Website: somethingsavage.com

Education Background (school / self taught, etc):
B.F.A. in Graphic Design from SUNY Purchase (state school represent).

Where you first worked and when (visual/graphic design job, etc):
My first long-term job out of school was on-air design/animation for Comedy Central about 5 years ago. They were in a confused place brand-wise, getting tired of the paint splats and not sure where to go, so I got to experiment a lot with the logo. It was an amazing experience.

Favorite book ever (design or non-design related):
Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Archive Series. Animation, Design, and Story editions. (I have the Layout & Background edition on my Amazon wish list.)

Recommended design / thinking / creativity / illustration book(s):
See above.

1. What made you decide to do what you do?
I was obsessed with cartoons as a kid and wanted to be a Disney animator. My uncle always tells this story of me screaming “NO MUPPETS!!!” when they would try to watch Sesame Street. I ended up going to college for percussion performance, so things shifted a little bit. After realizing how much I HATED practicing the marimba 10 hours a day, I saw a skate video called “One Step Beyond” made by the guys that later formed Shilo Studios. It had tons of cheesy, fake infographics and effects—I was hooked. I downloaded a pirated copy of After Effects the next day and started looking into changing majors.

I want to add that my opinion on Muppets has changed, especially after seeing the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of Moving Images!

2. What’s your process for conceiving new designs/projects?
If it is for a client, then I go about it traditionally: brainstorm, sketch, mood board, style frames, storyboards, animatic, test animation, and animation.

When I do my own projects, I like to “designimate”, meaning I start with an idea and let it evolve as I animate rather than having the design set in stone beforehand. The end result is usually something you didn’t expect… which is why it wouldn’t work with a client.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
When I transferred internally to the art program I was relieved of a few intro classes. I seriously kick myself EVERY day for not taking advantage of those. But I am currently enrolled in a figure drawing class at SVA; better late then never!

4. What’s your most valuable ability? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.
Design for large scale installations and understanding interactive technology. Not many people are doing this, and I was fortunate to learn all this while working with the LAB at Rockwellgroup.

Click here to watch: Cosmopolitan Hotel, West Lobby.
Client: Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas Agency: Rockwell Group

5. What, in your opinion, is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
iPads! There are so many possibilities to make cartoons interactive. I am in the process of conceptualizing my own.

6. If you could move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?
If I move anywhere, it would be to live for cheap so I could work on my own projects all day. PDX is always in the back of my mind, but the amount of opportunity in NYC is impossible to pass up.

7. What’s your daily routine?
Too inconsistent to list.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?
“Watch your step.” – My Grandpa

9. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as the inspiration in how you work / do things?
Bill Deere, the team I interned for at SpotCo, and Salih Abdul-Karim was a huge inspiration for how I animate.

Click here to watch Visuals for Kanye’s Glow in the Dark tour
Client: Kanye West / Absolut Vodka

10. If you had just one piece of advice for students / new grads, what would it be?
Don’t settle on your first job. If you can, freelance there for a few weeks to make sure it’s the right fit. I went to 3 different studios / networks before settling in at Comedy Central.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask for more money.

11. How do you avoid getting discouraged? How do you get out of a rut?
I bitch nonstop to friends on iChat. Not sure how I get out of it, but it always works out.

12. What is the most unexpected thing you’ve learned since graduating?
It’s just a job, and that “cool” studio is most likely a sweatshop.

13. What are the unspoken rules in design? Are there things you simply can or cannot do? Are there any true taboos?
Stay away from tutorial sites that just show you trendy tricks—all student reels are starting to look the same.

Click here to watch GIF SHOP – animated .gif maker for your iPhone.

Education Background (school / self taught, etc):
Syracuse University, BFA in Illustration with a minor in Business Management — I took a few design classes in school, design really came afterwards with on-the-job training and some very kind people along the way that took the time to mentor me.

Where you first worked and when (visual/graphic design job, etc):
My career started In New York City and my first job out of school was a Jr. Interactive Design… I lasted 3 months. I then moved to a small design firm working on movie posters and fashion.

