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.

One Minute With… Sharon Silverberg
February 16, 2012 8:24 pm Leave a Comment

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

Thanks for reaching out! I’m a graphic designer and Austin native currently splitting my time between my day job at CA Technologies and freelancing. During business hours, I’m a product designer at CA, where I design data visualizations for web-based IT software and preach the gospel of grids, Helvetica, and white space.

When I’m not knee-deep in enterprise IT management metrics (yawn, right?), I dabble in fancy hand-drawn type and try to collaborate with as many talented, passionate people as I can. Since I graduated from WashU in 2010, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some great local design firms, including The Screamer Company, Asterisk Group, Digital Letterpress, and Pentagram.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Sharon Silverberg.

Well, nothing important happens before coffee. I’m usually up and out pretty early and in my office going through email by 8:30. Every day’s a little different, but depending on what phase of a project we’re in, I’m doing at least a couple of these things: sketching wireframes, developing workflows, mocking up visual designs, creating clickable prototypes, and/or doing visual QA on implemented designs. And meetings. Lots of meetings.

After work, I’ll either scramble to meet a freelance deadline from a coffee shop (like I’m doing now), or do something good for me – running, cooking, having drinks with friends. Or, more typically, some combination of all these things. I’m working on that whole work-life balance thing.

How did you get into design?

I think I got my first bootleg copy of Photoshop 7 around age 13 and I spent a lot of late nights desaturating and oversaturating mediocre photos of my punk/emo/goth friends because I thought I wanted to be a photographer. Around the same time, I realized I wasn’t a very good painter or draftsman, but I loved doing art and getting messy. So, I spent a lot of time making papercuts, printmaking, and taking mediocre photos. By the time I got to college, I’d figured out that design would let me incorporate everything I wanted to, including a newfound love for typography, and I might actually get paid for it.

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

I’m going to be super general because it varies depending on whether the project’s a book, a website, an identity, a software prototype, or a luchador costume. But, the first thing I always do is a boatload of research and try to get as much useful information from the client (/internet/library) as I can, especially on what sets this project apart from similar projects that already exist/are being developed simultaneously. Then, lots (LOTS) of hand sketching, thumbnails, and eventually I get caught up in the nitty gritty details and switch to Illustrator. A lot of times, I’ll go back to hand-sketching after I’ve gone digital because my brain still works faster on paper. Once I’ve got a few conceptual directions started, I’ll get feedback from the client, then usually experience some mix of heartbreak and excitement at their decision. After that, its all refinement, refinement, refinement, more often than not a major scope change, refinement, refinement, scrambling, and PROJECT LAUNCH! Then usually some more scrambling to refine just an eensy bit further if I can, because I’m a perfectionist. And lather, rinse, repeat.

Your day job is at CA Technologies, a huge software firm with a website full of more corporate buzzwords than you could shake a stick at. How does this compare to client and personal work? Which do you prefer, and why?

Oh man. My boss might read this, so I totally prefer my day job and would like to keep it, please. Actually, I really love both because they each present a unique set of challenges and inspire each other in unlikely ways. At CA, I work with a number of internal “clients,” who’ve benefited from the experience I’ve had dealing with, let’s say, more colorful freelance clients. My experience at Pentagram and connections with other designers have positively impacted my work at CA as well. At the same time, CA has taught me a ton about prototyping, getting around red tape, focusing on something for more than two months, and how to speak the same language as developers, which has been invaluable in my freelance work. It took a few months for me to get the hang of it, but the two have really started to complement each other. I’m also really grateful that my job at CA allows me to be choosy and take on only the freelance/personal projects that I enjoy and will help me grow as a designer.

…so, that effectively evaded the question, right? For now, I’d say I’m right where I want to be – doing a mix of everything.

Along with your work on the screen, you also create wonderful print works, and the most gorgeous lettering. If you could only work in one area of design for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?

That’s like the worst question ever for someone as indecisive as I am. If I had complete creative freedom (hah), I’d love to create infographics explaining complicated scientific concepts or historical events to students, maybe even some newfangled textbooks that would actually be engaging. I’m a total nerd at heart, plus I love hitting that sweet spot between delighting and educating a viewer, where they learn almost in spite of themselves.

If I actually chose ONE area, I’d say publication design, because the current definition of that is so wide open and can incorporate so many things. People read in so many different contexts now – printed books, e-readers, interactive apps – and who knows what’ll happen in the next 6 months.

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’d love to be Lisa Strausfeld – who wouldn’t want to be a Pentagram partner under 40? – she does the kind of innovative information design work I aspire to do at CA, but actually makes it seem cool. Plus she’s got this superhuman renaissance woman thing going on…she does effing everything. Can I just make a quick copy of her brain? I promise to give it right back.

What design tools could you not live without?

Technology wise, I’m tethered to Illustrator and InDesign, Rdio, my scanner and my iPhone on a daily basis. If I had to get by without electronics in a post-apocalyptic world, I could probably survive with a couple Microns and a ton of graph paper.

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

Give things away. People like free things. And they’ll like you (and more importantly, be more likely to look twice at your work) if you give them something they want for free (note: this often differs from something you want to give them, so tread carefully). I’ve been amazed at the positive vibes and references that’ve come my way after sending out personalized sketchbooks last year and mulling spices this year, just to say happy new year to some of my favorite people.

