We sat down with Jerome and got his feedback about how he handles inspiration, rejuvenates creativity, and got started with design in the first place.

First question, so let’s start with the basics. What prompted you to enter the design business in the first place?
As a young boy I was always very interested in Art & Design; painting, illustrating and drawing. I’ve also always loved puzzles and problem solving, so I was naturally drawn to Graphic Design as a synthesis of the two. Computers and technology are another passion. I was quite fascinated by merging the two; creating computer art, which on a ZX Spectrum was quite a difficult task!

I attended art college then studied for a degree in Graphic Communication. I did pretty well managing to get a first class degree alongside a mildly damaged Liver. The course finished in 1997 and I decided I didn’t really want to go and work for anyone, so I decided to work for myself.

Freelancing for a few local design firms was an easy way to start, it allowed me an element of freedom but still gave me the chance to work with more experienced designers and learn new skills. While I was doing this and my confidence grew I started to attract my own clients. At this point I was still a traditional print designer. As the internet and web design as we know it started taking off I saw an opportunity to expand my skill-set.

There’s sometimes the perception that graphic designers don’t make good web designers… [but] the key is learning and understanding the constraints.

Over a period of a few years I made the transition from print designer to web designer. There’s sometimes the perception that graphic designers don’t make good web designers. Personally I think that’s bollocks. From a purely design point of view you work with the same core skills but within the constraints of a new medium. The key is learning and understanding the constraints. This is what excited me, I’ve always loved learning so I saw the web as a new challenge. As a discipline it’s very new and ever evolving, so theres always something new and interesting around the corner. As the realms of what was possible to build on the web expanded I decided my next step would be to build my own web app.

You are the front-end designer for the Solo App website (editor: insert link) for ThriveApps.com, but what separates you from many web designers is you area also the designer for the app itself. Which came first: Web design or app design, and how did you transition from one to the other?
In a basic sense web design came first. Although ever since I started using the web I had a lot of ideas for web apps floating around in my head. I eventually chose Solo as a project because it was a market that I could understand and I knew there was a need for beautifully designed apps that would appeal to creatives.

For me it was a natural progression, I’d been designing websites with pretty big CMS systems anyway. So the transition from a design and architecture stand-point wasn’t too hard.

In each of our interviews, we focus on The Muse aspect of design – what is inspiring to you as a designer – because everyone has a different starting point for creating. When you feel creatively drained, What do you do to rejuvenate your creativity?
I find starting a project really difficult and often very time consuming. During the process there’s sometimes a point where I seem to consciously avoid sitting down and working at it. Getting easily distracted. This used to really worry me, but now I know it’s just the way my brain works. I like to work on one project at a time so in the background I’m always processing this one problem. There tends to be a point where everything starts to click and fall into place.

I’m alway surfing the net looking at new things absorbing information, this tends to inspire me. Sometimes I go off and do something else to clear my head. I’m always confident that the solution will eventually reveal itself.

Is there any special place(s) you visit to ‘reconvene’ with your muse? (either physically, like a vacation spot, or emotionally, like a certain type of music)
Not really but sometimes I find Reggae helps. Other than that relaxing with friends, having a few beers and spending time with my family.

As designers, we can’t ‘put a lid’ on creativity, but we each handle it differently when it comes to how it arises in every day life. Do you notice creativity springing up in non-work areas of your life? How do you keep it from going overboard? (if it happens to be a problem; for many designers it’s not)
At the moment I’m pretty much focussed and overboard on Solo and our next product Studio. It takes up quite a lot of my thinking time and to be honest cuts quite a lot into my non-work time. When I was designing regularly naming typefaces in posters and magazines was always a quirk, as was trying to guess the Pantone colour of things. Yes, that’s Reflex Blue! Now I do find that I’m a little too neat when I colour in with my kids and I still smell printed things.

Design is a very human, very basic form of communication: Brand designers work out emotional responses to a logo and cultivate the image around a feeling they want to evoke. Interface designers (for either web or app development) find the most intuitive way for the user – the human – to interact with the product. What helps you get in touch with your current future users and provide the best design and interaction you can?
I tend to try and start one on one conversations with our users. We also send out surveys to see what people like and don’t like.

When we first launched Solo I used my gut instinct for quite a few things as I’m pretty typical of our target audience. I got some things right and some wrong but learnt a lot in the process. For Studio and the next version of Solo the process is more structured giving a more refined user experience.

Imagine you have a day to yourself. You have no pressing work commitments, no urgent emails, no deadlines on the horizon (hard as it is to imagine!). The day is your own. How do start the day? What would you spend the day doing to sort of get out of Design Mode for a bit and into Living Mode?
Yes that is quite hard to imagine! If I was completely on my own without the family I’d probably like an easy day reading the paper, going for a beer at lunchtime, playing video games during the day; that sort of thing. If I could wake up somewhere else I’d do the same thing but in a Taverna in Greece or Tapas bar in Barcelona.

I come from a print and web design background – where once I create the design, or at least make it final, it stays pretty much intact through hand off, when the client takes over and project is finished. As an app designer, you are always tweaking the product to make a smoother user path. Do you feel saddened or excited as you watch an initial design – so perfect and seamless – morph over time to match user feedback or scalability?
I feel excited as the app grows and improves. Over the course of our first year we have seen how small changes can enthuse users who will then evangelise about our product. Feedback and iteration are at the core, we can’t be continually developed in a bubble.
I find the feedback process enlightening. It’s great to speak with Solo’s users and find out that they are using the app differently to the way that was intended. Throughout the process I always stick to our design ethos.

