specific interests: from film and icons to objects and colour. From this, a number of connections can be seen and made in terms of my working practice as a
Graphic Designer.
Print and Pattern
Ashley Goldberg Interview
Ashley Goldberg for Urban Outfitters
Photo and interview by Angelo Spagnolo
Typically it’s either just drawing and scanning or using the Wacom [tablet] in Photoshop. I like to check my emails during bad TV. That’s my one reward for myself. Painting, drawing, shipping, deadlines.
I have but not as much. Right now the biggest thing is selling to galleries and shops. Really trying to do more pattern design, with stores, with textiles. The process is really different depending on the project. I know there’s always going to be two printing and shipping days. That’s a constant. Every day a few hours of email, but I try to have days of just creative stuff, where I don’t have to worry and can just pattern for no reason. I make trips to the thrift store because I need to be visually overwhelmed with stuff, without having to actually having to own the stuff. Look through things, take pictures of vintage clothes and scarves for pattern inspiration. Then there’s the boring part. Tax stuff, and budgeting, just the normal, what every business owner has to do.
Yeah, my accountant is in New York and he’s like “Call me at 9.” Nine o’clock your time? But I keep the craziest hours, so sometimes it’s convenient because I can talk to someone in Australia and it will seem totally normal.
Are there similarities in the way you design a piece of art to the way you design your home?
I differentiate between patterns and even illustration or painting, because it’s so much freer for me. Making patterns is the one thing I do that I can lose hours and hours to and there’s no part that I don’t like. Even if it’s a disaster, the experience was fun. How it overlaps in decor is that in both I let things develop organically. I let both happen and they’re both two of the most fun things I do. They both count as hobbies. When I’m going to thrift stores, which is so much of my process and inspiration, it’s that searching for something you didn’t know you were missing in your life.
I started just with illustrations and prints of my work. Etsy also forced me to evolve and stay relevant. Like a musician’s
sophomore slump, I had to say “What’s next?” And that led to the patterns and design.
It definitely made it possible. It’s hard
because, nobody knew at the time, but you can get pigeonholed as an “Etsy artist,” which is kind of like “Nuh-uh.” But at the same time it’s this platform that helps so many people who wouldn’t be discovered otherwise. It was a really important medium, and continues to be.
Outfitters come along?
I worked with them in 2008. So
periodically I’d shoot some emails like “Hey, here’s some new work.” And this new stuff resonated with the team, so I was really excited. I love to see my stuff out of my hands, brought to life. I can look at it more objectively. I can see their spin on it.
Nina Cosford Interview
Drawings and inks of Kingston graduate Nina Cosford, by Philip Dennis
nowhere without it) which I use to
scribble with, often over bright blobs of colour (applied with watercolours, promarkers and oil or wax pastels). I use Photoshop mainly to compose, construct, experiment and overlay elements to make many of my finished pieces. I love my Wacom graphics tablet and use it to add loose handwritten type. I enjoy screen printing too when I have the chance to work with it.
experience in museums. This is an area of great interest to me, as history — and indeed education — are vital ways for children and adults alike to relate to the world. A recent self-initiated project of mine was titled ‘Museums For Kids’.
characters in my work to communicate more complex things in a light, fun way.
It’s a challenging yet illuminating.
Packaging
creating physical objects to go alongside digital work. Such products add to the quality and professionalism of a brief, showing the ability to apply and create.
usually achieved through the use of print and pattern design, which I am extremely passionate about. It gives me the
opportunity to work with illustration in the form of drawing, paint and digital image.
visual and personal basis, health and beauty packaging is something that really stands out to me, Anthropologie and
Library of Flowers, for example, are brands that appeal to me because of their use of colour, pattern and format.
Margot Elena Interview
Interview by ‘From Your Desks’
“Fight for good design.” Good design is often a struggle of pushing and pulling the tiniest of details; have patience, keep at it. The right design will emerge and tell you it’s there…when it feels harmonious. It will “feel right.” There’s always a tension that is unresolved you have to be sensitive and have discipline to see design all the way through.
I have a serious addiction to books and typography. I start a project by looking at stacks of my favorite books–interior design, fashion, textile, graphic, poetry, philosophy. I also listen to music. Each new brand I create stems from a genre or artist that flavors the character of each brand. For instance, I was tapping into my youth with TokyoMilk Dark and channeling how I felt when I listened to Joan Jett and The Runaways in my pre teens rebellious, a little rock’n’roll. I work into the very wee hours of the morning. It’s not unusual to get a 3 am email from me. I do operations of my company by day and design by night!