Favorite book ever (design or non-design related):
Design Form & Chaos by Paul Rand

Recommended design / thinking / creativity / illustration book(s):
There’s a lot! A few of my favorites in the current rotation are:
Design Form & Chaos by Paul Rand
Creativity for Designers by Mark Oldach
Made You Look by Stefan Sagmeister
79 Short Essays on Design by Michael Beirut
Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist

1. What made you decide to do what you do?
I read Design Form & Chaos by Paul Rand at the MoMA in NYC one afternoon. I read that book from cover-to-cover and something about it just called to me and it felt like the right thing. Ironically enough, I didn’t really like my first design class in school.

2. What’s your process for conceiving new designs/projects?
My process is kinda odd… a lot of times I try not to think about the problem so you can find me trying to find some sort of distraction to keep my mind preoccupied, ie. staring at the wall (seriously). I’ve found that I first need to understand the story from a narrative point-of-view before thinking about the aesthetics. I’ve found that the key to my process is to not think about the design problem and to approach the problem as if I don’t know anything about it. It may mean that I look in the wrong places for the answers or asking the dumb questions but it allows me to keep an open mind and to uncover the truth in a way that is simple, thoughtful and hopefully, unexpected.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
Design. I sometimes wish that my design training was a little more formal and structured rather than figuring it out along the way.

4. What’s your most valuable ability? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.
I’d like to think my most valuable ability is in develop ideas but to be honest, I think those that have worked with me are better suited to answer this question.

5. What, in your opinion, is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
Wow, there’s really a lot to be excited. To me, the most exciting aspect of design these days is the realization that design has the ability to affect change.

6. If you could move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?
That’s kind of a tough question because I’m happy with where I am right now. There’s always a need and a want to do something more, and to do something else, but I think it’s more important to keep things simple, be mindful of the present and to appreciate what one has.

Other than design, I’d like to move to Zermatt, Switzerland so I can snowboard all day and eat my up and down the mountain all day long.

7. What’s your daily routine?
Wake up.
Kick myself for going to bed late.
Take a shower.
Get dressed.
Check Twitter, CNN.com, Facebook, superherohype.com and supermanhomepage.com
Make coffee.
Make the bed.
Realize I’m running late.
Walk to work.
Arrive about 10 – 15 minutes late (bad habit).
Check & respond to email.
Work.
Think about lunch.
Do more work.
Think more about lunch.
Do more work.
Eat lunch.
Do more work.
Eat a snack.
Check & respond to more email.
End the work day (whenever that is) and walk home.
Work on AIGA stuff.
Relax.
Sleep (whenever that is, I usually go to bed pretty late).
Repeat.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?
This is advice that I received when I graduated and started looking for a job:
“Don’t worry about the money. Or the fame. Find someone to nurture you and never loose that fire.” – John Waters

9. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as the inspiration in how you work / do things?
There’s been a lot over the years. I’ve picked up something from everyone along the way. The most obvious inspiration is Paul Rand. To name a few, my key mentors have been: Jon Wretlind, Bill Tomlinson, Bob Kellerman, Tom Laidlaw, Michael Weymouth and John Bielenberg.

10. If you had just one piece of advice for students / new grads, what would it be?
Find what you love about design (or whatever) and do it. Life is too short to wait for something to happen.

Info Set:

Name:
Dan Ibarra/Principal, Aesthetic Apparatus

Education Background (school / self taught, etc):
Design: Madison Area Technical College/Printmaking: Self-taught

Where you first worked and when (visual/graphic design job, etc):
In 1996 I was hired right out of school as a graphic designer for the software company Sonic Foundry. I think I was employee number 20. I was also 20 years old. I left a year and a half later.

Favorite book ever (design or non-design related):
Uncle Shelby’s ABZ book. Hands down best writing ever.

Recommended design / thinking / creativity / illustration book(s):
Every designer should read (that’s read, not just look at the pretty pictures) Tibor Kalman “Perverse Optimist” at least once but preferably twelve times.

The Introspective / Inspiration Set:

1. What made you decide to do what you do?
Initially I didn’t have any choice, I wanted to pursue art and the commercial art program at the technical school was the closest my GPA could get me. But within the first six months I realized that all the band logos that I had drawn on my assignment notebooks and the t-shirts that I had made in high-school were actually a creative category of their own.