Usability doesn’t change; How people use a website or a mobile app today is basically the same way they’ll be using it tomorrow. When things are as nailed down as that, how do you stay on top of originality in your design work?
With Solo I set out to have a unique aesthetic to try and distance us from other apps. The aesthetic came from my print design background and it resonates with our target market. Strong typography, intelligent use of space, visual hierarchy with subtle use of colour all play their part. This is a strong foundation, the originality will now be shown in extending our features and how we include new experiences and technologies.

Last question, three parts, and specifically on app development. Be honest! There are myriad apps for one task, both browser and mobile based – as consumers we have a choice. As an app designer, you notice details, functionality, and user paths – but at the same time you use apps for everyday tasks in your own personal life.

Do you ever find yourself (1) Just using an app as a consumer, not a designer; (2) Using an app as a designer, noticing what you can be inspired by in a future design of your own; (3) Getting sidetracked by others’ interfaces, sort of forgetting what makes your product unique?
I don’t use many web apps as a consumer, the apps I use tend to use in my spare time are iOS apps on iPhone or iPad. At work I tend to try a hell of a lot of different apps to see what people are doing with newer technologies, UI and UX. The influences tend not to have a dramatic effect on what I’d doing. Its more subtle; a transition here, a jQuery plugin there.

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

Related posts:

1. An Interview with Brand Strategist Devin Liddell
2. Steve Jobs as a Designer
3. ThisIsInspired Talks Shop with Terri Nakamura

Who Is Nikki Jeske?

Nikki Jeske, AKA Design Coyote, is an illustrator and designer/developer living in “the great hill country” of Austin, Texas. Nikki has had a hand in building websites for all manner of animal rescue and adoption shelters, and regularly contributes to the coding community – either through her writing or through her twitterstream where she shares design and development insights. Her work is greatly appreciated not only within the design industry but by many, many animals lovers (and animals!) she helps.

The Interview

ThisIsInspired
You’re a web designer, obviously. How did you settle on design for the web in place of design for collateral or for advertising?

Nikki Jeske
I’ve been creating my own websites since 1999, but it was never something I saw myself doing as a “grown-up.” I went to college to be a naturalist and a writer, but ended up paying my way through by getting jobs as a web assistant and graphic designer and doing my own freelancing gigs on the side. I’ve done print work for t-shirts and postcards and brochures, and I’ve even taken classes for fun on advertising, but there’s something about the web that never gets old. Code is constantly changing, standards are consistently moving forward, and there’s always something new to learn. When I graduated I discovered that there was a lot more work for someone with web skills than for a creative writing naturalist, and because I loved how accessible and functional the web had become, I ended up going that route instead. I sometimes think people don’t understand how important good design is – it makes a difference for even the smallest of sites. I feel that my skills as a web designer has already helped make the web a prettier place to be. :)

ThisIsInspired
Anyone who follows you on Twitter knows you’re very (very!) supportive of pet adoption, animal rights and related issues. How does this influence you socially and/or creatively?

Nikki Jeske
It’s good to hear that my followers take notice of this as it’s a very very important part of my life.  There are so many animals in need, so many cats and dogs and rats and other critters that need help finding their forever homes and getting off the streets, and twitter has become a fantastic way to bring awareness to their needs. In the rescue network and shelter communities, social media has become key to sharing information about individual pets that need to find families. While I do as much as I can on my own twitter account designcoyote, the majority of animal tweets that I do are in line with the website I co-founded I Love Rescue Animals and its twitter account rescueanimals.

ThisIsInspired
To you, what is the most important thing involved in a project when you’re doing it at low- or no-cost for an animal shelter or for a similar project?

Nikki Jeske
Making sure that it’s not only a good design, but that it is functional, easy to navigation, and easy to read. Most blog projects I do I focus more on the design, but with animal-shelter or rescue projects that I do, I focus more on how the content will be and the navigation. To be honest, the majority of people working with shelters or animal rescues (at least the ones I have worked with) don’t have a lot of web knowledge, so not only does the design have to be simple and put all its focus on the animals, but the website itself has to be simple and easy to use. The designs should not distract from the importance of the content, and while this is usually a good thing to have in the back of your head for all sites, for animal shelters, it’s even more key.

ThisIsInspired
To you, is there a separation between inspiration for such a project as opposed to a regular design project?

Nikki Jeske
Yes. While I’m passionate about design as a whole, bringing in a project that has to do with saving the lives of animals is something that I can’t help but bring ahead of the rest. Most of the projects (so far all) have been done pro-bono, but despite that, they are some of my biggest projects because I know how very important it is for a shelter or organization to have a good website. It’s true that despite the saying, people do judge books by their covers, and the same goes for websites. If a shelter’s site is hard to navigate, built on geocities with little to know fluid content, even if they have a real need for donations and adopters, they aren’t going to get a lot because of their bad site. Sad, but true. My inspiration for an animal site is the mission behind it – the faces of all the animals that could be saved with my help. I can’t say I get that inspiration from other design projects.

ThisIsInspired
So if you have a project – imagine you’ll be doing it for a local animal shelter or the like – how would you start that day when you take the big first step? Imagine the day is all your own, you have this project to get underway… how do you start the day? Coffee, a bagel, yoga…?

Nikki Jeske
I’m a morning person so if I have the whole day to work on something, I’ll be up at 7 and at my computer with a cup of coffee (and if I’m hungry, a slice of zucchini bread topped with cream cheese). Generally the very first thing I’ll do before anything is turn on my iTunes (lately I’ve been listening to Jonsi or Enya in the morning), pop onto twitter for a quick good morning tweet, and then stare out the window. :) It’s my way of relaxing and getting into a good mindset for the rest of the day. Sometimes I do get up and do some yoga or I’ll spend a little time meditating. Whatever it takes to put my mind at ease. After that I open my inbox and try not to feel overwhelmed before diving head-first into photoshop. ;)

ThisIsInspired
If you were to visit an animal shelter website and see it’s horribly developed, and then visit another and see it’s very slick and well thought-out, would this influence your opinion for good or bad? (eg: would you think they were using their donations for flashy exterior stuff rather than where it really matters, etc.)

