Work hard. But think hard about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Ask for and respond to honest feedback from a variety of people. If you’re an illustrator be aware of trends but don’t partake in them. Find your own voice. The best work transcends fashion. It’s timeless and based on the quality of the idea and its execution. If you think and work hard enough the big clients will come to you. Life is a fragile and fleeting experience. Don’t spend all your time helping other people realise their dreams with your work. Aim to fulfil some of your own.

Thanks Seb!

Thanks so much to Seb for giving us an insight into his world! I really enjoyed talking to him, and found his answers really interesting!

Why not check out Seb’s site, and follow him on Flickr and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Andrei Robu
August 9, 2012 4:59 pm Leave a Comment

Hi Andrei, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

Hi. I’m a brand designer with a passion for lettering a.k.a. I draw logos and letters for companies around the world.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Andrei Robu.

A typical day means getting up around 10am (the luxury of being a freelancer, I know)… and working until midnight. This includes everyday calligraphy exercises, browsing and blogging, client and personal work.

I try not to neglect any of these if I want to keep my lifestyle: I work hard for a couple of months, then I go somewhere really far away for 1-2 months. Others like to take sabbaticals once every 7 years, I probably work for half a year and travel the other half.

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

The roots of my career sprung at a very early age by doing graffiti. That evolved into tattooing. When I discovered the computer and illustrating in Flash I was blown away. I knew in an instant this is what I wanted to. So I never gave up drawing letters, I just did it digitally.. and this makes me happy every day.

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

Thinking first, then pencil and paper for as long as it takes. After I finish exploring every possible lead, I pick up the best ideas and take them to the computer.

On your site, you say that although you got a BA in design, you consider yourself self-taught. Can you expand upon that thought? Do you feel that a formal education is beneficial in an industry that moves as fast as ours?

I don’t know the situation in other countries, but the things you learn here in schools are hilarious. No connection with reality whatsoever..

I’m kinda pissed off I had to learn everything by myself, probably most of you guys walked the same road, but success tastes great when you’re self-made.

Otherwise I’d love to take some time to learn things the proper way, like the CooperType program in NY.

Anyway, whatever school you’ve been to, it’s only up to you to dedicate your life and really want to get better at this. Nobody can teach you that.

Through your blogs, Typeverything, Calligraphica and Designers Go To Heaven, you do a lot of work to promote the work of other designers. What led you to create these projects, and how important is it, in your opinion, to support your peers?

Yeah it’s a lot of work but it’s worth it. Everything I know I learnt spending years of research and studying the masters. This is my way of thanking the internet and giving back.

As each big art movement had it’s own characteristics (eg. Renaissance: realism)… I think our era’s main ingredient is typography. I try my best to master and document it. On these platforms, groups of really talented designers can share their work and inspiration with the world. Lots of people are getting work after being featured, others are learning from it. This is our way to support the community.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

If I could be someone else for a day, I’d be Doyald Young. His work and process inspired me for so long. I recommend his books for anyone passionate about type lettering.

What design tools could you not live without?

Pencil + Paper
Illustrator + Vector Scribe
Tumblr, Mail, Google Reader
Wacom tablet

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?

To be able to this job is such a gift. Take your time, respect it, study it, don’t rush.
Learn from the best but never steal, you won’t be taken serious if you do.

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

Thanks Andrei!

Thanks so much to Andrei for giving us an insight into his world! I really enjoyed talking to him, and found his answers really interesting!

Why not check out Andrei’s site, and follow him on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Tom Lane
August 6, 2012 6:41 pm Leave a Comment

Hi Tom, thanks for taking time to chat with One Minute With. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

Well, I’m a designer, illustrator, and letterer based in Bristol, the UK. I studied here and haven’t left. I met my wife and have some life-long friends around me and I’m happy. I’ve been independent for 8 years now, I set up Ginger Monkey straight after graduating from University. I get to do pretty fun projects due to being pretty strict about how and what I was creating in the early days and that has meant I’ve developed a portfolio that leads to more of the work I really love to do.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Tom Lane.