As a designer, I’m thrilled to see how far inks, renewable materials and sustainable packaging have come in the past decade. Love & Toast was very much a celebration of this. We’re no longer restricted to kraft paper and monotone soy inks! This lends an interesting spin on the concept of eco conscious design; embracing these possibilities breathes new life into the world of “natural beauty.” You must believe that all things are possible to effect change.
products to the forefront. Do you see packaging trends by other brands you helped create?
We notice when we’re influencing trends in packaging and concept development in the bath and beauty world. I love this question, and yet it’s a hard one to answer. We love these brands like kids. One of the things I love most about developing beautiful
products, is the evolution of design, developing new brands and observing competition. Competition challenges us to stay ahead. We do everything we can to stay ahead of the wave.
incredibly high level of quality ingredients and performance that sets the bar very high in our industry. We never compromise quality because of cost. Our perfumes really should be priced in the $90-$120 range, but we stay true to our boutique businesses and believed the price points should be more accessible. 2: My busy brain is always thinking of the next thing; so we seem to stay ahead of that wave. 3: Brands become like family to us. We don’t play favorites. 4: I’m always designing with our audience in mind. Audiences are
savvy about thinning out overcrowded
markets–I just hope to always be inspiring our audience with items that they love!
When I’m imploring my dogs to not bark during business conversations, I am lovin’ on my husband, Travis. Books, books and books. I eat, drink and sleep design, so it’s pretty hard to catch me not doing that in some way.
Gifts and Greetings
personalised stationery and invitations. Sites such as Oh So Beautiful Paper and Pinterest opened my eyes to wonderful hand crafted products that incorporated calligraphy, illustration and art direction. Everything that I love and enjoy doing can be seen within this area of design, therefore the plan is to develop my skill set so that it can be applied to my design practice.
therefore explores and documents my sources of inspiration in terms of looking at the type of work that I hope to be producing in the future. This includes an in-depth look at a range of different studios and creative individuals that have inspired me throughout my time on the course.
Graphic and Glitz Stationery
Concept and Styling: Maddy Hague
Dessert Table Design: Shauna Younge
Photography: Paper Antler
Calligraphy: Crystal Kluge
Twine: The Twinery
Vintage Stamps: Verde Studio
investment.”
- Paper Antler
Rifle Paper Co Interview
Anna Bond for The Everygirl blog
Interview by Mary Mullen, images Curio Road
I grew up loving painting and art and then I studied graphic design in school. I immediately began experimenting how to combine my hand-painted illustrations with traditional design. Stationery and paper goods were also something I loved when I was little. I always used to make my own cards and collected stamps. Eventually, I realised stationery design was the perfect mix of graphic design and illustration that I was looking for and I fell in love.
I did go to school for design but I think that most of my knowledge came from experience and fellow designers. I was hired as an art director at a magazine right out of school and I had no idea what I was doing. I probably learned more during my first 2 months on the job than in all of my schooling. That, to me, was the best learning experience and prepared me for eventually going out on my own and starting a company.
I was working as a freelance illustrator for a couple years before realising that I wanted to focus on stationery design. I was having fun and developing my personal style but also knew that I wasn’t focused on something I truly
loved. A close friend asked me to design her wedding invitations, and everything just clicked. I’d loved graphic design and illustration on their own, but I soon saw that stationery was the best mix of the two. I was already working on my own, it just made sense to try to develop a line and start a company. I posted a few wedding sets online, and blogs suddenly began featuring them.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that I love what I do and have to continue to love it. Unless that’s what I truly believe, all of the hard work, long nights, and stressful days wouldn’t be worth it. At the end of the day, I’m proud of the products we’re producing and the way we run our business.
It’s not one moment, but what means the most to me is when customers get so excited about our products. I’m trying to create things that I love and always hope that other people will feel the same way. With a consumer product business, it means the world to see loyal customers respond positively to the line and really get behind what we’re doing. We have lots of plans to grow and evolve over the next couple of years, hopefully developing new lines.
I would tell myself that I’m capable of doing something great. At 23, I was still pretty timid about what I could do and how far I could push myself. I don’t think many people who knew me would have thought I’d run a successful business. I knew deep down how determined I was and should have felt more confident to tap into that sooner.