Nikki Jeske
No, not at all. Actually, whenever I see a really nicely designed animal site, I more often than not simply assume that it’s been done by a volunteer. All the organizations that I’ve worked with have all had volunteers create their sites and logos and there’s only one or two non-profits that I know that are big enough to actually have hired someone. So as for influencing my opinion and thinking they’re spending money on things that don’t matter, it doesn’t make me think badly about them at all.

ThisIsInspired
You’ve mentioned also that you develop for WordPress. On a slightly different note, what are the differences between *designing* for WordPress versus designing for a regular CMS or as static pages? Obviously, developing uses different methods altogether, but what about design?

Nikki Jeske
It’s easier. ;) I love designing for WordPress pretty much because I simply love WordPress. I’ve used many different blog platforms and content management systems, and WordPress has always come out on top for me and it’s what I recommend to all my clients as well because it is so easy to use and quick to learn. Creating WordPress Themes is fun because you’re not just creating a design, you’re creating a design that will be interactive and functional with the actual content of the site. My day job calls for me to create designs based on template structures in a certain CMS, and while the design aspect is still good, the mobility and functionality of the site is not as integrated into the design. It isn’t connected and is merely a covering for the site. WordPress combines a functional site base with a theme structure that creates a beautiful, one-of-a-kind site. As for static pages, well that can either be super fun with its complete free-reign of both code and design, or it can also get messy and disorganized fast.

ThisIsInspired
Can you point to one thing that typifies your work? For example, that one thing that makes it uniquely *you*, a certain feature or quality that would otherwise be lacking had the client gone elsewhere?

Nikki Jeske
Design is art, there’s no question, but I have a background as a traditional artist and that comes into play in my designs. I love to draw and I love to paint and when I discovered drawing tablets, it was a done deal. Most of my designs are heavily illustrated and I think that brings a touch of uniqueness to what I do. None are the same, and most designs you see online follow some great trends, but they don’t rely on artwork. I love illustrating designs and using bright colors to make them pop. I bring a lot of fun and creativity and color to each illustrated design and that’s not something clients will get elsewhere.

ThisIsInspired
When you find inspiration – via music, going for a walk, talking with friends, flipping through an art book, etc – how do you “solidify” that idea in your head? Sketching, Photoshop, etc?

Nikki Jeske
I sketch. A lot. When I see something I like, I tend to doodle it on whatever is handy – and that will somehow find its way into a photoshop document that ends up getting used for a design or for an illustration. Music influences me heavily – most often whatever color I’m working with at the time is the color I “sense” from whatever song is playing. If you’ve seen any of my personal designs you’ll know I’m also greatly inspired by nature. As I mentioned earlier, I went to school to become a naturalist, and I tend to incorporate trees and grass and sky and anything from the natural world into whatever project I’m working on for myself.

ThisIsInspired
Last question: On any given day, as you sit at you computer to design and/or develop, how many cats (or dogs) are right there, making sure you do your best?

Nikki Jeske
At this moment, I’ve got three dogs and a cat sitting in the same room as me, listening to me type. In the entire household, we’ve got twenty-three animals that make sure we do our very best every day. Here’s a quick run-down of who keeps us on our toes: three dogs (Spunky, Snarf, Rufus), seven cats (Zane, Akima, Merlin, Cleo, Satsuki, Jacob, Storm), two ferrets (Drake, Nate), seven rats (Meetu, Chunky, Tumtum, Toodles, Twinby, Artemis, Athena), a ball python (Kendi), a leopard gecko (Phoebe), and two bettas (Galileo, Aristotle). Of all of those, only three are not rescues/adopted/picked up off the streets. They make life more exciting. If you’re interested, you can check out their antics in comic form over at The Family Menagerie, my webcomic.

…

I’d like to thank to Nikki for her patience and collaboration in bringing this interview to publication. Thank you for your time and conversation!

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

Related posts:

1. ThisIsInspired Talks with Art Student Wesley Yendrys About Design & Creativity
2. Roundup: 10 Interior Design Blogs for Inspiration
3. ThisIsInspired Talks Shop with Terri Nakamura

Who is Devin Liddell?

Devin Liddell is a Brand Strategist at one of the Northwest’s most respected design firms and has been involved in branding for a decade. He got started working for The Leonhardt Group, then moved to FITCH, and most recently has been working at Phinney Biscoff Design House in Seattle, WA, where he is the Director of Brand Strategy. Devin’s unique perspectives on brand design and strategy have been featured in Brandweek, and Brand Strategy (both great publications for those interested in brand), HOW Magazine, and has been featured frequently in Black Book, where in 2006 he had three features in the top 100 for design collaboration & copywriting. Devin also is a known speaker for the American Marketing Association, and lectures for the University of Washington Design Studies Program. One final thing: He’s a family man and loves to cook in his free time. (free time?)

The Interview

ThisIsInspired
How did you get started, what made you choose brand work in the first place, and what passion keeps you interested in it?

Devin Liddell
When I started at The Leonhardt Group in 1999, I really had no idea what I was doing. I remember gorging on design magazines in the weeks leading up to my start, which I don’t think helped at all, but I enjoyed it. I had almost no sense of what brand strategy really entailed, and that was okay because I had wonderful mentors and the firm valued critical thinking, and I knew I could do that. More than anything, I really had this overwhelming desire to be around designers. That was the inspiration. And that affection and affinity for designers and what they do turned out to be really important for my career, because I essentially made a living for the first few years by being an effective bridge between senior strategists who didn’t interface well with designers, and designers who didn’t know what the hell these strategists were talking about. So being a bridge really helped hone my perspective on both strategic principles as well as how strategy is brought to life through design. That relationship remains fundamental to me, and explains why I would never work for a firm that did not feature designers. I love strategy, but even the best strategy is absolutely meaningless unless a creative team takes that idea and makes it into something that exists in the real world.

