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… Dustin Wallace
November 7, 2011 6:06 pm Leave a Comment

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

I have been designing for about 10 years now. 6.5 of which have been spent at Fossil, where I works as an Art Director for the brand image and illustration team. I work with a world class creative team that puts out top notch work. I started doing the freelance game in my latter years of college and continue to do so. I’m always looking to create something. Whether it’s building a fence, remodeling my kitchen, drawing thing for my daughter on her large pad of paper, or designing a corporate logo. I grew up in Lubbock, a smallish town in west Texas. I learned how to work hard and to work with my hands from my dad who’s a master carpenter and all around creative person. My mom, being an art teacher, I learned the core art skills necessary for the career path I fell into. Growing up in Lubbock, you’re sorta forced into liking vintage things. (a lot of old stuff) So I grew up with a fascination with vintage things. I have a lovely wife, Kate, and two kids, Nora – 3.5 & Asher – 11 months. They are the joy of my life and I’m blessed to have them.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Dustin Wallace.

Wake up when 3.5 yr old daughter, Nora, comes into bedroom. Get up, go get 11 month-old, Asher, out of crib. Get ready for work. Grab some coffee/breakfast, head into work. (Art director @ Fossil) design and do other designy things all day. Drive home. Eat dinner with wife & kiddos. Bathe kids, get them to bed. Hang with wife for a bit, have a bit of TV time. Time for freelance work. Work several hours. Stay up way too late. Hit the sack. Repeat. Simple, right?

How did you get into design?

I was an art kid in high school. I didn’t really know what to do with it. I always thought I’d just be a painter or teach art like my mom. So, I got into the Design Communication program at Texas Tech University where I met Dirk Fowler. (one of my design heroes) He really changed my view on design. Dirk has a nice vintage approach to his design. Something felt familiar with it. So the love was born. Can’t have enough of it now.

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

Every project is unique and deserves its own specific steps. But, I like to meet with the client (phone or coffee or email) to discuss what they’re wanting and how we can work to meet their goal. I then start research. I look at current design trends, classic design principles, and anything that might relate to the particular project. Then I just sketch and draw thumbnails in my Moleskine or whatever paper I have stacked on my desk. Sometimes ideas will come to mind while I’m playing softball or mountain biking… So i try to write/sketch them down when I can. I have several small note pads I keep in my car, bag, desk, etc so I can always have something to write these things down in.

Your style is distinctly retro, but with something of a modernist twist. Where do you get inspiration?

I have a huge fondness of vintage things. In my office, you’ll find vintage oil cans, tin cars and toys, several life-sized ceramic hands, posters, vintage phones and thermoses, etc. I also have a healthy collection of vintage design annuals. I like to thumb through these to get inspiration and to clear my mind. If I’m ever stuck on an illustration or a logo or anything, I just start looking through these and eventually ideas start floating in my mind and I can get back to work. Its nice to see design and art all done by hand. Give you an appreciation for how things were done back then.

Your work is littered with awesome custom lettering. Have you ever considered creating a font with all those mad skills?

Thanks! I have, actually. I have this old vintage wide slab serif looking font, I’d love to recreate. We’ll see…

Once again, your style is ever-so-1950s, something which is becoming quite trendy these days. Did you decide to adopt that style, or was it simply something that evolved? How important is it, do you feel, or establish a style, as opposed to maintaining a variety of styles?

It kind of just evolved. I love anything vintage. ESPECIALLY from the 50’s era. Something about it just makes sense to me. I’m drawn to it. I like the colors they use. I like the typography. Did I mention I love anything vintage? So I naturally just started designing in a similar style.

I’m not sure how important it is to have “your own style”. I think do whatever works for you. I do think designers tend to have design patterns or “looks” that appear in their work. If you have clients wanting it, keep it up. I try to challenge myself and try different things, but at the same time, if you do something well, use that strength to your advantage. I’m a believer in working on your weaknesses so you’re more well rounded, but at the same time you should use your strengths to carry you while you’re working on these areas.

What design tools could you not live without?

My Moleskine, pencil, my marker pen, an Americano from Starbucks, and my Macbook Pro. :)

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

Push yourself and work hard. I had a good friend, Brent Couchman, tell me “Good design is hard work.” It’s the best advice anyone can receive. Push yourself and never settle for the easiest answer or for anything you’re not 100% happy with. Always push yourself and try new techniques.

Thanks Dustin!

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

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

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One Minute With… Jimiyo
November 1, 2011 6:28 pm Leave a Comment

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

I go by the artist name Jimiyo. I took that name years ago about the time Al Gore invented the internet because I was really into hip hop and I would greet everyone with “Yo.”

I started out on a Commodore 64 drawing in GEOS (a kinda-operating system/productivity software package), and somehow I find myself today still doodle-fartin’ in Photoshop and making a livelihood from art and art directing.

I work as the art director for Teefury.com so most of the art I create is for fun or curiosity. I suppose that’s the way it should be. Maybe.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Jimi Benedict.

I just moved from the west coast to Alabama for the time being so I wake up around a little around noon CST. I work freelance from home so I usually take it easy in the mornings. I have my cup of double bergamot earl grey with honey on the porch taking in some midday sun and quiet time with Bessie Bell the long haired Chihuahua in my lap. Then it’s off to work!

I work on Teefury.com for my first few hours, checking our sales stats, replying to artist’s email, and sifting through the hundreds of submissions to find a few good ones that will get showcased on our site. It’s amazing to be in pop culture business because part of my day involves gleaning what’s hot and trendy by surfing the internet and “researching” entertainment media.