Thanks Sharon!

Many thanks to Sharon 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 Sharon’s site, and follow her on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Aaron Draplin
February 13, 2012 8:25 pm Leave a Comment

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

I’m a graphic designer and am working as much as possible, striking while the iron is hot. Be it on stuff that makes loot, and equal amounts of stuff that don’t make a cent. I like keeping busy and doing my best to keep up with everything. Proud to report, shit’s going good! Always on the up and up.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Aaron Draplin.

Up at around 9:00am, and down to the shop by 9:30 or so. Read the emails, clean out the junk email and figure out what’s on the docket for the day. Check all the blogs, twitterisms and news sites and then tear into shit. It might be projects, or blog posts, or shipping DDC merch. Whatever it takes to get all the shit that need to get done, well, done. There’s no science or formula. Sometimes it just comes down to forcing myself to get an album going and hammering until the document is ready to ship or whatever. Lunch at noon or 1pm, and depending what time of year it is, out of the shop by 7pm or by midnight. I work a lot so, late shifts are the going rate. Upon getting home, maybe watch some tube and chill out on the couch a bit, dozing off a little after1-2am. Something like that. Sorta changes a lot, depending on my workload.

How did you get into design?

I’ve been drawing all my life, and like a good Midwesterner, they start placing you into jobs as you are leaving high school. The forms said I’d be a good engineer. But those dorks just didn’t seem too fun to hang with, so I went after art as a focus. And within art, commercial art seemed pragmatic and made sense to me. People will always need a newspaper or logo designed you know? Fine art was too scary and risky. I liked the idea of learning a real trade, that balanced creativity, and, actually making a real living.

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

All projects start with a research phase. Might be just a couple spirited conversations with the client, or perusing all angles of the design problem at hand online, looking at competition, see what the marketplace looks like, etc. But I try not to go too deep. I like the idea of “informed invention.” I want to know EXACTLY what the client is trying to accomplish, and then I’ll put my best foot forward with that first round of solutions.

Logos always start in my Field Notes, with a ton of sketches. Sometimes you hit it fast, and other times it takes a while to solve it. Logos are like little puzzles. I like the exploration and invention of it all.

I show simple PDF presentations, that show multiple pages of solutions. Sorta like, a big funnel. You dump a pile in the top, and out pops one little refined nugget? The whole time, in conjunction with client feedback. I like the idea of client ownership superseding designer ownership. In the end, it’s their thing. It’s my job to make them something awesome.

You co-run Field Notes, the much-beloved notebook brand. What inspired you to make it, and how have you found the experience?

Basically, not seeing stuff out there that I’d purchase. Or, stuff that existed was overly campy or had horrible typography. Or, shit just didn’t feel good in the hands. I fell in love with Muji stuff back in the late ’90s, but the austere, utilitarian cleanliness they exuded was almost a little too nice, or something. I wanted my memo books to be a little dumber. Less precious. Just good paper and good type with human liner notes.

So I made my own, at first, constructing my own with screenprinted covers and art store graph paper. I made my first run of 2000, and shit took off. Jim Coudal whipped me into shaped and Field Notes became a real thing. So proud of the brand we’ve made. American-made, and proud! By our friends, for our friends. And their friends! Hell yes!

Reading your blog, or copy from any of the projects you’ve worked on, you have a particularly wonderful way with words. Do you feel that language and writing has a big impact on design, vice versa, or are they simply two separate passions of yours?

I just like to write and don’t really think about it. My mom is the sweetest little thing and she’ll say, “You know you are a writer, too?” That always blows me away. I don’t think of myself as anything more than a designer, who likes to make shit. “Maker” is a trendy term, but hits the nail on the head. Be it a logo, an identity system, hunk of DDC merch or fun paragraph about some link I love, it all comes from the same place. I like output. Sometimes shit’s not so good, other times, I hit something. Don’t really care either way. I just like being productive, no matter what I’m working on.

And hell, the most inspiring, interesting designers are charismatic people. They know how to talk. How to communicate. How to soothe. How to sell bullshit. I like that stuff. It’s a dying art, being able to shoot the shit. I like people who like to talk. It’s a big deal in a world that is more and more about an iPhone lighting up yer face, you know?

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 one is a hard one for me, cuz shit, I love what I get to do so much. I mean, how much better could it get? I work on cool shit, make good loot and don’t have to wear pants in the process. When I daydream about this stuff, my mind goes to rock-n-rollers. I want to be a roadie for the Flaming Lips. I want to play rhythm guitar with the Hold Steady. I want work in the shipping department at Sub Pop with Mark Arm. Those jobs sound fun as hell.

If anything, I’d like to work on some big identity stuff someday. But that would probably mean working for some firm, for partners who drive overpriced sportcars. And you know, that kinda sounds like it would start to suck real fast. I just want to make good stuff for good people, and eek out an ample living. And hell, I’m doing just that, and am thankful as hell for the run I’ve had.

What design tools could you not live without?

Adobe Illustrator has given me life. The big three…Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Those champs are my conduit to so many parts of my life. I love making things come to life on a screen. I’ll hear people lamenting about computers and programs and whatever else and will just sit there thinking, “Those things you are bitching about gave me a life I thought I’d never have.” Like, I get offended. I’ve got a lot of love for my Apple products and Adobe software. I’ve had beautiful tools in front of me for my career. Can insurance salespeople say the same thing? Don’t think so!