“I love strategy, but even the best strategy is absolutely meaningless unless a creative team takes that idea and makes it into something that exists in the real world.”

Strategy without design is just a PowerPoint. And, for the record, I don’t ever present strategy through slides. I use big, oversized sheets of paper. I want to start clients down the path of making these ideas real right away. This passion for taking strategy and using creative to turn it into something meaningful is what keeps me engaged. It’s also why I love being a copywriter. Plus, agency life reminds me of the best parts of college. You don’t like a certain project? Eh, it’ll be over in six weeks and you’ll start something new.

ThisIsInspired
Anyone who knows you knows you like to cook, and creative people don’t take a break from imagination. Can you look at both cooking and brand work and point to similarities, creatively speaking?

Devin Liddell
That’s interesting, and I’ve never considered how they’re similar. But they are. Both are process-driven, which I think is important. Not that you should be shackled to process, but process can effectively organize your thoughts in how to get from start to finish without getting stuck. Plus, the best kind of process actually sets the table for the unexpected, which is what you want. Another important similarity is that both brand work and cooking push you creatively to try new things. To take calculated risks. Neuroscience shows that even doing something simple in a different way—using your left hand if you’re right-handed, for example—stimulates your brain. Think about what cooking a new dish must do. You’re dealing with perhaps unfamiliar ingredients, maybe a different process, and you have yet to achieve the desired outcome. That is creative risk. Plus, there is a pleasure in cooking, and that sensation is similar to what I feel as I move through a brand development process. Finally, and not to get too weird here, but while cooking and brand work can be beautiful, the best outcome is to arrive at the inside of people’s guts. I want food to go there. And I want my clients to take the brand and ingest it into their organization, so that it’s a part of their organizational being. 

ThisIsInspired
Does the type of project you’re working on at work have an effect on what things you cook? (eg: A highly creative project at work means you’ll take a break at home, sort of thing)

Devin Liddell
My wife and I have two young sons, ages 4 and 2. Keeping up with them requires a lot of energy, and occasionally we are so tired after putting them to bed that we will opt for a “cereal night.” For the same reason, if I’m creatively taxed with a big project or lots of small projects, I’m less likely to cook anything adventurous or complex at home. That’s the time for comfort food. One relationship between work and cooking at home that I’ve done for a long time is eating fish the night before a big presentation. Fish is great for your brain, so I always eat fish the night before a big meeting. It’s probably evolved into a bit of a superstition for me.

ThisIsInspired
The Northwest United States is a gorgeous area, for wildlife and the Great Outdoors, but Seattle’s also got a reputation for rainy weather. Does the world around you have any creative impact on what you do at work?

Devin Liddell
It is beautiful here. The rain also keeps everything very clean and green. The only kind of weather here in the Northwest that drives me bonkers is what I call “high altitude gray.” It’s not raining, it’s not foggy—it’s just this high layer of gray clouds that sits there doing nothing. That weather makes me anxious. After 18 years here, though, I’m maybe a bit less affected by the weather than I used to be. Several years ago, we did set a record with something like 99 straight days of rain, and that was the only time I ever thought to myself, “Really? This is where you want to spend your time?” But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Seattle is rainy and can be somewhat dreary, but is also celebrated for its creative industries. We’re all inside working on something!

ThisIsInspired
There are cliches all over, in any type of creative work: All-caps Helvetica is overused, certain taglines or phrases are just variants of so many others, etc. In a sea of stuff like this, how do you stay on track with originality?

Devin Liddell
I think we all know when we are treading on territory that is well-worn, or even when we’re resorting to a particular “trick.” But, in general, I think most people in the industry don’t struggle with how to come up with original ideas. We’re sort of wired to do that. What I think we struggle with more is getting clients to buy into those original ideas. And here’s the kicker: it’s usually not the client’s fault. Our industry is too absorbed with the notion that we are the magic-makers and clients are the party-poopers. That’s an easy excuse, and it’s not true anyway.

“Our industry is too absorbed with the notion that we are the magic-makers and clients are the party-poopers. That’s an easy excuse, and it’s not true anyway.”

If you’re dedicated to originality, then you have to be dedicated to evangelizing how that originality will drive someone’s business forward. Those are usually easy arguments to make, just look at the competitive landscape, but a lot of people are not comfortable arguing with their clients, or at least really pushing them hard. I tell my clients all the time, “If you are really uncomfortable, that means we are doing something right.” Radical differentiation should not feel comfortable. Why would we expect radical differentiation—which is a necessity for the success of a brand—to feel comfortable? In fact, I tell our clients during the pitch process that we expect to argue and push each other. The other thing is that we need to invite clients into the creative process. Involving them in the creative process helps them take ownership of original ideas. Originality can’t be a bomb we drop on them. They have to be invested in originality, and that means they have to be integral to the process.

ThisIsInspired
What do you do for inspiration? In your opinion, why does your muse work for you when it might not work for someone else?

Devin Liddell
I’m a big fan on Francis Bacon’s essay “Of Studies.” In this essay, he says that reading makes you full, conversation makes you ready, and writing makes you exact. So, if you want to be a real live wire, you should read a lot, have a lot of interesting conversations, and write a lot. It might sound corny for me to say this, but those are truly words to live by. I think those three really constitute most everyone’s “muse” in some form or another. As for my muse, and why it only works for me, it comes down to an employer-employee relationship. I’ve told my muse before, “I love you, and I think we have a good thing going on. But don’t forget you work for me, not someone down the hall. If you ever leave me, I’ll kill you.” Luckily, my muse does not take me very seriously. 