Beyond that, I usually try to do some kind of art. I’ve been picking up the pencil lately, so I doodle later in the day or at night.

How did you get into design?

I went to Uni for digital animation, and after graduation I couldn’t get a job ANYWHERE with my art skills. So I spent two years selling computers at Dell, all the while at night after work, refining my Photoshop skills and building an online portfolio. Eventually I saved up enough money to quit my job and try to go freelance as a starving artist, so I took the leap. Within two months, an art director saw my online portfolio and I got my first art job as a Nascar t-shirt designer. The rest is history I suppose. Online is where it’s at! Without the internet I’d probably still be schlepping $399 computers and hating every minute of it.

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

I surf the internet for a ton of reference photos, and art by which I get inspired. I usually end up sketching ideas on paper first. After I have enough pieces, I collage sketches, photos, stock vector, to lay out a composition. After everything is laid out, I wield my trusty Photoshop and slay the heck out of some caffeine and somehow crank out a final product.

Your work is almost entirely in the t-shirt design field. What is it about t-shirt design that you prefer over other types of design?

I suppose it’s just the market I was able to find an easy source of income. I’ve done a few poster designs which I sell through my own indie store, and in the future, I hope to work on more credible, clout worthy media. T-shirts are cool, but I think most art connoisseurs would consider t-shirt art the lowest of low brow art.

You work with TeeFury, a t-shirt-a-day site. With these sorts of sites having really taken off recently, what makes TeeFury different to the rest?

We were the first shirt-a-day site. And second is the first loser. No, in all seriousness, I think shirt.woot was the first, but they have a slightly different sales/business model and totally different market.

Since we have been around longer than all the other clone sites, we’re way ahead on logistics. We ship faster. We have a great production team. We know our community and what they want to see. We have it down to a science and we’re always advancing. I always joke that we also have two shut in recluses with OCD that propel us way beyond any competition just by sheer brute force work. Those two shut-ins being myself and our other curator/social media lead MJ. We’re obsessed with shirts. I’m not sure if the other companies are as enthusiastic since they just mimic our business model and product line.

We love what we do. I think that puts us way ahead because we don’t mind working hard.

Your illustrations span a huge range of content and style – Is there a particular style of subject matter you enjoy drawing over the rest, or do you enjoy having so much variety?

The variety is primarily because of necessity. The shirts are for bread and butter and the rest is for fun and experimentation.

I really enjoy the stylings of Aaron Horkey and traditional metal engravers, so my favorite designs to create, although they aren’t as popular as my pop culture schtick are the artsy designs with abundance of baroque filigree and embellishments around a focal point. I typically like to have meaning and symbolism in my designs so I tend to weave in elements, obvious or not, into my designs that have personal meaning.

What design tools could you not live without?

Photoshop
Cintiq
Pencil and Paper

I really enjoy PrtScr, a free screen capture program for PC. http://www.fiastarta.com/PrtScr/

DeviantArt.com is so full of inspiration goodness. Although it’s mostly painterly, less design-y.

Beyond that, I’m not that particular.

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

At all costs, get yourself a job in the industry, even if the pay is terrible. The longer you go working in a job that’s not in the field of your desires, the stronger you will have to be to break out. I started my art career at $10 an hour. The bonus was they let me print my own t-shirts after hours. Experience is more valuable than immediate money for XBOX, beer, and cigarettes. You can buy a ton of it later once you start making good paper.

Be passionate about designing and illustrating. To become successful, I think it takes a certain amount of internal drive – the kind that makes you create art for the love of creating, not for money.

Get involved in extra curricular art/design/illustration activities. Win some contests. Participate in gallery shows.

Get good equipment. Often times, my shoddy computer was a detriment to my artistic growth.

Quantity leads to Quality. Trying to make a perfect illustration or design is silly. Perfectionism will hinder you from getting better.

The Internet is amazing. You can become famous via the web, or at least “famous” enough to supplement your income with money earned through selling your art direct to fans.

Thanks Jimi!

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

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

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A New Look for OMW
5:59 pm Leave a Comment

I am delighted to announce a brand new look for OneMinuteWith. Well, a new look. Okay, a slightly new look. Alright, fine, it’s a small revision, but it’s still exciting!

So, what’s new?

We’ve kept the same theme, but with a bunch of improvements. Here are the most important:

Color Scheme
We’ve scrapped the yellow/green and purple colour scheme in favour of a lovely grey and red scheme. The old scheme was just getting on my nerves, and I didn’t feel it showed off your interviewee’s work in the best possible way.

Typography
This is a massive deal. Gone is the lovely Droid Serif, and in is the INCREDIBLE Vollkorn, with it’s fun but readable look. I’ve also boosted the font size, so it should be easier to read. There are a ton of typography changes, but you should be able to see that from this post.

Featured Posts
Gone. Dead. No more. This is for a few reasons. Firstly, the thumbnails being created weren’t great quality and looked pretty poor on the page. Secondly, all of our interviewees deserve equal recognition. They’re all awesome. Seriously.

Icons
The theme JournalCrunch came with some icons, but they were pretty average. I utilised some @font-face magic to bring Drew Wilson’s Pictos to OMW. They are awesome. Fact.

So those are the main changes. I really hope you find the new look better, and most importantly, easier and more fun to read!