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

STAY THE FUCK OUT OF PORTLAND! I don’t need you scrubs messing with my stock price! This line was typed in jest, so settle down you little mouthbreathers! Ha!

I tell kids the same thing all the time: Love this shit. Stop complaining and learn to roll with the punches. Some shit’s gonna suck, but, some shit will pay the rent or even a mortgage. We’re all in that boat. Do a good job on the clock, and then when you punch out, make stuff you love. That’s life. And don’t be afraid to share it with everyone. Design is a fun thing. Say it loud and say it proud.

Here’s a couple more nuggets: 01. Don’ stretch type, ever. Ever! 02. Don’t piss into the wind. 03. Respect the masters of design. All the new-fangled shit will come and go, but man, the incomparable Saul Bass will last forever!

Thanks Aaron!

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

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

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One Minute With… Dave Mott
February 9, 2012 7:42 pm 1 Comment

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

Hi Conor, I am a dad, husband and illustrator in Ohio. I work from home and am currently focused on illustrating children’s books. Another big focus is working with autism, there is tremendous potential in how illustration can help with communication. When I’m not working, I’m sketching, making up movie plots, coloring with my daughter, and trying to fix things around the house. I’ve worked at different ad agencies as a designer for years, hoping to someday go full-time on my own and here I am.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Dave Mott.

Usually, I get up pretty early, have breakfast with my daughter: we have a nice little hangout time before the day starts. Get my 1-2 cups of coffee. Next, take her to school. Then, I sketch for an hour before I dive in to work. I try to get the communication, billing and any revised work done early. Work ’til noon, then get some type of exercise in – even if it’s chasing my dog around. Finally, I have my 3rd cup of coffee, and hammer on the rest of the afternoon. Then, once everybody gets home, I disconnect from work and we hang out. After everyone goes to bed, I stay up late and draw.

How did you get into illustration?

I was always in it to some degree. Illustration was always something I loved doing since I was really young. I worked as a designer for a good while, then I learned I could make opportunities for myself if I did the design and brought my illustration into it.

There were some things I needed to understand before I could tell if I was serious about it. One thing I needed to understand was this was a career choice. Secondly, I had work to do, tons of it – you must be prolific. Once I accepted that, I felt ready to pursue illustration as a career. Also, I felt I could make a difference with illustration and that’s a big goal for me.

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

I start with research. Every project is unique. I’m being hired to help someone tell & sell their idea, so I have to learn about who they are as much as possible. Once I have some knowledge, it’s easier to determine what I can bring to the table.

After I feel like I have an understanding, I start drawing things out. Drawing gets me thinking. I’ll do as many sketches as I need to do to capture what is on my mind. I’ll share the sketches and talk through where the concepts are headed.

Lots of collaboration, keep it open, keep it transparent. The best jobs are the ones when my clients and I work together on a shared goal.

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

I think it’s very important. But it’s also very important to be innovative. If everyone is selling prints, what can I offer that is completely different? I’m still figuring that one out. It’s on my mind all the time.

Many of your illustrations seem to feature animals – Do you have a particular affinity with them, or are they just easy to draw? How much of your style is intentional, and how much simply evolved?

Yes, very much an affinity for them. They’re honest.

I did my first internship (after that, I was hired part-time) at a MetroPark, working with Park Rangers and Conservationists. I spent 2 years surrounded by live animals (owls and turtles) and exhibit animals (bears, wolves, foxes, even a Raptor sculpture used on Jurassic Park.) So that helped fuel my love of animals.

My style is evolving because there is so much room for improvement. The intentional things vary, sometimes they come in later in the process.

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?

Martin or Alice Provensen, they were an amazing team of illustrators. Can’t say enough about how they inspired me. Their work is amazing, I have worn out the binding, admiring their books.

What design tools could you not live without?

I have a Cintiq and I really love it but, I still need pencil and paper. I draw everything on paper first and when I feel it’s ready, I bring it in digitally. Photoshop and Illustrator are key as well. I get asked about what type of paper and pencils I use. The fact is, I buy the cheapest mechanical pencils I can find, and I draw on whatever I have in front of me. So must-haves are pencil, eraser, paper, scanner, Photoshop and Illustrator.

Also, music. Very eclectic, but Thievery Corporation and Fleetwood Mac are my stand-bys.

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

Get tough and stay tough. By that I mean, develop a thick skin and know what YOU want. It also means have confidence, not having confidence will lead to bad decisions.

Be kind. It is very possible that anyone you help will be helping you someday.

Thanks Dave!

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

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

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One Minute With… Rod Hunt
February 6, 2012 5:27 pm Leave a Comment

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

I’m a London based Illustrator & artist who has built a reputation for retro tinged Illustrations & detailed character filled landscapes. With UK & international clients spanning publishing, design, advertising & new media, I’ve illustrated everything from book covers to advertising campaigns, installations and iPhone Apps. I’m also the illustrator behind the bestselling Where’s Stig? books for the BBC’s hit TV show Top Gear.

I’m currently also the Chairman of the Association of Illustrators. The AOI was established in 1973 to advance and protect illustrator’s rights and encourage professional standards

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Rod Hunt.