I get up, make an espresso for me and the wife and get ready for the gym. I hit the pool or the weights and try and relax into the day whilst also getting my body and mind moving and in shape. Then I wonder down to my studio and do all the necessary emails and admin that comes with the job and hopefully get that out the way by 10ish. Then it’s usually hitting the drawing table to work on the project I’ve scheduled that day or part of it at least. It’s usually head down until lunch. I try and take a wonder to get some air and let some thoughts settle in and then back to the studio for more of the same. Music, audiobooks, social media distractions all thrown into the pot as well. I do limit distractions as much as possible though as it’s really important to have focus. Emails, phone calls etc. are done at specific times of the day to maximise productivity. I knock it on the head around 6. I wander or bike home to cook and eat with the wife then it’s either time with some friends, chilling with the wife, or, if I’ve messed up my schedule, working my ass off to meet a deadline. The latter not being ideal! Book or movie before bed.

How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?

I left school without having really done much and didn’t go back to do A levels or really know what I was going to do. I was told by my folks to get a job, just take my time and have a think about what I wanted to do. I’m pretty lucky to have understanding parents. I worked in a supermarket for a couple of years and one of my buddies was studying at art college. He showed me some stuff, I thought it was cool and after a massive bust up with a manager I had to come up with something else to do or I could see I was going to get stuck. The seed had been planted and I headed up to the local art college and I managed to get on the graphic design course. No qualifications, no art background, I just pleaded and they took a chance on me. How I got into this career is really the most defining factor on my career. I wanted to do something different with my life and I saw this as an opportunity to do that, someone took a chance on me and I owed it to them and myself to do the best with it.

How do you approach a new project? What’s your creative process like?

First and foremost it’s understanding the job, the client, and the expectations. Get that nailed down as best as possible and you’ll be able to get the rest done with hopefully less trouble. Throughout the process it’s also about building trust. You can’t do your best work if your client doesn’t trust you. But you have to cultivate it though through your communication and actions in the initial part of the process so when you get to making things the client trusts your decision making over theirs.

Projects always turn out better if I have time to play. That usually means lying on the sofa in the studio or at home with my sketchbook not trying to nail the brief but just pissing about with ideas and elements. Once I feel I’ve weeded out bad ideas, different alignments, compositions etc. I move onto my tidier, bigger sketchbook. Here I work more polished on maybe one or two routes born from my playing phase. I work and rework this rough. Once I’m happy with it I’ll make a final clean and crisp version to send over to the client with my thoughts and reasoning.

You, like many designers and illustrators, run a store, in which you sell various delightful prints. In an industry where work can fluctuate so greatly, how important is a passive income source, do you feel?

I’ve just launched a new business that I hope takes that to a new level. 1hundred is a store based around producing quality goods and going that little bit extra to make something really worth having. Also, only 100 of the products are ever made so folks are treated to limited editions.

I think it’s important that we simply keep pushing forward smartly and do what we can to give ourselves the best opportunities in the future. 1hundred exists for many reasons, one is yes, hopefully having a good second income from another source. Being self-employed means there isn’t much conventional financial security out there but I feel secure in the fact I’m in control of making things happen. I’m not really relying on anyone else. If you’re a designer, illustrator or a producer of anything that other people may want to own or share you should probably think to make the most of that and see what comes of it

You’re best known for your incredible type-infused illustrations – Where do you get inspiration for your work?

There isn’t really a specific answer, but I have a tendency to look pretty far back to the Victorian era, ancient cultures, Gaslight. I tend to just keep my eyes open and pick up little bits and piece on my day to day. Some stuff gets stuck in my memory and when I’m playing comes out and I run with it in my own way. Often I’m asked to represent certain time periods or themes so I have to research the visual material of that time to build the right look and feel to the artwork I produce.

If, in some Freaky Friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?

Oh god, good question, I don’t know. It would be great to see what Da Vinci’s set-up was like I guess. Nah, I know, Don Draper. I know he’s not real but if I could be him for the day, that would rock.

What design tools could you not live without?

Clutch pencil, a good A3 pad, my lightbox for speeding up the last version of my art, a Wacom tablet for vectorising, Illustrator, Photoshop, MacBook Pro, camera, external hard drive, scanner, Dropbox. Done.

And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design or illustration?

Be yourself, listen, learn as much as you can off you own back, get the hell on with it, don’t waste time worrying how everyone else is doing it or that people are doing it better than you. Style comes later and is formed by your tastes but you have to do a lot of stuff to know what your tastes are. Practice, then practice, and then practice so more. If you spend most of your time in awe of other peoples work and chatting on social media, you probably aren’t practicing enough. Do some more.

Thanks Tom!

Many thanks to Tom for talking to us. I really enjoyed his answers, and hopefully you did too!

Why not check out Tom’s site, and follow him on Dribbble and Twitter?

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