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One Minute With… Ryan Clark
October 24, 2011 7:17 pm Leave a Comment

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

During the workday, I am the Creative Director at Virb, where I get to make an amazing website-builder with a bunch of really great guys. I teach Web Design at two local universities and love the fulfillment of interacting with students. When not designing, I am juggling my (most important) roles of husband and father, with my son Asher and wife Sarah. I live in a small town in southwestern Ohio and I love doing what I love for a living.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Ryan Clark.

Everyday starts off the same way, with me chasing my son around the house for a while. After some play-time I grab some coffee and get settled in with that days tasks and spend some time helping Virb customers in our Help Center. We have a daily status meeting over Skype in the late-morning, and then break for lunch. I spend the rest of the day cranking out whatever I need to, whether its business cards, site designs, or copy for emails. In the evenings, I like to get away from the computer and spend time with my wife and friends, or work on any of my many personal projects.

How did you get into design?

I got into design as a teenager, making logos and posters for friends’ bands. In college I took that love and turned my attention towards print and identity design. A couple years ago I was given the chance to pursue web/identity design and have been happily pushing pixels ever since (although I still like to get crazy with a screen-printer from time to time).

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

I have a bit of a different approach and process. I tend to do a LOT of brainstorming internally (like while driving to the grocery and mowing the lawn), thinking through problems and making basic design decisions for each project. When I finally open my design-weapon-of-choice, I just have to execute what’s already in my head, cutting out a lot of time I used to spend trying multiple executions, styles, colors, etc. It makes the process much faster and efficient, and I need all the extra time I can get!

You have a clean, geometric, but still very much vintage feel to your work. Where do you get inspiration from?

I get inspiration from a lot of things (books, antique type, hand-lettering), but right now I’m really into vintage tattoos. I love the style and the meanings behind the tattoos of the 1930s-50s and lately I’ve really enjoyed exploring clean and modern geometric interpretations of them.

You teach at a couple of universities in Ohio – How does that differ to your design work? What challenges does it bring?

I love teaching. It’s a total change of pace from my daily work, and I get to share my passion for my craft with rooms full of students. The biggest challenge in teaching Web Design is really knowing where to start. There’s so many facets to what makes a great website or app, and you want to feed it to students in portions they can understand, without totally going over their heads. I can get ahead of myself pretty easily, but the students never seem to mind.

Along with doing full-time design at Virb, AND doing extra work from home, you also create design resources for the design community, with your font Liberator being your most well-known of these. How important is it to get involved in the design community, do you feel?

The design community is an amazing group of genuine and helpful ladies and gentlemen. I always stress to new designers the importance of interacting in the community; there’s so much to learn from your peers, and I think it’s essential in your growth as a designer.

Aside from just interacting, I’ve really enjoyed making fonts, posters, and Illustrator brushes for designers like myself. It’s nice to share resources that I use on a daily basis, and know other people get so much use out of something I made.

What design tools could you not live without?

I’m gonna try to keep this short(ish)…I design with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, sharp pencils, tracing paper and my scanner. I code with Coda, FTP with Transit, and keep in touch with my coworkers using Sparrow, Campfire, Skype and iChat. Virb is my CMS of choice and I serve up fonts with the magic of Typekit. And I couldn’t make it through the day without Rdio, the best thing to ever happen to my music collection.

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

Work hard; good things come to those who hustle. Connect with your peers, be kind, and treat people well; the design community is full of wonderful, helpful people. Our greatest resource really is each other.

Most importantly, do what you love; there are enough jobs doing design work to not waste years doing something you hate. If you don’t like client work, don’t do it. If you love to screenprint, buy a press and make stuff! Basically, pinpoint the reason you got into design, that thing that makes you wake up in the morning, and do it. No amount of money or fame can replace the fulfillment of doing what you love for a living.

Thanks Ryan!

Many thanks to Ryan 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 Ryan’s site, and follow him on Dribbble and Twitter?

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One Minute With… Brandon Rike
October 20, 2011 6:15 pm Leave a Comment

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

My name is Brandon Rike. I’m a full-time freelance graphic designer. A huge portion of my work is music merchandise, you know, band shirts. I work out of my home office in Columbus, Ohio.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Brandon Rike.

I like to wake up early. Ideally, I get up around 6:30 am. I take a shower, get dressed, put on shoes, eat breakfast, make coffee, and get to work. I am usually at my desk by 7:45 am. I try to focus on one band per day, and put all of my energy into that one collection of graphics. But the reality of my workflow is that deadlines are tight, and revisions and file requests pop in throughout the day. Many days I end up juggling work for 4-5 different bands. I try my best to stay focused on my original project, but also trying to keep everyone happy in the process. I work into the evening, and try and finish up in time for a late dinner and a few tv shows with my wife.

How did you get into design?

I don’t know that I can remember a time when I “got in to design.” I was just always into art, in any fashion that I could be. As soon I was able to hold a crayon, I was drawing. I was that kind of kid. I had plenty of fun with my friends, but I was also found hunched over a pad of paper drawing all sorts of characters. Around the age of thirteen, my friends and I started a band. I quickly found myself creating logos for our band, making fliers for our shows, and designing tape jackets for our demos. I started experimenting with Microsoft Paint and various fonts in the process. I wasn’t until my junior year of high school, that I found out that this whole art form was called Graphic Design. I then took advantage of the Graphic Design program at a local community college while I was in High School. I learned a lot there, but doing shirts for my band, and the bands we played with, was really what got my foot in the door.