Up at 8.30am for half a gallon of black coffee, followed by a walk or bike ride to my studio at Second Floor Studios & Arts by the Thames Barrier & I’m usually in by 10am. Fire up the Mac & go though the first emails of the day, & deal with any over night inquiries.

If I don’t have to get straight on a job for a looming deadline, I’ll probably doing a bit of promo – maybe updating the blog, website, Flickr or an online portfolio. After that it’s heads down on the current job until 1pm when I’ll stop for lunch. Maybe I’ll get out of the studio and go and sit on the Thames river wall to get a break from the studio for a few minutes. Possibly I’ll do some reading back in the studio & catch up with design news. I think it’s important to be very aware of what’s going on in the wider design world beyond what your doing – you never know when that information might be useful or lead to discovering a new potential client.

Then it’s back to work at 2pm, before a tea break around 4pm where I might meet up with some of the other illustrators on site at the studios. Then a final stint until I leave for home, hopefully before 7.30pm. Have some dinner & try to switch off from work, though I might have to deal with an inquiry from my US agent in New York, or take a conference call with a client on the West Coast.

How did you get into illustration and design?

Comics were my big passion as a kid & the reason I was inspired to draw & eventually choose a career as an illustrator. After graduating from the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University, I spent 2 years living in Nottingham working on my portfolio & starting to get my work seen by clients to gain commission. Eventually it got to the point where I moved to London so I could go full time.

I graduated in 1994, which was pre Internet portfolio days, so I sent potential clients sample postcards & visiting London to pound the streets with my portfolio. Pretty much all my work was for newspapers & magazines to start with.

Once I moved to London in 1996 I used to do two mornings a week every week with my portfolio seeing clients, doing in excess of 120 meetings a year. It built from there. Then everything changed with the advent of the internet, & I decided I had to change with it. In 2000 I taught myself web design to create my first website & in 2001 I completely reinvented my work, abandoning paint & mess for a Mac & Adobe Illustrator.

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

Once I’ve read the brief, maybe I’ll have a chat with the Art Director & start formulating ideas. There’s often a lot of research that has to go in to each piece, especially for something as complex as a theme park map. I always start by doodling ideas and compositions in an A5 sketchbook with a pencil or biro. These are very quick and throwaway. I don’t get stuck into the detail at this stage & purposely draw with a biro so that I can’t erase anything, keeping away from detail to keep the ideas flowing.

Compositionally. it’s important to have flow through the piece, leading the eye on a journey. The piece has to work as a whole & not look like the sum of its parts or be disjointed. It’s important not to be seduced into the detail too soon & lose sight of the the overall goal. I also need to give myself enough thinking & doodling time at the beginning of a project before producing a finished rough drawing. That’s where the real hard work is done & is the foundation of a great piece of work.

After I’m happy with the very rough spread compositions, I moved onto creating a detailed fully finished pencil rough, drawing with a 2B pencil on heavyweight cartridge paper. It’s at this point I work out the amount of detail in the piece.

The roughs are then scanned & used as a guide in a background layer in Adobe Illustrator to produce the final artwork. After using a normal Wacom tablet for quite a long time I decided to invest in a Wacom Cintiq to help with the work flow & speed things up. It was a pretty wise investment as drawing directly onto the screen made things much more natural & intuitive. I tend to use Illustrator as a straight drawing tool & use effects sparingly, aiming to keep the hands on feel with my work, despite producing the final artwork on the computer. At the end of the day the computer should just be seen another way of making a mark on a page. Everything is broken down into many layers to I can keep track of all the detail & make things easily editable for myself.

You are best known for your highly-detailed isometric illustrations – Was it a conscious decision to find a style you liked and stick to it, or did it simply end up that way? How has your style developed over time?

I never set out to work in this way, but it’s something that has evolved organically over time. I started creating isometric work at art college, where I painted with fat hogs hair brushes & acrylic paint on paper. After I gradated in 1994 & started working towards getting commissions, some of this work was part of my portfolio. My second ever commission, which was for New Statesman magazine in 1995, was isometric.

The next big leap forward was when I reinvented my work in 2001 by going completely digital, changing over to working in Adobe Illustrator. Lads mag Maxim asked me to create an isometric lingerie shop which helped me to develop my new digital isometric language. This then lead to more commissions & refining the style. The book cover for Change the World 9 to 5 in 2006 then started me on the path of much more complicated scenes & cityscapes, the culmination of which has been Where’s Stig? which took the detail & sophistication to a whole new level. All along I’ve followed where I saw an opportunity & what I was having fun doing.

You’re currently Chairman of the Association of Illustrators. What do the AOI do, and what is your role in that?

I Chair the AOI’s Board of Directors, who are responsible for ensuring good governance & the strategic development of the company. It’s an unpaid voluntary role & can sometimes take up a considerable amount of my time. But I’m a passionate believer that we are stronger working together to protect & develop our industry through the AOI than working as individuals. The AOI has helped me develop my career, so I also feel that it’s important to give something back to help develop the organization for the future, support other illustrators & ensure the sustainability of our industry.

I feel being a member of the AOI is a vital part of a professional illustration career. Being freelance can be a bit isolating & being part of the AOI can give you a sense that you’re not alone in this, you’re part of a community & you know where to get professional advice. With pricing, contracts, copyright & business development it pays to get advice from the professionals, & that is just one phone call or email away by being part of the AOI.