2. What’s your process for conceiving new designs/projects?
Research as much as possible about the subject, attempt to know if front to back; sketch (by hand and digitally) horrible idea after horrible idea; see a glimmer of a good idea in one horrible idea; pursue that idea; over-think that initial good idea until it’s dead; repeat process until a good idea sticks.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
I received a really strong production-design education while in class. I spent all my free-time outside of class teaching myself everything else I wanted to know (type design, printmaking, design history, etc.) If you regret not learning something in school that you really wanted to know, it’s your fault for not pursuing it. Nobody is handcuffing your education. If you want to learn about it, then go learn about it.

4. What’s your most valuable ability? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.
I guess my most valuable ability is a lot of patience and resolve to solve whatever problem is in front of me. It’s an overwhelming desire to really understand something. I think it stems from my constant self-education while in school.

5. What, in your opinion, is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
The most exciting thing for me is the fact that graphic design doesn’t know WHAT the fuck it is right now. How does graphic design exist amongst revolutionary contemporary ideas like sustainability, intellectual ownership, biomimicry, etc; all these issues that are being tackled by other art and design disciplines. Graphic design is trying to figure it’s shit out. I like not knowing what the future holds.

6. If you could move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?
I would move the city of Minneapolis 500 miles south.

7. What’s your daily routine?
6:55 – wake up to my six-month-old daughter waking up next to me, inadvertently slapping me in the face.
9:00 – Arrive at studio (via bike)
9:00-10:00 – coffee/internet/email
10:00-1:00 design or prep films/screens for printing
1:00 – lunch (today, vietnamese bahn-mi sandwich from the Seward Co-op)
2:00-4:00 Continue designing or print poster
4:00 – Drink a beer, continue designing/printing. Or if it’s a slow day, check out gigposters.com
5:30ish – Bike home.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?
Our old boss at Planet Propaganda told us before we left; there are three criteria to assess a design job with: money, timeline and creativity. Make sure the job consists of at least two of these agreeable critieria. If only one of the criteria is agreeable, do not take the job. You will rarely, if ever, have the opportunity to work on a job that is agreeable on all three criteria

9. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as the inspiration in how you work / do things?
It’s our boilerplate reply, but it’s still the truth; our test prints are always the most inspiring thing in our design discipline. Here is a genuine piece of trash that, through a completely unconscious and organic process, becomes layered with some much imagery and color that it becomes it’s own beautiful work of art. What is the most humbling are our attempts to recreate test prints that look “okay” but seem to never successfully display the vibrance, inventiveness or surprise that comes with one of these prints. So, basically, our trash is the most beautiful thing we make.

10. If you had just one piece of advice for students / new grads, what would it be?
Don’t worry about getting a dream job right out of school. Get an easy job that you can learn from but isn’t too creatively taxing. Then take all your creative energy and newfound income and invest it all in whatever it is that really inspires you. Spend all your free-time doing that without any regard for profit or notoriety. Continue until you meet someone that shares your same vision. Partner with that person and work with them for as long as possible.

Check out more from Dan and Aesthetic Apparatus here.

General Intro/Info Set:

Name:
Will Bryant

Company Name:
Member of Public School

Education Background:
BFA (Graphic Design) from Mississippi State University (2008). I plan on getting my MFA in the next few years!

First Real Job Ever:
Define “real.” haha, I’ve never worked on salary. In high school I worked at this hip shoe store, the Gap one summer, and random jobs for family friends. I had a student design job for a semester and an internship for a year during college. Straight out of college I just kept freelancing.

First Real Job That Racks Up Social Security Miles:
uhhhhh, I’m an Eagle Scout.

First Design Job:
During college I was a student graphic designer for the Carl Small Town Center for a semester, and then a graphic design intern for the Public Design Center for a year. At the PDC I worked for Clifton Burt & Kate Bingaman-Burt. I learned a lot a lot and made loads of stuff. Definitely a defining moment in my career to be surrounded by learning opportunities, thinkers, and makers.

Favorite book ever:
I wish I knew how to read good. haha, but seriously. My attention span just kills my ability to enjoy a book. My brain and eyes jump between the lines and through the pages. However, my favorite book would have to be The Great Divorce. It sutras up a lot of bizarre imagery and textures for me.