ThisIsInspired
Imagine you have a free day to yourself. No jobs on the table, no calls, no email. How would you live that one day to rejuvenate your mind and be ready again tomorrow?

Devin Liddell
Wow, now I’m panting. I’d probably watch soccer. There is something hypnotic to me about really fantastic soccer. There is a lot of geometry and angles in the game. And the attacking side is all about constantly probing, trying to find its way to the goal. I’d say you’re more likely to hear the word “creative” while watching soccer than any other sport. Soccer is wonderful to watch, and it’s a running clock, so you get completely absorbed in the action. I’m also a huge fan of going to movies by yourself, especially during the day. That can be very rejuvenating, because it’s only the story in front of you. You’re not thinking about anything else. But if I’m being really honest with myself, that kind of day may not be very helpful to me. I need a little bit of activity to keep me on my toes. One of the side effects of agency life is that it’s made me almost completely worthless in the absence of deadlines. At home, I have to create arbitrary deadlines just to get things done. 

ThisIsInspired
It’s funny how good design can work at any level. A business card, for example, can be completely minimal and bare-bones but carry a very distinct sense of place and brand whereas an equally minimal card that’s poorly designed just flops. What’s the key attribute, to you, that underlies why some designs succeed?

Devin Liddell
Well, a great designer. I know that sounds blunt, but a great designer is what separates a sublime minimalist card from a crappy one. We’d like to think there is some formal distinction, but really it’s a distinction of talent, of intuitive know-how. I think it also generally has to do with how successfully a single attribute is exaggerated. Total intentionality, with as few compromises as possible, is what stands out. When you consider that we’re subjected to more than 30,000 marketing messages per day, the question across every touchpoint becomes, “Why should anyone notice this?” For me, the more exaggerated presence a design has, the more it commands that notice.  

ThisIsInspired
The internet is “instant!” in the minds of so many people. How, would you say, has this “instantaneousness” [sic] changed brand design or at least people’s perception of brand, if at all?

Devin Liddell
One interesting effect is that it has created this sense of fluidity. Before, brand identities were primarily designed for the sides of big buildings and retail environments and the like. So, fairly inflexible applications. If you hoisted a big logo onto the side of the building, you wouldn’t want to change it anytime soon. Same goes for retail applications. But the Web is never finished. It’s always changing. Look at how Google treats its logo on its homepage every day. Ten years ago, just the idea of that would’ve given night sweats to the brand police inside every organization. So that’s the big one for me. Brands now are treated a bit more fluidly. The best web sites are never “finished” or “launched.” They change every day, certainly with content, but maybe even a bit in look and feel. A smaller effect is that the Web is generally supposed to be a friendly and welcoming place, so brand identities are reflecting that. The use of type to communicate “serious business” is giving way to a more warm and human presence. Look at the old Walmart logo compared to the new one. 

ThisIsInspired
Designers have the ability to look at a given design and get an idea of the process that went into making that design what it is. Removing the tangible, calculable process, can you look at a design and get a feel for the inspiration of the designer? (kind of like working the design process in reverse, if that makes sense..)

Devin Liddell
Almost never. There’s part of me that wishes otherwise, but outside of having direct exposure to the designer’s thinking, mostly I see a design as an embodiment all its own, separate from the designer. Writers have a sense for this as well, the idea that the text takes on a life all its own that is separate from the writer. This is actually the goal, I think. When I see a design that is the perfect embodiment or reflection or expression of a brand, that is what is should be—not a reflection of the designer. To me, the designer is an outsider that has a very specific gift for illuminating precisely what the brand aspires to be.

“To me, the designer is an outsider that has a very specific gift for illuminating precisely what the brand aspires to be.”

When I’m copywriting for a brand, I don’t write in my voice. I write in the voice of the brand, which is separate from my own, but facilitated through me. Similarly, the designer works to reveal the brand’s true self.

We can’t inject ourselves into the brand. That would be virus-like.

…

I’d like to thank Devin for his time and attention for the interview. He’s not only busy at work but at home as well. Devin, thank you. :)

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

Related posts:

1. ThisIsInspired Chats About Brand with David Ansett
2. An Interview with App Designer Jerome Iveson of ThriveSolo
3. ThisIsInspired Talks Shop with Terri Nakamura

Who Is Jim Coon?

Jim Coon has worked as in independent photographer in his own studio since 1980, and his list of clients includes Aetna, Cabot, Fortune Brands, Motorola, and Reebok — among many others — and if you’ve read Communication Arts, Graphis or How magazines you’ve probably seen Jim’s work. Jim is passionate and creative about what he does and when he’s not working out of his studio he’s on assignment all over the world.

The Interview

ThisIsInspired
The first question is kind of the typical, “starter”: How did you get into Photography in beginning? Creative people seem to have any number of outlets or avenues to pursue – what was it that made you choose Photography?

Jim Coon
I have always been an artist. I started drawing, like most kids, at an early age, but I was encouraged by my parents to continue. When I was 12, I asked for a real film camera that would allow me to pursue photography as a hobby. Instead, I got a Kodak Instamatic, which discouraged my interest for years. I continued my drawing and painting, however and planned to attend an art college after high school, but may parents would not allow me to follow a career, “where you couldn’t make any money”. I continued painting, especially water color, but in grad school I again picked up the camera. This time it was true love. This was the 1970s, so being a photographer was hip. After some attempts at an academic career I decided to pursue photography as a full time gig. I then got a job as a photo assistant, opening my own studio 2 years later.