They’re there to help with all aspects of advice & developing your creative career. The AOI also puts on regular industry events, runs Images – The best of British Illustration competition & publishes the award winning Varoom magazine.

What design tools could you not live without?

These days I couldn’t do without my iMac & Wacom Cintiq screen tablet. My Cintiq was probably my biggest indulgence of the last few years, but has definitely been a wise investment.

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

Get out there and get your work seen by as many people as possible. You should never be afraid to show people your work. It’s important to invest enough time & resources in promoting your work & explore all possible markets. You maybe the best designer/illustrator in the world, but if no one sees your work, you won’t get commissioned

Be yourself & indulge your personal interests in your work as that is what will set you part form everyone else.

Perseverance. It can take quite some time to get really established.

It’s vitally important to educate yourself about the business side of things. Understanding pricing, copyright, contracts, etc is just as important as the drawing if you want to be successful & sustain your career for the long term. I’d recommend joining the UK Association of Illustrators (AOI). They’re constantly campaigning to protect all illustrator’s rights, and if you need advice on pricing commissions, contracts, promotion, developing your career, etc, it really pays to get help from the experts.

Maintain control over your Copyright in your illustrations. There are very few occasions that clients need to own the Copyright in your work. Your body of work is your livelihood, and you should be entitled to the financial benefits of your talent and hard work.

Thanks Rod!

Many thanks to Rod 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 Rod’s site, and follow him on Flickr and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Drew Melton
February 2, 2012 7:56 pm Leave a Comment

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

Sure thing! My full name is actually Bryan Andrew Melton but for some reason my parents have always called me Drew. I’m from Grand Rapids, MI and I really enjoy working with letters.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Drew Melton.

Wake up, have 3 eggs with some coffee from the press pot. Make my bed and brush my teeth. Open the ol’ laptop and check my email, which is a terrible habit, then I start on projects. This usually entails a lot of drawing and redrawing. Throughout the day I check my email way too much sprinkled with a little extra Twitter here and there. All of the sudden it will be 6:30 and I will have no idea what I’ve accomplished during the day.

How did you get into design?

In high school (I was home schooled) I started dabbling with website design and development. I had a connection with an internship in town at a web design firm (no longer existing). They took a risk on me and I’ve been digging deeper ever since.

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

LOTS of drawing. I am really bad at mind mapping or working through any sort of official process. The best way of explaining my process comes from an interview with Mike Perry, when asked about his process he responded (loosely translated), Basically I create a lot of pieces right off the bat. Great work tends to come out of all of the piles of work. For me, the more I create, the better my chances are at coming up with something decent. I feel like 1 out of 10 pieces that I make actually has some quality to it.

You run The Phraseology Project – Tell us a bit about it, and what inspired you to start this project?

Ok, so I was pretty much broke and I had zero clients around December of 2010. I had been doing really generic graphic design for business clients and I was feeling pretty burned out. I kind of hit a creative bottom where I started to realize that I wasn’t making anything that I would be proud to show my children someday. Ever since college my love for typography and lettering has been growing. So I just started drawing letters… All the time. It gets hard to just make things without a reason so I started looking for a way to turn this into a project. I had the idea of having people submit words or phrases that I could practice lettering on. I created a small simple site with a web form and called it The Phraseology Project (this was my girlfriends idea for the name). Within a week I had 80 submissions! The project is 1 year old and it has had 20,000 submissions since!

Lettering is evidently your strong point – Would you ever consider making a font? Is there a big difference between lettering and type design, do you think?

Absolutely! I am so young and inexperienced. I have a lot to learn about typography before I even think of heading in that direction. Not to mention, a type treatment and a font require completely different skills. One being a bit more logical and the other one being a bit more free.

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?

Have you seen Simon Alander’s work?! The dude is a freaking god when it comes to lettering and typography (and so many other things). I would trade just to understand how his mind works.

What design tools could you not live without?

Dot Grid notebook from Behance, STAEDTLER pens and pencils for sure along with tracing paper…. Oh! And a scanner. Couldn’t live without it.

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

Stop trying to change the world and get practicing. Great work is always preceded by practice. You don’t have to be the best to get started and put your work out there. Admit it when you’re wrong and move on.

Thanks Drew!

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

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

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One Minute With… Teresa Wozniak
January 30, 2012 7:56 pm Leave a Comment

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

I’m a student and designer currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and attending NSCAD University. I mostly work in graphic, lettering an print design, and dabble in typography, illustration and photography. I’ve been working professionally for a painfully short time, but have had the opportunity to work with clients that vary from the NFB of Canada to local hospitals to promotion agencies in California. My work varies from girly-curly script to manly man cigar branding, and I’m constantly trying new things to expand my abilities.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Teresa Wozniak.

My days are usually spent juggling school and freelance work. I’ll wake up for class, head to studio, and spend the afternoons meeting with clients, working as an assistant at the university, or tinkering on some personal work. When I get home, I usually indulge in my student diet and watch Spike TV while wrapping up work. Then I might, just might, get a full night’s sleep.

How did you get into design?