Favorite book design/illustration related:
“This Is…” series by M. Sasek, Hand Job: A Catalogue of Type, Beautiful Losers

Recommended design / thinking / creativity / illustration book/mag/blog(s):
Frank Chimero’s blog, Grain Edit, Good Magazine

The Introspective / Inspiration Set:

1. What made you decide to do what you do?
I never really decided, I honestly feel like this is what I’m supposed to do and every life experience was designed to lead up to my current state. It’s a blessing to be called to make stuff that leads to engaging with people from around the world.

2. What’s your process for conceiving new designs/projects?
Unfortunately, a lot of times the idea just falls on my head or stirs me in my sleep. Too often I think of something in the shower and forget it before I can jot it down in my scout book. Once I recall an idea I pick up a drawing pen and paper. Most of the time new designs/projects are pieced together by stream of consciousness drawing sessions. After these are scanned in I make more critical thinking decisions and try to make sense of the nonsense.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
Learning & retaining web/code, american history, geography, among other general subjects.

4. What’s your most valuable ability?
Connecting with people.

5. What, in your opinion, is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
Collaborating!

6. If you could move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?
First off, I LOVE Austin. Especially where the art/design scene is. It’s at an exciting state. The obvious place I’d like to head to is Portland! I hope to spend some time there at some point. Either for school or work or both!

7. What’s your daily/weekly routine?
I like to start my day by going for a run or working out. I often do some chores around the house before heading to the studio around 8 or 9. Spend the day making stuff, blogging, and fighting the email dragon. I try to have lunch with my wife a couple times a week. The afternoon usually turns into a scramble and head home around 6. Sally and I play wii, cook dinner, watch a movie or just do something together. I often do some blogging or emailing in the evenings and sometimes some drawing before bed.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design? work? life?
Don’t wait for permission. Honor your mother and father. Do a good turn daily.

9. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as someone who’s inspired you most / influenced how you work / do things?
Kate Bingaman-Burt, Frank Chimero, and fellow members of Public School.

10. If you had just one piece of advice for students / new grads, what would it be?
Be honest; with yourself and with others.

The Will Bryant Set:

1. Most fun project you’ve gotten to do in the last year.
2010 has been incredibly good to me! Working at the SXSW Fader Fort for Converse was a lot of fun! Working with Mark Menjivar for TRLA has been really rad too.

2. Project you’ve learned the most from. What’d you learn?
Every project is a learning experience. Especially on the business side of things. Estimates, invoices, write offs, time management, and being organized are things I’m constantly trying to learn more about.

3. Public School: how long have you been involved w/ Public School, how’d you get into it, do you plan on building tenure?
I’ve been a member of Public School since June 2009. I got in by handing out free stuff and hanging around their old studio. We’re just enjoying the ride right now!

4. Projects for clients. Projects on the side for fun. What’s the ratio for you at any given time?
For me…i have my peanut butter and my jelly. I prefer to mix the two. Sometimes I add honey. I try to apply this to work and so far a lot of the client work as been fun.

5. Do you have a favorite Will Bryant activity?What are your top 3 favorite mediums in order.
#1.Stuff
#2.The internet
#3.1990s basketball players

6. If you had to pick any other job you’d do – that had nothing to do w/ illustration / design / art… what would it be?
I hope to someday get my MFA and become a professsssor, but aside from that I’d probably be a bicycle cop or a high school basketball coach.

You can see Will’s contribution to Winners Press’s Winners Winning amongst lots of other releases (subscribe to Good mag? If not, you should…). For even more Will Bryant, visit will-bryant.com which should lead you to even more Will Bryant (like twitter, etsy, etc).

Name(s) + Company:
Jeff Barfoot, BarfootWorldwide

Education Background (school / self taught, etc):
I have a degree in Marine Biology (that comes in way handy), and then degrees in illustration and graphic design from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Where you first worked (in design / illustration, etc):
When I first graduated, I sort of had two jobs. During college, I had a newspaper cartoon, and I was fortune enough to get it syndicated and into a few national newspapers. At the same time, I got my first design job in Dallas, at Eisenberg And Associates. That was a hard first year – I would work long days on mostly annual reports, then come home at night and try to be funny and get my strip done. I was working 80-90 hour weeks there for about the first 10 months, and I had just moved to Texas so I had no friends. I eventually had to decide between one of the other, and I chose to discontinue the strip, and I don’t regret it. I have had a very fortuitous design career.