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

For my industry, a new project starts and ends every day. Often, several projects occur each day. Ideally, I go to bed thinking about the next day’s project. The next day, I will sketch out several thumbnails in a sketchbook, and get a very direct idea of what I’m going to create before even touching the computer. The best results usually happen when I’m away from my office. The reality, however, is that I’m often dealing with extremely tight deadlines, and the steps of a traditional design process don’t always fit in to my limited timeline. I do my best to analyze the client and their demographic the best that I can, and come up with something that will work. I hammer out ideas all day, and try and make sure everything I do is a quality product.

You’ve carved a pretty successful niche for yourself in the world of designing for bands, concerts, etc. Was this a niche you specifically decided to go into, or did it just fall that way? How important is having a niche, do you feel?

I’m currently learning how important a niche is to have. In design, there are two categories of niches to take into consideration. The first is the specific area of design that you work in. Mine is Music Merchandise. Others are magazine illustrations, or sports logos, or corporate branding, etc. I am very lucky to have found a home in the Music Merchandise niche of graphic design. It has allowed me to shrink the vast world of design down to a smaller area that I can be a major player in. I may stand out in the Music Merchandise world, but I am little fish in the huge pond of graphic design.

As a freelancer, I took whatever work that I could get. As I did more and more shirt graphics, more and more people requested shirt graphics from me. I never sought out this niche, but I’m quite pleased to be able to get a lot of work from one small area of the design world. The niche keeps me extremely busy.

The other niche is your distinct style that comes out in the majority of your work. Some designers’ style is extremely pronounced. Others will design in any style depending on what fits the client. There are pros and cons to each. The pro of having a very distinct style is that you often get public recognition for your work; either in magazines or blogs, your work is recognizable enough to get you noticed. The con, however, is that your style is a trend that could fade away, and you must be prepared to constantly reinvent yourself. The more versatile designer will be able to be unfazed by the switching trends, but may never get the spotlight that the more distinct designers enjoy.

The grass is always greener, I suppose. Any designer that works inside a niche tends to want to do a little bit of work outside of it. It’s only natural. While I do want to expand my horizons as far as work type and style, I am extremely grateful for what I already have.

Music is obviously a massive part of your work, and your life. What music do you listen to whilst you’re working?

I like to keep a pretty chill atmosphere. I’m usually playing stuff like Ulrich Schnauss, The Album Leaf, Bon Iver, Death Cab, Postal Service, etc. But productivity can really increase if I blast Glassjaw, Deftones, or Rival Schools. Plenty of days, I’ll also just listen to the band that I’m working on. It’s not uncommon to hear Katy Perry or Bruno Mars spinning in the office.

You are in the band Dead Poetic, a relatively successful post-hardcore band. How does being a designer compare to being in a band? Are there any parallels to be drawn, and which do you prefer?

Being in a band, touring, and recording albums are thee most fun things I have ever done in my life. I often equate the years when Dead Poetic was active to other peoples’ “college years,” where every day was a complete blast, and you were making memories that would last forever. The main parallels between the two is balancing the perception that the band has of themselves with the perception that the fans have of the band. Knowing the balance is what helps me be successful at what I do. Art and design, however, is my first love. I feel like myself when I’m designing. I had always wanted design to be the priority, and I’m glad it’s been my main focus for the past 6 years.

What design tools could you not live without?

As technology evolves, our needs will change. My current necessities include a 27” iMac, a five-button mouse, a Wacom Cintiq 12WX, Illustrator, Photoshop, Font Explorer, Sharpies, Mechanical Pencils, Top Bound Notepads and Sketchbooks, and a few other tools that I’ll keep secret.

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

I guess my best advice is to first learn how to be a responsible adult and to work harder than everyone else. There is the design skill, but your dependability and work ethic are what will give you longevity in this field. Don’t be lazy. Obsess over design, and always be wanting to learn and see more. Constantly demote yourself to being a “student” of design. The day you think you have it all figured out is the beginning of your demise as a relevant designer.

Thanks Brandon!

Thanks so much to Brandon to take time out of his schedule to talk to One Minute With. I personally found his answers very interesting, and hopefully you do too!

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

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One Minute With… Kamil Khadeyev
October 17, 2011 5:32 pm 2 Comments

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

Hey :) My name is Kamil Khadeyev, I’m 23 years and I’m a graphic designer. I live in beautiful city called Kazan. It’s in Russia, near to Moscow. I’m keen on everything related to the screen graphics, whether it is graphic user interface design for iPhone or icons/illustrations for websites.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Kamil Khadeyev.

I have shifted day-night schedule. My day begins after noon with checking my e-mail/Twitter/Skype and to-do list. Then I try to determine what I am going to do today and start working. After finishing scheduled work I take a break to go outside, have a chat with friends, watch TV and read some books. And usually I finish my day after midnight by watching some TV-show (like “How I met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory”) and/or by listening to audiobooks or podcasts.

How did you get your first design client?

When I was in school, I played browser-based RPG called “Combats.Ru” (it was kinda popular in Russia a while ago). In those times I’ve just started getting into design. I did some graphics for clan sites from that game for practice . And one day one of those clans invited me to join them. A chief of that clan also happened to be a supervisor of an advertising agency in my city. So, he hired me for my first real project :)

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

If we’re talking about icon design, then I start with sketches of ideas for a future illustration. I try to come up with as many ideas as I can. Though I usually show only the best of them to the client (3-5 sketches). And I’d like to say, that I use sketches and mood-boards only as a communication tool. They can look not so cool, but their only purpose is a delivery of my idea to the client, therefore I don’t polish them too much. After sketching stage, I run Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and start using magic :P

You’ve worked extensively with icon design, illustration, and web work – Is there one you prefer over the other, and why?