It kind of happened by accident. In high school, I was a straight A liberal arts student and had a massive scholarship for a Political Science degree at one of the top universities in Canada. I was always really artistically inclined, but wanted to go into, what a would have called then, a “real” degree, so that I would at least have a secure future. My best friend and I had gone to Montreal for university open houses, when we realized that one of the schools was hosting a portfolio day. It only took one meeting with a dean to make me realize that Political Science was not for me – I just didn’t care enough for it. They accepted me on the spot. During first year, I got really tired of the mindless, arty-farty bullshit that a lot of my classmates would get up to – painting with blood, sculpting bongs, overusing the words “tangible” and “ephemeral” – and wanted to pursue something with more purpose and meaning. That’s when I registered for a design degree.

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

It really depends on the client and the project. Sometimes the process is lengthy, with lots of back-and-forth, sketches, concepts and trashed ideas. Sometimes the concept comes to mind immediately, and the project gets wrapped up quickly. Whoever tells you that your first idea is never your best is kidding themselves – your brain works in strange ways, and you never know when it’s going to surprise you with something brilliant. Clients also play a big role in the approach – some know what they want, and others have no clue. As a designer, you have to interpret their ideas and make them work, whether that’s through hundreds of sketches or brainstorming or user research. It’s like being a translator – there’s countless ways of translating the same thing, but one will always make more sense than the rest and you just have to find it.

You’re studying Interdisciplinary Design at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. How important is a formal education in design, do you feel, especially in an industry that changes at such a rapid rate?

This is a pretty tricky question, and the answer is not simple. A formal education can teach you how to think and work, how to use the programs you need and handle future work. You gain valuable experiences and are taught by incredible people. you have access to great opportunities. However, no amount of formal education will ever teach you how to be a good designer. You need to have a knack for it, a good eye, and the ability to let go of your ego and separate yourself from your work. You can teach a person work habits and technical skills and how to see things. You can’t, however, teach a person good taste, change their character or perception, or force skills on them that they don’t inherently have. If you succeeded in doing that, it would definitely take more than 4 years of formal education. A formal education can give you a good work ethic and creative process primer, but it’s real world experiences that will hone your skills and keep you up to speed with current methods in the industry.

I’m constantly seeing you experimenting with new styles and techniques on Dribbble. As a designer, do you feel it is important to stay fresh, and avoid getting in a stylistic rut?

Absolutely. You learn so many new things from using different processes, and you never know when a particular skill that you might have experimented with way-back-when will come in handy. Doing new things opens up your perspective – suddenly you find yourself devising dielines and lettering words in your head while doing the most mundane things. If you stick to one style and one creative form, you better be incredible at it because that’s what you’re going to be known for – there’s nothing worse than a designer who cranks out mediocre versions of the same thing over and over. It’s just not interesting.

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?

Another toughie. I wouldn’t be able to choose between Jon Contino, Hydro74, Allan Peters, Shoe, Tim Boelaars or Jessica Hische. Either way, I’d do it to learn their skills and tricks.

What design tools could you not live without?

My laptop, Illustrator, a White Lines notebook, Faber-Castell S pens, a Copic Wide, an 18 x 24 craft paper pad, typography and packaging blogs, typography books (currently Typography Sketchbooks by Heller and Talarico), inspiring packaging and print work, and Wallpaper, GQ, Esquire and Details.

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

Launch into sensory overload. Scour blogs, buy good magazines, invest in design books and really look at them. Don’t disregard your superiors. If you see something you like, learn how to do it. If something looks ridiculous, try to fix it. Critique everything (in your head, so you don’t sound like a jerk) – from cereal boxes in grocery stores to ATM interfaces. Ask for help. Get your name out there through social media. And realize that even though it’s a long road and it might suck, it will pay off (and pay for itself) eventually.

Thanks Teresa!

We’re really grateful to Teresa spending a few minutes with One Minute With. Hopefully you, like I, found her responses really interesting!

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

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One Minute With… Jon Contino
January 26, 2012 8:47 pm Leave a Comment

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

Thanks so much for having me. I’m a lettering artist, illustrator, and brand consultant and I own my own menswear brand called CXXVI Clothing Co. The majority of my stuff tends to have a very old world feel to it and I love taking a hands-on approach to projects. Anything that can communicate character and human personality really.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Jon Contino.

Man, a day in my life is a crazy one. I tend to wake up around 8 or 9 in the morning, roll out of bed, and go right to my desk. I gave up the studio and work from home now. A lot of people tend to have trouble doing that, but I’ve figured out how to discipline myself enough to do it. From that point on, it’s a marathon. I’ll start with urgent emails, get on my first priority job, and then just go for it. I’ll typically work on whatever’s around until 1 or 2 when I take a lunch break, then back into the grind. I usually have to split up my days between CXXVI and taking care of my client work, so it’s always a juggling act. I tend to get as much done as humanly possible until around 2 or 3am. Later nights might take me to 4 or 5am and good nights usually end around midnight. I work too much, sleep for a few hours, then do it again.

How did you get into design?

I’ve been doing design for as long as I can remember. As soon as I could hold a pencil, my mother had me drawing. She’s an artist as well, so I guess it came pretty naturally. The thing that really made me pay attention to art though was being in hardcore bands in high school. Shirts, flyers, and demos were the best ways to flex my creativity and as time went on and friends’ bands kept getting bigger, I got better jobs working on music packaging and merch design. Web design helped me break into intense freelancing and I basically did all web and music package design through high school and college. Unfortunately music package design isn’t what it used to be and web design is just plain hell, so over the past 5 years or so, I’ve carved a nice little niche for myself in the illustration and apparel industries.