Favorite book ever (design or non-design related):
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I love this book – Mr. Bryson takes big science (like evolution, the big bang, etc.) and boils it down into very graspable chunks. It’s like information design in words.

Recommended design / thinking / illustration book(s):
Oh, I have a bunch I love. Here’s a list of five:
1. Paul Rand by Stephen Heller
I love Paul Rand, and this is a very difinitive sampling of his work, and Heller, a great writer, really gives an insight into the man.

2. Marks of Excellence by Per Mollerup
Not just a logo book. This one really explains the history of what a logo is, gets into semiotics and symbology.

3. Otl Aicher by Markus Rathgeb
Aicher is one of my all-time favorite designers. And for my money, he did the greatest Olympics program of all time, the 1972 Munich Olympics.

4. Design and Science: The Life and Work of Will Burtin by R. Roger Remington and Robert Fripp
Another favorite designer, but Burtin appeals to my geeky science side. Burtin did a lot of exhibit and textbook design, and had a knack for taking a complex scientific subject and visually interpreting it in a simple way that anyone could understand.

5. The Pixar Touch by David A. Price
I love, love, love Pixar. Everything they touch turns to gold. This is a good book on their history and insight into their thinking.

1. What made you decide to become a designer?
Actually, it was a Fruitopia® bottlecap (and don’t go Googling “Fruitopia” and judge – the design is terrible now, but when I was in school it was well-designed). I was getting into more and more complicated ecology/biology classes, and I kept thinking that it just didn’t feel like the right thing. That semester I was taking this horribly complicated population statistics class at the same time as my very first into to design class. I was sitting in the middle of the statistics class, in the back row, and I was drinking the Fruitopia. I looked down at the cap, and I realized that someone, somewhere came up with that, drew the letters, drew the logo, designed the label, and it felt right. This is not a lie – I got up in and walked out of class, straight to the admin building and changed my major to design.

2. What’s your process for conceiving new designs?
I’ll answer this on with some advice: draw, draw, draw, draw, draw. I try to solve as much as possible on paper first. It might sound like an antiquated way of dong things to students sometimes, but solving on paper is the fastest way to work things out. I do very loose ideas and sketched on paper, and then do refined pencils before I decide what to work up on the computer. I can’t tell you how much time this saves. I’ve had a few times where I’ll have a loose idea in my head and sat down and pushed things around in the computer. I feel that the times I’ve done that, the work isn’t any worse, but it takes me twice as long to arrive at the solution I’m happy with.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
I loved to draw, and I wanted to become an illustrator very badly, so I took a lot of drawing and illustration classes. I wish that I had taken a few photography classes; I still know almost nothing about how to take real, professional photographs, although I’ve learned a lot about lighting and styling over the years.

4. What’s your most valuable ability? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.
Definitely my conceptual skills. I love to learn and read, and I love to solve problems in a clever way. I like taking a message and solving it visually or through marketing. I’ve grown a lot aesthetically, I think. I did a lot of annual reports and b2b work at my first job, and that’s a good way to hone your conceptual skills. Afterwards, I worked for a shop that did a lot of fashion and retail work. I hated it at first, felt a little out of my element, but I think that I really grew a lot during that time, and my visual abilities kind of caught up to my conceptual ones. Also, my wife is a fantastic art director and stylist, and I have learned a lot from being around her as well.

5. What is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
There is a huge illustration revival right now, which is a refreshing change from the ultra-slick photoshop phase we’re coming out of. I see more illustration everywhere, in ads and broadcast, movie posters, packaging. I love integrating illustration into my design, and I’m excited about this. Especially because of selling illustration to a client: most corporate clients are more comfortable with something if they see someone else doing something similar, even though they strive to be different from their competitors.

6. If you could move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?
I used to want to move to Portland or Seattle, I loved the music work being done up there. I know it will sound cliché, but this is a great time to be a designer or illustrator because you can run a studio literally anywhere, and have client exchanges over email and the phone no problem. My newest client is in New York, which I love, but I’ve never met him in person. I really like Dallas (I’m from Colorado originally). The design community is very strong here, and the cost of living is low.