Actually, I can’t say, that I prefer one design type over another. I like trying something new. So I’m still searching my niche. I want to try design of promo sites, maybe even product design. I’ve started learning Cinema4D recently, so I guess it will affect my work soon too. In general, I like making something that looks awesome, hehe :D

This is a massive generalisation, but in the design community, Russians are known for creating perfect, shiny, lickable 3D illustrations that us mere mortals can’t help but envy. Why is it, do you feel, that Russia grows such amazing icon designers, compared to the rest of the world?

Hehe :) Well, I have a few theories about this. Here’s one of them: in Russia if you post your work somewhere, you get tons of not very positive criticism. It is kinda harsh in comparison to Dribbble. Any small mistake will be found and will be shown to you as your flaw. In Russia it is also called “lynching”, hehe :) So, after a couple of those lynchings, a designer is getting to the point where he has two options: a) to leave design (or at least do not show his works in public) and b) to start thinking ahead and try working on each and every small detail, to make his works perfect.

You do a lot of work simply for practice, in order to improve your skills. How important is that, and how do you manage to fit it in around payed client work?

For me design was grown out of a hobby. I started with drawing something for myself, just for fun. And I still can’t live without it. Especially because of my love of trying something new — I need to practice first and gain some skills before taking real projects. Besides, it helps me to fill my portfolio with works. And I hope someday one of my “works for practice” will grow into my own personal project. So it’s a win-win situation.

What design tools could you not live without?

I have iMac 21.5″ (late 2009) with 12GB RAM, Wacom Intous 4 M and Magic Trackpad. I don’t use a mouse at all. Speaking of software, I use a default “design-package”: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Sometimes I use Google Sketchup for making drafts of 3d objects, to check perspective in my icons and illustrations. I know, some of the guys from icon-design industry think that using 3D software is cheating (Hey, Pedja and Kajdax! :P), but I reckon it’s okay, especially for production purposes, when you have strict deadlines and need to make your work fast. Also I use Byword for writing articles, Awesome Note for iPhone for writing fast notes/ideas. And I can’t live without CloudApp for sharing sketches, screenshots and other files with my mates and clients.

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

Do what you like and like what you do. Try to find something interesting in each project. Something that you’ll love in your work. Enjoy the actual process of working and you’ll get the best result you can reach.

Thanks Kamil!

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

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

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One Minute With… Allison Grayce
October 13, 2011 6:35 pm Leave a Comment

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

As the daughter of a programmer and graphic designer, I’ve had an innate interest in web design from a young age (and a convenient copy of Photoshop on the computer since I could remember). After years of late nights procrastinating schoolwork by designing and coding diary layouts, (remember Xanga? Live Journal? Haha) I eventually realized web design was what I should pursue as my career. I enrolled at the Art Institute of Tampa for Web Design & Interactive Media, graduated and haven’t looked back since.

Fast forward to today, and I’m currently residing in Orlando, FL, where I work as a designer/teacher with Carsonified’s Treehouse team.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Allison Grayce.

Monday through Thursday I generally wake up around 7am and check my email, texts & social networks while still laying in bed of course. I get ready for work while drinking several cups of orange juice (I could live off OJ alone, seriously), take my Australian Shepherd, Proximo for a stroll and then walk to either the office, a coffee shop or back to my apartment to work for the day. Wherever I end up, I’ll drink a couple cups of coffee and dive into the day’s work by mid-morning.

At Treehouse the teachers have set days for when we record our classes, so on off-days I’ll be writing content, researching, or designing.

Somewhere around 6pm (depending on the workload) I’ll head home and work on either freelance or my own projects, while watching episode after episode of some sort of show (Mad Men, The Office, Fringe, and The Tudors to name a few). If I’m not in front of the computer I’ll be cooking, doing something crafty, hitting up happy hour in downtown Orlando, or driving back and forth to Tampa to visit family and plan for my wedding in November.

How did you get your first design client?

In the beginning, most of my paid freelance clients were friends, family, coworkers or friends of friends. (I quickly learned these were some of the most difficult clients to work with!) My first design job was at a print shop, where I designed car wraps, signs, billboards, etc. During my sophomore year of college, my professor hired me on as a designer for his agency, where I would work for the next few years. The rest is history!

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

Like most designers, my process is always ever-changing and maturing, but with every project I try to always follow the same general approach. I’ll spend more time on different stages in the process depending on the budget and timeline, etc.

First I enter what I refer to as the “Discovery” phase. During this time I perform research, create moodboards, and sketch based on a creative brief. You’ll likely find tons of papers from UI Stencil’s Browser Pad, Sharpies, and design books scattered around my desk during this time.

Once I’ve defined a direction for the project, I’ll enter the “Design” phase where I’ll refine the wireframes I sketched out in Photoshop. I’ll literally create boxes and work in black and white. I get all the required content on the page from the navigation all the way to the footer. This way, I’m aware of any layout problems early on before spending too much time on little details like texture or color.

After getting client sign off, I’ll move into the “Design Refine” phase, where I’ll start applying color, texture, and other design elements (the fun part!). This phase usually lasts the longest, with the most time consuming, detail oriented work.