ThisIsInspired
For web or graphic designers, they can see a design and point to specific rules or guidelines that were followed to make the finished piece. In your profession, when you see a photograph in a professional publication or website are you able to tell what steps were taken or what the process was to get that final result?

Jim Coon
For me beauty rules. When I see a good photo, it’s like a painting. If it speaks to me, I listen with my eyes and my emotions. If I can feel what the photographer is saying, I am not very interested in how it was done. At the point the I start to analyze the technique, the photo has lost much of it’s impact. Of course there are times when the technique is so drastic, like cross processing film, or HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging) that it speaks louder than the image. There are times too when a photographer’s lighting or sense of focus captivate me a second or two after encounter the image. But mostly I am not a technical photographer. I like to explore my own way into arresting images.

ThisIsInspired
Most of our readers are web designers. Photography, though, seems to be a more technical profession (as you just said), more ‘nailed down’ to hardware, if you will. What, would you say, is the window for creativity in your field? For example, as a web designer the browser window is almost a blank canvas – How would you describe your blank canvas, as a photographer?

Jim Coon
As a person enters photography, it can be very technical — looking at things like f-stops and depth of field and lighting ratios, but these processes have to be internalized if one is to achieve mastery. It’s very much like playing a guitar. At first there is so much to learn and practice before you can really play a song. I realized early in the process that photography is a window for discovery: a window that allows me to discover the world around me as well as my internal world. For example, many students start learning photographic composition using “the rule of thirds”. I learned what this meant, but for me a great photo feels a certain way. I don’t have to measure the relative weight of elements in the picture; I know because I feel it in my body.

“The blank canvas for an inspired photographer is his/her eye in conjunction with feelings.”

For example, I can shoot a product 50 different ways, but only one is exactly right for that moment. And often I will expose tons of shots, not because I feel insecure, but because I keep seeing new things that inspire me.

ThisIsInspired
In almost all forms of creative art we have periods or leading artists — Cubist, Mies van der Rohe, for example — and we can date a design based on these styles or schools of design. Outside the obvious Andy Warhol, can you tell what period a photograph is by the style or setting?

Jim Coon
I Think there are giants of photography just as in other art forms (Eugene Atget, Ansel Adams, Man Ray, and Irving Penn to name a few), but for me identifying periods is more difficult. When I first started shooting, Phil Marco was the commercial photography hero. Later in my career Pete Turner’s super saturated photos cast a long shadow and of course I always admired the work of Mark Seliger. But two things happened in the 1990s that changed everything for me: first I discovered selective focus; and second I began to be much more interested in what designers were doing. This sea-change allowed me to shift into annual reports as my preferred form of photographic expression. I cultivated designers and was hired to shoot their annuals and collateral materials.

ThisIsInspired
If you can spot the period or era of a given photograph, Which one(s) are your favorite, and why?

Jim Coon
I actually love the experimental period of photography, during the 1920s and 30s with people like Man Ray, Lisette Model, and Manuel Alvarez Bravo. These people were pioneers. Nobody was sure what photography was, or what it could do. If you look at Man Ray’s work you can see that he is looking through eyes that are innocent of modern influences. He does not have to light or compose in any particular way, so he is free to experiment –– free to associate moods and objects that you would not find on the internet.

ThisIsInspired
Creative professionals often relax by doing other creative things. For example, I’m a web designer but I play the guitar in my spare time or to rejuvenate my brain. What do you do creatively that helps perk up your brain?

Jim Coon
I’m also a guitar player. I used to be the lead singer of a covers band, but I always wanted to do original stuff. So when I started learning guitar, I decided to write my own songs and record them. I’m fascinated by indie rock experimenters like Mars Volta and Land of Talk. Like Man Ray, they are trying to use their muse to reveal some unique experience. I love weaving the sounds from guitar pedals and drum beats to make a song. I do the same kind of thing as a photographer. I will use anything at hand to get a lighting effect, just ask my clients.

ThisIsInspired
Here’s the Big Hypothetical Question: Imagine you have a day off; You’ve been working nonstop for weeks, and you have a day to yourself to recharge. The ideal day. How would you begin and end that day?

Jim Coon
My day would begin with a quick glance at the web to see what shows or exhibits were running in New York museums and galleries. When I do have time off, I usually end up looking at painting or photography. There are some good galleries in Connecticut, but if this is my dream day, I will be heading for New York. Next, I’d lunch at one of New York’s great sushi parlors and then on to more art. In the evening I would hit an indie rock concert or head down to the Village for some jazz. Since it’s a vision I can’t tell you who I would be going to see.

ThisIsInspired
Imagine (again!) you have a client that says they want something new and adventurous. For you, what is the key to approaching a project with a creative blank slate? (eg: a good night’s sleep, avoiding photography books or galleries lest you be influenced, etc)

Jim Coon
The best way for me to clear out the cobwebs is to exercise and do some yoga. I think real creativity becomes possible when I can be in the present moment with my client and with what needs to be photographed. I’ve been in some tough spots and still created cool shots because I was able to focus on what was in front of me instead of thinking about how it should have been. For example, when I got to Indonesia last February, I found out the factory I had been sent to shoot was closed. After looking at various alternatives I ended up shooting inside the cabin of a 747 using only a hand strobe for lighting. It is still one of my favorite shots.

ThisIsInspired
It seems every type of creative person has a trademark habit, hobby, or interest. Certain types of designers love expensive coffee while others always seem to have a cat, etc. In your experience, what’s the ‘trademark’ habit or possession of a photographer?