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

Every project is pretty special and unique, but I’d be lying if I said that any one stands out as having a different process. I tend to do research first on whatever the topic is. This could be online, in books, or out in the world. Whatever will put me in the mindset of the what the project calls for. After that it’s pretty smooth sailing. Pencil sketches lead to inked drawings and it all gets put together on the computer via Photoshop and Illustrator. That’s typically where the job will end unless there’s some sort of special printing technique that I need to consult on or manage.

You grew up in New York, and continue to live there. How does living in a city with both a great design community, and so steeped in design history, influence your life?

I’d have to say that being born here and living out every single day here has been the main influence on my work. Honestly, I never even noticed the design community here until a couple years ago. I’ve always been so enthralled with what I see that I never really bothered to step outside of myself and talk to anyone. It’s been years of inspiration building up and building up and it never occurred to me how inspirational some of the people here are until I actually stopped and thought about it. I honestly can’t even comprehend what kind of artist I would be had I not spent my entire life in New York. It’s such a strong part of who I am at this point, that it just makes sense.

You run, as you mentioned, CXXVI Clothing. How do personal projects like that compare to client work? Which do you prefer, and why?

That’s a tough call. I can’t really say I prefer either. The freedom of CXXVI is great and the ability to lead a trend is such an amazing thing, but at the same time, the amount of work and stress that goes into it gets overwhelming at times. On the other hand, working with different clients throughout the day gives me the opportunity to stretch out and take on different types of projects; stuff that I might not be able to do within the defined brand boundaries of CXXVI.

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? (And since another interviewer asked, time travel is accepted)

I honestly don’t think I’d choose anyone, not even with time travel hanging over my head. There have been, and are, so many amazing designers in space-time that all I can ever really want is to work within that same stratosphere. There’s nothing that I envy of anyone else that I shouldn’t be able to do given enough hard work and ambition. Now if you’re forcing the time travel thing on me, then what I’d really want is to apprentice with someone like Leonardo DaVinci. I wouldn’t want to be him, but I’d just love to watch his brain work on a daily basis.

What design tools could you not live without?

It’s tough because I need at least two of them together to survive, so I’d say Micron pens first and cheap printer paper as a close second.

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

It’s really easy to get started in this kind of creative career. All you have to do is just go for it. That’s it, that’s all it takes. Of course you’ll need some sort of skill and a whole bunch of ambition, but if you want to make it, you just have to want it.

Thanks Jon!

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

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

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One Minute With… Luke Beard
January 23, 2012 9:40 pm 5 Comments

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

No problem at all. Well, I’m Luke, I’m 24 years old and have been trying to be a designer for almost 6 years. I started off doing some CD layouts for friends’ bands and getting to grips with the tools of the trade, so to speak.

I spent 3 years at a tiny local web firm where I learned a lot about clients and the industry (mainly on my own initiative) before taking a risk and spending 5 weeks in Silicon Valley and start up life at the start of 2011 with Zerply. I’ve been with them ever since.

I try to keep my side projects up when I can like my print store and my type project ‘A Lyric a Day’ along with a few others I can’t mention right now for super secret reason.

I also help out my girlfriend with her online vintage store.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Luke Beard.

I wake up the same time as my girlfriend who I live with, so I get up around 8:30-ish. I make us coffee and skim over the tweets I missed overnight. I try to walk her to work when I can to get some fresh air nice and early.

I can’t say I do “work” all day as I enjoy it too much to be called that but the rest of the day is spent trying to consume all the news and posts about industry stuff before really cracking down to what I need to get done that day.

If I have any prints orders to send, I pop up the road to local post office and usually grab some lunch.

Evenings are spent watching films and generally taking it easy. I’m not a fan of working crazy late unless I *need* to. I think sleep is important to a designer and is undervalued as a tool for keeping sharp. And now I’m nearly old, I get to go to bed at 10:30pm. Like a true party animal.

How did you get into design?

I did a BTEC national in ICT at college and there was two small modules on using Photoshop and simple web design. From that point on I was hooked.

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

To be perfectly honest, the only time I do hardcore planning for a project is when I can’t see the big picture. I prefer to get straight at it and use initiative. I work pretty fast and can iterate even faster. I need to be able to see and use things as soon as possible to get the best out of it.

You work for Zerply, the up-and-coming professional network. What were the challenges that came with designing a social network?

Zerply is the first web product I have ever worked on so it’s all pretty new ground but thankfully the team are awesome. The biggest challenge has been to create value and get people coming back and engaging with other users. Social networks are complex beasts and creating addiction and the need to come back is a big part of it.

If following you on Twitter is anything to go by, it seems that every couple of weeks, you take on a new exciting project (At the time of writing, that project is Skimn, a fascinating new iPad feed reader) – What compels you to constantly create something new? Do you think you will ever be able to rest on your laurels?

Ha! It’s not every week but I hate staying still. It almost pains to me to stagnate as a designer. It could almost fall under self improvement I guess. I consider myself a novice at everything and, to put it simply, I just want to get better.

The only time I will rest from this mindset is if I get a family one day. That’s the only thing I can think of.

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?

Tim Boelaars – His new workspace looks awesome and he makes & draws the coolest things.