From there I’ll enter the “Develop” phase, which is pretty straightforward. It’s the most rewarding stage for me personally, where you see your vision and creativity come to life. Also by then I’m ready to switch on my left brain and take a break from design.

You have a fun, colourful style with a lot of character. Where do you get inspiration?

I’d like to say my design work is inspired by an era in time, by nature or something cool like that but honestly, my inspiration happens naturally from project to project. I try not to over design things or overwhelm myself seeking for inspiration, but to create an online environment for the brand to naturally exist. If the copywriting is strong, and the brand evokes emotion, a clear direction for design most always follows suit.

A lot of people first discovered you through your stunning wedding invitations that you designed for your own wedding. How different is it to design with yourself as the client?

I was my worst client ever! Thank god you only get married once. There’s a lot of pressure designing for yourself because there are no limitations, no constraints and high expectations. I must have changed my mind a hundred times before committing to just about anything. Even now, I look back and see little things I would have done differently, but I’m happy with how they turned out.

Ultimately, my fiancé had to remind me that Grandpa Joe won’t care if the invites were letterpressed or not, or if the font was serif or script. But trust me, it didn’t stop there. Everything from flower arrangements to linen choices have been tough to commit to as a designer.

My advice – hire someone else to do them! Haha.

You recently joined the Carsonified team. What exactly are you working on, and how does it differ to client work?

Treehouse is the major re-imagining for Carsonified’s Think Vitamin Membership. Official launch is on November 7th, so I definitely joined at a very exciting time when they’re experiencing a lot of growth. My new position is different from anything I’ve ever done, which is both exciting and challenging at the same time. Whereas before I spent my entire day behind the computer screen dedicating my time to clients, I’ll be instead in front of a camera teaching my peers about design.

Without clients to design another banner ad for or another landing page for like at a typical agency, I’ll be able to dedicate more of my time toward valuable research, design exploration and copywriting (which has always been an interest of mine!) to further educate myself and others. How awesome and rewarding is that?

What design tools could you not live without?

Without my Moleskine I think I’d forget everything. I’d obviously be lost without Adobe Creative Suite (at least Photoshop & Illustrator) and some sort of font management software (I’m anal about organizing my fonts by style). As far as websites, Twitter has proven to be the most valuable communication tool, while Dribbble and Pinterest are constantly inspiring me.

I could live without my iPhone, in fact I might be happier without it. It’s navigation system is going to be the death of me.

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

Network, network, network! Even the most talented of designers won’t meet their ultimate potential if they’re hiding behind a computer. Attend local design conferences and meetups, and introduce yourself to everyone, and treat everyone at these events as if they were potential clients or employers.

Sites like Twitter and Dribbble have made it possible to reach out to top notch designers, agency founders, creative directors, etc. Take advantage of opportunity and reach out to them. Ask them questions and advice.

Don’t constrain yourself to only one area of expertise. For example, If you’re a designer and don’t want to learn how to code, at least be aware of how you can design more efficiently for the development process (and vice versa!). Even basic knowledge and appreciation for something outside of your expertise will set you apart.

Thanks Allison!

Many thanks to Allison for taking some time to talk to One Minute With. I loved talking to her, and hopefully you enjoyed her insight!

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

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One Minute With… Drew Wilson
October 10, 2011 7:39 pm 1 Comment

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

I started off doing design at an early age and moved into doing graphic design on the computer around ’95-ish. I made my first website around ’96 and have been building websites ever since. I’ve considered myself a designer all along, but then I started getting into development around 2002 – Diving into PHP, and then it took off from there. Now I do both – Both design and development.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Drew Wilson. When it seems like you’ve created about 5% of the entire internet, how do you find time to relax?

A typical day: I wake up, like most people (I do sleep). I have a son (1 and a half years old) so I hang out with him and the wife in the morning for a while before I go to work. He gets up early so we’re up for a couple of hours before I go to work which is actually in my house, in my office – I don’t go very far – I’m very fortunate, and my wife doesn’t work, so she gets to stay at home with my son. It’s a pretty cool situation: I just work in the house, and I cut off at about 5, like most people, and hang out again with the fam – We do some things, eat dinner, and then usually I’ll hang out with my wife afterwards: Watch a show or something, and then, if I have something pressing to do, I’ll do some more work at night before going to bed.

That’s typically how it goes down, but I also consider health a big deal in my life. We eat really well, and one of the main things that I do, and I would encourage other people to do, is to make sure to get plenty of physical exercise, because the kind of job I have, that we have as designers and developers, slowly kills our bodies because we’re sitting down all day long, for so long. We’re definitely not meant to do that: tons of bad things happen to your spine, weight, heart, and health in general – it deteriorates your body much faster than it should, so I make sure to work out as often as I can – I do that multiple times a week: I ride my bike to the workout spots 4 miles away, do an hour, and then ride back.

How did you get into design?

My dad has a comics and collectibles business where he buys and sells really old comics. He had the first mail-order catalogue in that industry, back in the late 80s. He would take photos, print them out, and paste up his catalogue on a sheet of paper, and then have the newspaper place run it. That was super old school, so then he moved on into computers when Adobe Photoshop 2 came out, so I’ve been exposed to Photoshop since around version 2. I was a young kid at that time so I didn’t do much – Just played around with it a little bit. I started doing graphic design because of the fact that my dad had owned that software. I grew up on Macs, and when I was 15, I actually bought my first computer, with my own money. It was a G3 tower, about $5,500, so it took all my savings (I had two jobs at the time)

You have created some absolutely massive self-initiated projects, including Pictos and Screeny. How does working for yourself compare to working with a team or with a client? Which do you prefer, and why?