Jim Coon
For a lot of photographers, I think having the newest and best equipment means a lot. It seems that whenever photographers meet, talk turns to cameras and strobes and lighting techniques. More recently, they seem to be talking about Photoshop and Lightroom tricks. Outside of that I think having a beautiful studio and talented assistants provides karma. Personally, I like good equipment, but it’s the photographic image that matters. And I am not alone. Many photographers care more about their personal work than any status symbol. Personal work is what got us into the field and keeps us going even after we leave the commercial arena. I’ve been exhibiting personal work at a Connecticut gallery since 1991.

ThisIsInspired
Last question: Outside town where I live there’s a billboard advertisement for a law firm. The advertisement uses as a centerpiece for the ad two hands clasped in a wonderful, friendly, trustful handshake. It’s no different from myriad other ‘handshake’ photos on stock photography sites. Coming from the photography industry, What goes through your mind when you see the stale, ever-popular-with-executives “handshake” photo?

Jim Coon
I always think “what a waste”. I mean the idea is useful or you wouldn’t see it repeatedly. But it is not memorable. The message might be understood by the viewer, but will she remember where she saw it? I know photographers and designers can do so much better if we are given the chance. Clients are hurting themselves by spending big dollars to put up billboards that everybody forgets two seconds later. As a society we are in image overload. Using visual cliches only makes it worse. My hope is that consumers will get tired of stock and vote with their wallets. I think it’s already happening in certain industries like luxury goods and technology. And I think photographers and designers have a responsibility to their clients to make sure the message is clear and memorable. For me that means exploring what I see in the present moment with innocent eyes and a sense of humor.

…

Jim Coon was one of the first friendly people I found on the ever-popular Twitter.com. I’d like to thank Jim for his time and friendliness over the past year and especially for agreeing to the interview even in the midst of a major holiday.

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

Related posts:

1. ThisIsInspired Talks with Art Student Wesley Yendrys About Design & Creativity
2. ThisIsInspired Talks Shop with Terri Nakamura
3. ThisIsInspired Talks with Nikki Jeske About Design, Inspiration, and Purpose

Who Is Wesley Yendrys?

Wes Yendrys (Twitter.com/wyendrys) is an art student and design major at Vanier College in Montreal, Canada – and he’s also a tea lover and photographer. If you read even a few of his tweets you’ll know he keeps himself very (very!) busy with design, art studies, and daily life. His personal blog, DoubleYouWhy.com, is a cool publication in it’s own right where he shares art and artists he finds interesting.

The Interview

ThisIsInspired
You’re a design student. You’re a tea lover. It’s obvious you have a few things you’re passionate about and that spark a great deal of personal interest. What initially made you love design and graphics so much?

Wes Yendrys
I started getting into art at a very young age, asking for paints and art supplies for my birthday and christmas. As I grew older, I became interested in photography and graphic design – when I was around 14 to be exact. At the time, my actual appreciation for design was minimal if not completely absent. As I matured and surrounded myself with what I loved – design – I began to get a grasp of the good and the bad. I can’t say I had an initial love for design, but like I said, as I gained more knowledge and experience with it, I began to understand and relate to it more, thus enhancing my relationship with it. 

ThisIsInspired
What is it, would you say, that keeps you passionate about design?

Wes Yendrys
Talent. When I see the work of young, talented designers, it pushes me to do more and try new things. I’d consider myself to be relatively inexperienced when it comes to design, so I really do look to the various efforts made around the web and around the world when it comes to innovation in design. 

ThisIsInspired
Anyone who checks your Twitterstream on a regular basis knows how you forgo sleep for academics. You’re kept pretty busy with a “student’s schedule”, as well as fitting in personal interests on the side. Do you choose to keep so busy with design-related stuff?

Wes Yendrys
Of course! It’s what I love. I’m so grateful that I’ve been given the chance to actually study something that interests me, and I look forward to seeing what life in the design world has to offer me. I mean, although my lack of sleep is a result of heavy school work, most of the work is either design or art oriented. Some people like to go to raves and take drugs to have a good time, I stay up late into the night with a beer and some music and hammer through some true and honest design projects. 

ThisIsInspired
So, if you do make a choice to keep busy, why?

Wes Yendrys
Like I said, it’s what I love. I mean, who doesn’t like to create and be creative? I’d rather spend 8 hours on a creative piece then 3 hours on a history or business paper. 

ThisIsInspired
As opposed to someone who’s been in the industry for a while, how do you – still as a student – feel about the future of design? (for example, How do you think the internet will influence design, how will software change the way designs are created, etc)

Wes Yendrys
Personally, I feel like the internet as narrowed the word design into a single category, that being web design. There are so many young kids and adults getting interesting in design, but all they’re really exploring is the gradient and reflection tools found in Photoshop or “35 awesome uses of Helvetica” (whose uses are rather terrible I might add). I can rant all day as to how the internet and web design is crushing the word design for everyone else, but because that wasn’t really the question, I’ll move on. 

I’m just getting over my phase of thinking computers are the only way to go and beginning to realize that more classical methods have an unmatchable beauty and elegance. I’m hoping in the future, everyone will keep true to the “getting down and dirty” side of design, using a pencil and paper, hand mixing inks, using various forms of manual printing, etc. I think if we lose that, the future of design is doomed. So, in regards to software, I say we need less of it. Photoshop does enough to blow my mind already, there’s absolutely no need for future generations (aside from Adobe needing to make more money). 

ThisIsInspired
How has design changed, in your view, in your lifetime or in your experience? (eg: A shift in trends you’ve you noticed, etc)

Wes Yendrys
That’s a tough question to answer. I mean, I’m still young, and I think when I started to actually notice and appreciate design, it was way after I began playing around and experimenting with it. So really, I’d only be able to speak in regards to the last 2 and a half years or so, and in that time, Helvetica has continued to be the go-to typeface for those not creative enough to explore the other typographical beauties (and yes, I admit to having gone through that phase, but thankfully, it’s out of my system) and a rising trend in Apple-inspired gradients and bubbly icons have taken over. I really can’t say that I’ve seen much change, as the period in which I’ve been conscious of the design around me has been way to short. 