Eli Rousso – of Girlfriend NYC

Matty Mo – From Alpha Boost and 500 Startups mentor. Follow him on Instagram, his life looks nuts….with helicopters.

Peter Vidani – Designer at Tumblr

Erik Spiekermann – I’d love to be an angry German who loves type.

Dieter Rams – Just because. (You never said anything about traveling back in time)

Diego Zambrano – Again, his Instagram is always filled with awesome stuff daily to get envious over.

William Wilkinson – Super cool

What design tools could you not live without?

My MacBook, Photoshop, Textmate, Spotify and coffee. Few web sites I visit too much

The Verge
WebAppers
UsabilityPost
The Fox Is Black
Swiss Legacy
Boooooooom!
The Next Web
Typetoken
Daring Fireball

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

Don’t jump on trends too much. Learn some core skills and consume a lot of inspiration. Be honest and don’t ever think you’re better than you are.

Thanks Luke!

Thanks a million to Luke for chatting to OneMinuteWith! I loved talking with him, and hopefully you enjoy his answers as much as me!

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

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One Minute With… Ross Moody
January 19, 2012 6:39 pm Leave a Comment

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

My name is Ross. I’m a Taurus. I own and operate a company called 55 Hi’s where I create and sell paper creations. This normally being greeting cards, prints, calendars, journals, and miscellaneous stationery items.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Ross Moody.

Right now, a typical day is as follows:
7am – 8am = Cocoa Pebble time.
8am – 4:40pm = Working for the man doing spec ads for the Foodservice channel. This is usually the time I spend spacing out and thinking about new ideas.
5pm – 6pm = Processing and packing orders.
6pm – 7pm = Eating something while answering emails.
7pm – 9pm = Production time. This includes screenprinting new designs, packaging cards or stationery, trimming, numbering, folding, etc.
9pm – 1am = Designing new items and getting ready for Cocoa Pebble time.

How did you get into design?

I accidentally fell into design while attending college at Kutztown University is Pennsylvania. I was an undeclared student who wanted to be an artist, just not a starving one. I started sitting in on design classes while trying to transfer in and eventually they just let me stay.

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

This is a tricky question because it’s never really the same. Ideas come out of nowhere throughout the day and I write them down in no particular order in a Moleskine. Some times it’s something I find on the internet, something a friend says, and some times it’s just something I think is funny or inspirational. It’s amazing how many great ideas are prefaced with the words “Wouldn’t it be funny if…” Then when I’m ready to start a new project, I go back in to the Moleskine and find the idea I think is the strongest at that time. Then I sketch and obsess over that idea for a few days before I start designing.

You run 55 Hi’s, a much-beloved “greetings collective”. How do personal projects compare to client work? Which do you prefer, and why?

I don’t take on client work anymore. Well that’s not completely true but it’s rare. I technically do “client” work all day at my day job and when the day is over, I would much rather take on work I find rewarding than have more work and stress waiting for me at home.

This particular subject is a little touchy for me. I could rant for days but I say that because I have developed a jaded view of the graphic design role from working for an advertising agency after graduating. It’s difficult to explain, but basically, I have found the amount of talent that is wasted, thrown away, dulled down, unnecessarily changed, and not respected in advertising is disgusting. It’s commonplace to work on something for weeks and have a design-by-committee respond with, “It just doesn’t…. pop, ya know? It doesn’t have the WOW factor.”

So long story short, I prefer my own work, but I think most people do. It’s much easier to work for yourself.

You hand-print all of your 55 Hi’s gear. In a world where everything is going digital, how important is it, do you feel, to keep print as alive as possible?

I think print will always be alive to a certain degree. There is something intrinsically valuable about a hand printed item. It’s the same principal for why people are still giving paper greeting cards. It means more. The action of thinking about someone, going to the store, picking a card, writing your message, and putting it in the mail is almost more valuable than the card itself. Would it be the same if you sent that same card with a typed message in an email? I think not good sir.

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?

Good question. I wouldn’t really want to take over the body of another designer, but if I could anonymously hang out in someone’s brain for a day and investigate their creative process, it would be Stefan Sagmeister. A close second is Ji Lee.

What design tools could you not live without?

I’m pretty married to my Moleskine. I forget ideas 4 seconds after I have them so that would be pretty detrimental to my workflow if I lost it. A close second is obviously The Creative Suite. I spend 80% of my life inside Photoshop.

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

I think one of the most important things (and difficult things) any designer can do is be honest with themselves about the value of what they are creating. In the beginning, I thought my work was so much better than it actually was. I wouldn’t experiment or investigate, or ideate. I would get fixated on one idea and one execution and be offended if anyone didn’t think it was the best. This is so hurtful to the value of your work. Recognizing when an idea is amazing, but the execution is sub par is so important. Why waste an unbelievable idea on a shitty wrapping? I have ideas that I have been designing for 7 years. The idea is amazing but I just can’t get it to feel right. This can get tricky sometimes because it can create a circle of inaction, but I trust that when I have the right feel, I’ll be excited and ready to release it. So basically, be honest with yourself about your work. Even if it’s just ok. Acknowledging that it’s ok and striving to be awesome is so much more commendable than being ok and presenting yourself as the best thing since sliced bread.

Thanks Ross!

Thanks a million to Ross for talking to OMW! I really enjoyed talking to him, and found his answers really interesting!

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

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