Let’s get this right out there – I can’t stand client work – That’s why I moved away from it. I was never in a position where I could do that before, so it’s not like I moved away from it because I could – I couldn’t: it took a little while for that to happen. Pictos enabled that to happen: I had no idea that it would be super-successful, but it was. It enabled me to move away from client work completely, and now I am able to just focus on apps and ideas that I have, and make those things happen. This takes a long time, being a one man team, so I do like to work with other people, but it’s very difficult to find people who are in a similar position as myself where they have a lot of time to spend on making apps and don’t have to worry about spending time to make money. It’s difficult to find those kinds of people, because I am not in a position where I have enough money to pay somebody fulltime, otherwise I would.

From web design and development, to Mac app design and development, and a little bit of icon development on the side – You’re a master of many trades. If, in some crazy hypothetical universe, you could only do one – Which would it be, and why?

Haha, let’s pretend this doesn’t exist right now! No, if there was some crazy, Twilight Zone world I had to get sucked into, I would prefer to be a designer, and just do interface design. I just love coming up with concepts, and designing things. It doesn’t necessarily have to be web work, or app work, or anything like that – It could be some little cool poster-dealio. I like messing with photos as well.

You’ve organised Valio Con, a design conference in California. How was creating this different to your usual ventures? And how is Valio Con different to most design conferences?

I have done a lot of event planning in the past at one of my previous jobs, and it’s definitely a different beast, because rather than thinking about the experience that someone’s going to have, in their home, by themselves, you have to think about an experience you want to create in a real life situation – There’s a lot of new variables and challenges in it, but it’s super fun.

Valio Con is different from other conferences in that it has a small feel, although there are other ones with small feels. Valio Con includes the hotel cost in the price of the ticket – Everyone stays in the same location, so there’s this really cool vibe everyone gets because everyone’s together, hanging out, constantly – Nobody’s by themselves in their room doing nothing. It’s a great time to meet people, and to network. Even though it’s a short amount of time, you really get to know people really well because of the fact that you’re with each other all the time and doing more than just sitting in a conference room. There’s a lot of cool activities we have that people can do.

Where do you see yourself, in, say, 5 or 10 years? Do you still hope to be doing the same thing, or do you wish to have moved on to something else?

In five years, I hope to see myself with enough money to continue doing what I’m doing, but on a larger scale. I have a lot of really big ideas that I want to do, but I just cannot do them because I don’t have the money to hire people, and it’s very difficult to get funding. Even if you do get funding, there’s a lot of things you have to give up. I’m not talking about equity in your company, I’m talking about creativity, and having to worry about making good on the investors’ dollar, and you can’t shift focus too much. I just want to do the things the way I want to do them. That would be easiest and best for everybody if I could just afford to do it myself, so hopefully one day I’ll be at that point where I can take on these larger ideas that I’ve had.

What design tools could you not live without?

If I was stuck on a desert island, I would have to have my iMac, Photoshop, and really any text editor would be good, but if I chose one, it’d probably be Coda. Just those three and I’d be good to go.

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

It’s definitely a different community from when I started – There are infinite amounts of resources. When I started there was just Webmonkey, and that was about it.

I would say the best thing you can do is probably hop on popular websites like Dribbble, Twitter, and start following the people who are doing really cool things. There’s a lot of them out there, some who aren’t very well-known. See what they’re doing and keep up with that stuff, because that will expose you to so much about how the industry works, about how the community works, all that kind of stuff.

And of course, refine your skills: If you enjoy design more, refine that; if you enjoy development more, refine that, but I definitely suggest everybody have a well-rounded skillset, so that they understand how the server works, they understand how the browser works, and they understand how the design works, so that way, no matter what path you choose, you’re much more effective in the field you go into.

Thanks Drew!

Thanks a million to Drew for talking to me! I really enjoyed talking with him, and hopefully you love his answers as much as I do!

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

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One Minute With… Von Glitschka
October 7, 2011 5:07 pm Leave a Comment

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

I’m an independent creative working out of my home studio in the pacific northwest in the state of Oregon. The large majority of my work is in the capacity as a hired creative gun for other larger design firms and ad agencies. My niche is working on design projects needing an illustrative twist to them. That said I also manage my own client accounts and partner with other creatives to pitch larger projects as well.

The work I produce is everything from brand logo development and identity, illustration, iconography, art direction, and marketing. I also juggle a handful of personal creative projects that include design books and speaking engagements.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Von Glitschka.