7. What’s your daily routine?
I am most productive in the morning and late at night, at least, that’s when my mind is sharpest. The afternoon is my low time. So when I get up, I try to do any concepting and sketching then, and use the afternoon for doing computer work, layouts and rendering logos, that kind of thing. I try not to answer email in the morning, and keep that time free. The afternoon is when I talk to suppliers, clients, email, and take care of business things, billing etc. I get a second wind after dinner, and usually have another productive chunk of time from about 8 to midnight or 1. I’ve never needed a lot of sleep, so it’s a good thing for me.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?
This isn’t something that anyone told me, per se, but something I have noticed and tried to live. I think that in order to be a truly great designer, you need to stop thinking of design as a job, and think of it as a lifestyle. I really have embraced being creative, and let that into every part of my life. Our home is like a live-in studio in a lot of ways. My wife (my partner) and I use the dining room as a work area, and we really enjoy creating and bouncing ideas back and fourth all of the time. I really try to always be “on”, receptive to ideas that can come at any time, can spark while Im cooking dinner or in the shower or reading my kids a bedtime story.

9. In illustration/design, do you think is it more important to have a very distinct and solid style or have more of a range of styles?
I think that as a designer, striving to maintain a style is a horrible thing. This is a huge disservice to your clients. Clients come to a designer to help them find a unique voice and identity against their competitors and the visual landscape in general. A style makes everything look similar, so this is at odds with what you should be doing for your clients. Now that’s not to say that can’t have a philosophy that ties all of your work together – which is something a studio should have. We strive to do smart, bright work that’s clever, colorful, positive, and a little funny when possible.

10. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as the inspiration in how you work / do things?
I have learned the most from two people, and they have influenced me in opposite ways. Jack Summerford is a designer here in Dallas, and has a philosophy of simplify, simplify, simplify. He can strip a complex idea down to it’s smallest derivative, the simplest solution. My wife is a very gifted art director and stylist, and is very good with patterns, trends, and adding richness to projects. I’ve learned to really find a balance between the two – to communicate a concept in the clearest way possible, but make it visually rewarding to the viewer/user.

See more of Jeff’s work at barfootworldwide.com

Where you first worked (in design / illustration, etc):
My first real design job was at Planet Propaganda after I finished school; Melissa was the designer for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Department of Surgery (a job I was always jealous of). Both of these answers are really cheating, though, because we’d already been doing Little Friends for a few years at that point and were somewhat known already. So I guess Little Friends was really our first design job.

Favorite book ever (design or non-design related):
I like One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez, Melissa prefers Wonderland by Oates.

Recommended design / thinking / illustration book(s):
The Archigram monograph, or 100 B&W Illustrations by Raymond Biesinger

1. What made you decide to become designers/illustrators/printmakers?
It’s easy to see the benefit of printmaking– Just the idea of making multiples has so much practical and conceptual appeal; plus there are all sorts of process-oriented rabbit holes to explore. You could spend your whole life making prints without having to repeat yourself. Moving into design & illustration was a natural outcropping of what we were doing with our prints. We were already trying to do something with a conceptual underpinning, something that went beyond being decorative or formalistic, and at that point you’re already halfway towards illustration anyway. Illustration & design just became another venue for our “unique” set of problem-solving skills.

2. What’s your process for conceiving new designs/illustrations?
We let the subject matter guide us to a large degree. We research. There’s a lot of staring into space involved. We’ll spend a good three hours hashing out the particulars of the design problem between the two of us, usually in the form of very petulant complaining. It’s a good thing no one else is around to hear it.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
Maybe some CompSci stuff. If we had some leet developer skillz, our game would be so much tighter.

4. What’s your most valuable ability? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.
It’s conceptualization. The quality of your ideas is the one thing that defines you as an artist or a designer– because after a certain point, we’re all talented, and you can’t count on luck. So you have to develop a process of conceptualization that works. Whether it’s design literacy & connoisseurship, or finding a partner that challenges you, or looking at what everybody else is doing and just running the other way– whatever, just do it.

5. What is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
The internet, because you can try anything.

6. If you could move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?
We were looking at Portland, Oregon recently, thinking about a moving there within the next few years. A lot of artists and designers we know live there, and it would be fun to be a part of a community of our peers instead of a couple of hermits. That’s the boring, realistic answer. The fun answer would be Mexico City or Berlin, or both, using some kind of not-yet-invented spatial displacement technology that would allow us to have a chicharron in one hand and a pretzel in the other, looking at two art openings, one with each eye.