Design Context
Due to current methods of production,
distribution and social practices, do fanzines have a place in today’s society?
politics, zines cover just about everything, whilst offering an experience different to any other.
reinforce the research.
focused on the interests of a number of different individuals. These interests would have to be unknown to others around them in order to create interaction with the content.
Salford Zine Library primary Interview
It’s a bit of both, I think, but mainly a positive. People might say “isn’t a zine just a paper version of a blog?” and not see the real point of zines. The common belief outside of the zine community is that zines will die because it’s much easier to write a blog post and distribute it online.
given zinesters a new way to promote themselves to wider audiences. From our blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts we’ve been able to attract donations from all around the world. That would have been much harder in the “old days”, as it were. Similarly, zinesters are able to collaborate with people from around the world and have their zines stocked by distros that they might never have been aware of, were it not for the Internet.
What can printed zines offer an individual that a blog/website does not?
That’s a tricky one - I suppose it depends on the individual reading the zine or the blog. I think zines tend to be more personal. I like that someone has spent time and energy putting something physical together.
I think it can only be a good thing. I mean, there are some things, like Topshop trying to claim that their catalogue is a zine (When it is in no way anything like what most people consider to be a zine!) in order to look slightly more edgy or cool or what have you- that’s pretty rubbish. But I don’t think there’s any problem with zines becoming more popular in general.
The zine library accepts all zines, in whatever format, whatever the content, so if the maker identifies what they’ve created as a zine then we’ll accept it! I think as long as it is self published, a zine can be anything. There is no general “zine message” as far as I’m concerned, aside from a vague promotion of DIY culture, so whatever people want to do with zines is up to them. It’s a really cool way of expressing yourself, in whatever way you want to, and I think that opportunity should be open to everyone.
Footprint Printers Interview
A lot of it is music based, especially punk and some indie too. A lot of it is political, especially environmental, anarchist, social justice and animal liberation stuff (we won’t print for any political parties though). And a lot is people’s personal arty projects. There is a lot more beyond that too, zines about footballers moustaches or cartoons about dogs.
I’m struggling to think of negatives. The falling price of copying is obviously a boon. The rise of computers makes it ever easier for people to organise and design their layout,but they can still be as rough and shoddy as they want. The barriers of money, skills and access to technology have diminished hugely, which means the only real barrier left is ‘do you have something to say?’. Likewise,the internet makes it easy for people of niche tastes to find each other, and zinesters are just one group who’ve benefited.
individual that a blog/website does not?
Tangibility and posterity. The internet has everything ever,so it’s always beckoning you to scroll and click on to the next thing. With a paper zine you linger a lot more over the aesthetic. You go back and read the same one repeatedly - when did you ever do that with a blog post? From
the maker’s perspective, the greater time and effort it takes to make a zine means they have given it that bit more thought,that refining of the ideas that makes it into something that gabs you more. Also, a blog goes on and on, with a zine you’re usually done in 15 minutes; that sense of interlude,of a brief wander in someone else’s head yet getting the whole story they want to tell, has no online equivalent really. The fact that zine fairs have burgeoning in the online age proves that they’re different media. Rock music didn’t kill off orchestras. It’s the same thing.
I don’t really know. We’ve started doing a distro which we’ve not really got the website going but we do stalls at zine fairs,roller derby bouts and political events.
I don’t really see personal gain. Factor in the time spent compiling and editing, folding and stapling, posting, sitting behind a stall, really, who actually makes a living? Who even gets £1 an hour? It’s the fact that the medium itself is essentailly uncommercial that makes it so good. Yes, the fucking Daily Mail sells well over a million a day,but how many trust it? The thing with a zine is that it only exists because someone thought it should. There’s no fortune, no fame, no advertisers or editors to temper the content, it’s an open, honest expression. In an age of increasingly polished corporate media saturation they are ever more refreshing as a real human voice, produced on a human scale. The fact of their existence says we needn’t be consumers, we can create, and if you’re not seeing anything saying the stuff that’s in your head, get it said yourself. That’s empowering and there’s room for everyone to do it. Even the daftest most puerile zine is, in that sense, profoundly political and a big fuck you to advertisers and Daily Mail World.
Probably 200, but it varies from 30 to 2000. Most would be 100-500.
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