– Wake up and scan email via iPhone
– Eat some frozen blueberries with vanilla yogurt and respond to any email
– Almost choke on said blueberries when a stupid client responds to my design
– Make a coffee run to Starbucks
– Review the days creative hit list
– Multi-task while procrastinating (Check email again, Twitter, RSS Feeds, Repeat)
– Drink coffee
– Look at my cat and get jealous because she’s sleeping
– Finally open up a project folder and get started
– Take another drink of coffee
– Almost do a spit-take reading news feeds about dumb-ass politico’s
– Launch Chrome on second monitor and watch a film noir why I work
– Curse at Adobe Ai for crashing and post rant on Twitter to sooth rage
– Creative juices begin to flow….hey, it’s lunch time!
– Check email again, wonder how much a typical SPAMMER makes in a year?
– Coffee now room temperature and almost gone
– Now watching “Fringe” on TiVo and continuing to work
– Realize again I need to re-organize my address book (Maybe next year?)
– Out of coffee now. Start to fantasize about a “Replicator.”
– Go into “Mole Mode” (No internet, email, phone)
– Liking my design direction so far
– Finish project and send off to client
– Decide to go grab another cup of coffee and continue watching TiVo
– Work on some minor revisions on an ongoing design project and send off
– Checking web stats on my site
– Really should start on that other job due soon (Will procrastinate a little more)
– Daughter comes in studio tells me about her day
– Something witty streams my mind, post it on Twitter and discuss
– Watch video online and decide it’s Twitter worthy and share a link
– Reply to replies on Twitter
– Still think Google+ is just a glorified Buzz
– Does anyone use Ping?
– What was I doing? Oh yeah.
– Open up new project file
– Wow! It’s 5pm already? Time for dinner.
– 5pm to 10pm hang out with family.
– Read on my iPad (Bible, industry sites, RSS streams, news etc.)
– Once family goes to bed I usually hang out in my studio
– Work and catch up on podcasts
– Do a lot of deep thinking, sketching, planning, and vector building
– Talk to my cat as if she can understand me
– Check MLB highlights on my iPhone and crash

How did you get into design?

I initially looked into the movie industry but since that was prior to the internet I couldn’t really find any school for that so I knew I loved art and focused on that instead. I still have plans to pursue film at some point though.

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

Once I quote a project and it’s budget is approved I send out a creative brief, follow up with questions, and more questions. Once I have everything in hand I than just sit on it for about five days and let it steep in my mind. Once ideas start to form I begin sketching, writing, and composing the thoughts into a coherent narrative visually. If it’s an agency most like to see what I call “Close to final” comps. So I do the same for non-agency clients too, this helps them avoid not being able to understand the direction. They fully understand what it could be and that helps sell it to them.

Of course this varies from one type of project to the next. In general for logo identity work I follow this structure.

You have a surreal, but oh-so-fun, feel to many of your illustrations. Where do you get inspiration from?

I’d say my creative nucleus has several elements revolving around it.

– Creativity: I strive to provide ideas beyond expectations.
– Versatility: I can easily adapt to any style needed for the given project.
– Dependability: I’m dedicated to deliver on time and on target.
– Humor: Whether sophisticated or novel my work tends to be reflect “Fun.”

As far as the source of creativity for me, it all comes down to being curious. When you stay continually curious you can’t help but discover new things and new potential for creative exploration. So designers should replace fear with curiosity and that in and of itself will help them stay inspired and grow.

I personally first discovered you through the wonderful, but sadly defunct [sic], Freelance Radio podcast. How important to you is involving yourself with the community, be it through podcasts, Twitter, blogs, public speaking, or any other method?

Well Envato didn’t do a good job of informing former listeners that the show still lives on. Dickie Adams, Kristen Fischer and myself still do the podcast. You can listen to it here.

It’s too easy to become comfortable and isolated as a designer whether you’re an independent or work within an agency or in house departments. You have to stay relevant and that means consuming current information through online design portals like Twitter, facebook, blogs and design events large and small. With the internet there is no excuse not to be plugged in. It’s fun to make connections with like minded designers online and it’ll help you push yourself to move into new arenas too.

I understand that the worlds of illustration and graphic design are worlds apart . What have been your experiences with this? Is there one side of the coin you prefer over the other?

I see myself working under the larger banner of “Graphic Design” and even though most illustrators would consider illustration it’s own industry I’d argue that it’s in reality just part of the graphic design industry. If it wasn’t for graphic design illustration wouldn’t flourish.

Too many illustrators just flat out refuse to accept this reality. Most still operate with an outmoded mindset regarding how illustration fits into the big picture of design.

I love doing both. Most of my work has illustrative aspect to it but that said I also do pure design too. I also at times do purely illustration such as an editorial illustration for a publication. But I prefer a mix of both and that has become my forte in my business. I leverage both to achieve the creative task at hand.

If someone put a gun to my head and said pick one I’d have to pick illustration. But in reality it’s a false question because good illustration uses design logic IMO.

What design tools could you not live without?

Easy: Pens and paper. Even though I work digitally everything starts in analog. This is kind of the fundamental premise behind my book Vector Basic Training. It reinforces the importance of drawing, and that drawing does and will improve your design.

That said I’m pretty attached to my Apple products. Been a Mac geek since day one hacking on green monitor Apple II’s in high school, writing my own programs with Apple basic etc. Apple is such a big facilitator of my creative, I can’t imagine doing what I do without Apple though.

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

I don’t care if you ever want to be an illustrator. You simply have to draw. Make it a creative habit not just in your workflow from 9 to 5 but in your creative life. Carry a sketchbook and a pen or pencil with you. Don’t worry about how lame you think your drawing is, just start. Good news is you’ll never get worse, you can only get better. The better you get at drawing the more it’ll positively influence and improve your design and ability to execute more unique ideas too.

Remember, drawing is fun. It’s not about being accurate, anyone can spend hundreds of hours drawing realistically but that isn’t the point, it’s about capturing ideas and exploring things. Who cares what style it is, just do it. You did it as a kid, so crank it up again and watch how it energizes your creative mind. Have fun.

Thanks Von!

Thanks a million to Von for talking with One Minute With. I loved talking to him, and hopefully you did too!

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

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