7. What’s your daily routine?
We get up at 10am, take calls and check e-mails, eat breakfast, play with the cats, and then start working, with intermittent food and internet breaks… Then ten or eleven hours later we watch TV and go to bed. You may have noticed that none of the stuff on that list took place outside the confines of our house. So, yeah. Non-stop excitement.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?
Take lots of breaks.

9. In illustration/design, do you think is it more important to have a very distinct and solid style or have more of a range of styles?
Having a distinct style and honing it and developing it has been our approach. It’s important to us. Of course, we come from a fine art background, where the notion of authorship carries more weight; In graphic design, there’s a prevailing notion of “whatever works best, works best.” It’s hard to argue with that, so there is a certain validity to being able to fake a bunch of different people’s styles, although if you ever meet those people in person they might give you the stink-eye (or worse).

10. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as the inspiration in how you work / do things?
We don’t have a mentor, but we would like one. We’re currently mentor-deficient. If there’s an older, famous designer out there that wants to be best buds with us and provide us with sage advice, we are currently accepting applications. Visually, we’re inspired by little details and arcana. I could spend an hour looking at the stitching on a hockey sweater or a web page that just shows bus stop signs from different cities; Just give me something to look at. And the person who most inspired us when we were first figuring things out was Geoff Mcfetridge. The thing that really impressed us was the wide variety of kinds of work he did. He’s sort of a design omnivore, and that’s been a model for our approach to design.

Visit the Little Friends of Printmaking website here.

Name + Company:
Ben Barry / Facebook

Education Background (school / self taught, etc):
University of North Texas (BFA in Communication Design). Internships with Voelter Architecture, The Decoder Ring, & Newhouse Design. I also participated in Project M 2007.

Where you first worked (visual/commdes job, etc):
My first graphic design job was a part time student job at the University of North Texas Center for Distributed Learning. My first graphic design job after graduating was at The Decoder Ring.

Favorite book ever (design or non-design related):
This is an impossibly hard question to answer. I think it’s probably one I haven’t read yet.

Recommended design / thinking / creativity / illustration book(s):
Mainly I prefer monographs. I find it more interesting to read stories about individual designers or companies because it gives me an insight into how people whom I admire have achieved the level of success that they have.

I have an enormous library, it’s really quite a hassle to move. I do read a lot, but most of the books I have are things that I consider resources. Non design books that interest me for one reason or another.

I also have lots of other books of rules or ways to approach design, I think they’re boring, and I rarely look at them.

1. What got you into what you do?
I got into graphic design in general by a bit of luck. I’d always enjoyed drawing as a kid, and I can look back now and see other signs of a young designer at work. In Jr. High School I became interested in wanting to become an architect, and in High School I took CAD classes and ended up doing an internship as a draftsman my senior year. At the same time I was starting to goof around with Photoshop and building my first websites. I ultimately decided I wanted to be a web designer when I went to college. The closest thing they had was called “Communication Design”. I was hooked from day one. I still sometimes design for the web, but have found a true passion for designing identity systems, posters, icons, and illustrations.

2. What’s your process for coming up with new designs/illustrations?
It varies a lot from project to project. I start with researching the project and defining the problem. I draw anything that comes to mind, make lots of word lists, and look for interesting connections. Once I have an idea or direction I just make it. Sometimes I do lots of explorations, sometimes I just do one.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?
How to draw. It is something that at the time I did not value or focus my energies on. Now as I increasingly get into doing more and more illustration work I feel I’m racing to catch up with some of my peers.

4. What’s your most valuable ability? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.
Communicating complex ideas. Simply.

5. What do you think is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?
Building systems to better organize the worlds information and the way we communicate as a civilization. It’s not what I do personally, because it’s not the type of design work that interests me or that I feel good at. However, I use my skills to help promote and communicate the ideas and messages of those doing this kind of work.

6. If you could move anywhere right now/stay anywhere, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go & why?
Right now I’m pretty happy right where I am. I feel like I’m at one of the most exciting companies of this decade in a position to help shape the future of their design and communications. It is a huge challenge, and I’m not going to pretend there aren’t days that I’m not frustrated, but at the end of the day I can’t imagine a place for greater potential impact.

7. What’s your daily routine?
It depends a lot on the day. Usually though I wake up, get dressed, hop on my bicycle, ride to the train station, get on the train, check and respond to email, organize my daily tasks, get off the train, ride to the office, eat breakfast, do shit, listen to this american life, eat lunch, do more shit, eat dinner, ride to the train, work on personal projects on the train ride home, ride home, sleep, repeat.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?
The foolish wait.

9. In illustration/design, do you think is it more important to have a very distinct and solid style or have more of a range of styles?
That depends a lot on your own personal aspirations. I used to be very much against having a distinctive style. Even so my work has developed a certain continuity that I think is beneficial.

10. Who would you call a mentor / attribute as the inspiration in how you work / do things?
Christian Helms, Michael Newhouse, & John Bielenberg.

1. What made you decide to become an designer/illustrator?

Always drew growing up and was one of the only things that I enjoyed doing that I felt I was any better than (most) at. I was a good student and had high GPA, but nothing was really a passion. Spoke with a counselor in High School about it and was pointed towards a degree in art.

2. What’s your process for conceiving a new design?

Actually, pretty linear. Usually gather as much info as possible. Research what others (in similar industry or subject) have done — and cross-reference that with what make my client (or subject) better or different than those. Try to use what others do as a guide of how to be different — to know if they “zigged” — then I’ve got to “zag”.

3. What do you regret not learning while you were in school?

I was paying my own way through school and graduated with the exact number of hours required by my degree. Exact on the number. I went into college with a lot of AP test credits that later were turned into elective credits. So I feel like I missed out on the ability to “play a little” with other classes. Would like have taken some more painting courses and some 3-D art (as in sculpture, metal or wood working).

4. What’s the most valuable ability in a designer? i.e. conceptualization, hand/computer skills, etc.

Tough. Easy answer is to have both of course.

Many believe that the concept is the only driver of what is important. That without concept — you have fluffy, meaningless design. But, I’ve seen many “good concepts” — fall right on their ass because the designer was not astute enough (or technically savvy enough) to pull it off well.

Example — Sci-Fi movies —— a great story (without good special effects) — well, just another crappy Sci-Fi Channel movie. But, have a great story with enough talent for the graphics — and you get Star Wars or the recent Star Trek reboot.

I’m of the opinion that great design (style) can often be “good enough, great enough, different enough” —- to carry even poor concept.

But again — depends upon who’s at the wheel and what the venue is. Ads and quick messaging need quick wit and great concept. Longer mediums (brochures or motion graphics) rely and need heavier style and better design flow.

5. What is the most exciting aspect of the art/design world right now?

Man — it’s Wild West out there right now. What I’m seeing is that Designers are learning photography and motion graphics ——– web guys are learning video —- and photographers are shooting movies. Everyone is trying to add a new skill set to their resume. Just smart.

6. If you move anywhere right now, in consideration of the art/design scene, where would you go?

Like new city or here in town (to new job)? If city — actually — Dallas is sitting better than most (no income tax, least hit by housing crunch, more Fortune 500 companies) — where the money is (or at least some money is).

7. If you were a freelance designer/illustrator what would be your daily routine?

Would survey magazines (print and online) for any trends or hints at changes (agency gets big job or something). Would send out promos (not dailey) but would try to have something in the mail (printed) and in the email — about every two months.

8. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you, regarding design or otherwise?

Know your limitations and ask for help (or hire it) when you need it.

9. If you were to start your very own design company from the ground up, what would be your first few steps?

Better stay away from that one.

10. In illustration/design is it more important to have a very distinct and solid style or have more of a range of styles?

Tough again.

Their are innovative (design – illustrators) — or hybrids throughout history and working today. Saul Bass and Paul Rand had distinctive approaches and styles that relied heavily on their own illustration styles. As being an illustrator was part of being a designer back then. Currently, you have Charles Anderson, Vanderbyle, Duffy, Kit Hindrichs (I’m killing the spelling here) —- but all these guys have a look. Go to layouts, colors, fonts or illustration styles they are known for. Even locally, Sibley Peteet was known for years by a signature use of PMS 123 —- to where I can’t use that color now without thinking of them for their use of it. Barfoot falls into this camp of a recognizable style and approach.

I’ve personally tried to use a lot of styles and approaches to design, but I fall prey to “safe harbors” of layout and design too. I don’t think I have a style —- but others say I do.