ThisIsInspired
Imagine ten years from now: Where do you want to be? If you could picture your perfect future, design-wise, how would it look?

Wes Yendrys
I have tons of big dreams in life. In ten years from now, I’d love to be able to have opened my own design studio in a city heavily saturated with design. But to be honest, as of late, I’ve really been gearing my mind towards architecture or industrial design, but I’m a little scared of exploring something I’m completely foreign to. My ultimate dream is to hand-build and retire in my own Japanese inspired cabin/mini home located in the middle of nowhere whose infrastructure is completely sustainable. Elegance, luxury and nature, there’s nothing more that I could ask for in life. 

ThisIsInspired
For someone with a lifetime of experience under their belt, they’ve learned to deal with the doldrums and times when it seems creativity runs dry. Just getting into design, what do you do to stay creative and inspired?

Wes Yendrys
The internet. We’re rather fortunate to have so much information and so much content available at our fingertips. Heck, I can search for inspiration on my cell phone! If I’m running low on creativity, I’ll turn to an art or design blow/aggregator. Although they generally fill me with jealousy, as I can never believe just how talented people are, I walk away with motivation to work and to create. Of course I look back at the classic and the iconic work out there, but I feel that seeing something that was possibly made just hours before laying my eyes on them, creates a more tangible understanding and appreciation. I don’t know, I’m just always wowed at some of the stuff I see, and like I said, that’s really what gets my creative juices flowing – the ‘wow factor’, you could call it. 

ThisIsInspired
Let’s say hypothetically you have a big class project coming up, and it will mean a world of difference for your graduation and have an impact on where you’ll go when you leave college. How do start the creative day?

Wes Yendrys
I start the day completely wasting my time on on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and my RSS feeds. I work best at night, and for some reason, when there’s light out, I just can’t seem to focus. When I eventually reach the point of “if I don’t start now, I won’t manage to finish”, I begin to research. Whether it’s a paper or a creative piece, I’ll research whatever there is to know about that particular topic, so that when it comes to the canvas, I can possibly make historical or cultural references, use interesting quotes – I don’t know why, but I love having quotes in my work. From there, I’ll start piecing things together. A lot of people will plan things out, make outlines, sketch, etc. I don’t work like that. I let the piece build as it goes along. Now that I think of it, that might be the cause of my work always taking so long to complete… Anyway, I work in this way because I feel an outline or something pre-planned is limiting when it comes to something creative. I’m all for minor guidelines, key words, but when things are so planned out, there tends to be a lot of focus geared towards creating a final product that’s replicative to its outline.

“The way I work – like I said – is to really just play and let things piece themselves together. Some of my best work is drastically different then what the original concept in my head looked like.”

So really, this playful, structureless approach allows for more freedom – I do warn you however, my process does require more time, as I often find my self sitting in front of the screen, scratching my head, wondering what to do next. Once I think I’m finished with the work, I’ll take a look at it 30 or so minutes later and see if I notice anything that shouldn’t be there or that should be changed. That’s generally how I go from nothing to something.

ThisIsInspired
Hypothetically again, you’ve a day off – for rejuvenation, for relaxation, for whatever – and it’s pouring rain outside. What type of tea would make and how would you refuel your inspiration on a day off?

Wes Yendrys
I’d make myself a cup of Ito En’s Min Bei Shui Xian Oolong tea, as it’s without a doubt the best tea I’ve come across yet (and I’ve come across a lot of teas in my short life). As for inspiration, like I mentioned, I’d hit the internet hard and just go through all of my favorite sites, see what’s new and upcoming. 

It’s interesting that you mention rain, since it’s my favorite type of weather. I love to just sit and listen to the drops reflect off of the various surfaces our urbanized society has placed in its path.

…

Wes is very busy and often goes without sleep. I’d like thank him for taking time from his projects and classes to do this interview. Wes, thanks so much for your time!

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

Related posts:

1. ThisIsInspired Talks with Nikki Jeske About Design, Inspiration, and Purpose
2. ThisIsInspired Talks with Photographer Jim Coon
3. ThisIsInspired Talks Shop with Terri Nakamura

Who Is Dave Ansett?

Dave Ansett (Twitter.com/Brandamentalist) is the Creative Director at Storm Design & Brand DNA (which itself is in the process of a rebranding as Truly Deeply) in South Melbourne, Australia. In his almost 20 years of design and branding, Dave has worked on design for everything from youth services to clothing labels to some pretty dang good looking ice cream. ThisIsInspired got together with Dave and talked about his take on design, on brand, and on inspiration in general.

The Interview

ThisIsInspired
How long have you been in design, and what made you love design in the first place? (was it a childhood passion or more a business prospect, etc) What was it that made you love branding?

Dave Ansett
I’ve been working in design for 19 years and studying design for 5 years before that.
I have drawn my whole life. At school I’d begin my exercises from the front page of my workbook and drawing from the back page. There was always a race to see which reached the middle of the book first.

“At the age of 12 I went to my first graphics class at school. I remember we spent the hour drawing topographic maps, but I was hooked. I ran all the way home to excitedly tell my mum I’d discovered a career where you got paid for drawing.”

I was hooked from then-on.

Running a studio after graduating from design college we were constantly searching for a competitive edge. We discovered branding early in the game and have evolved with the industry to become a creative branding agency. Many of the problem solving skills required to be a great graphic designer translate across to becoming a great brand marketer.

ThisIsInspired
I see on your website you’ve done some very sharp work in the branding and identity arena (clothing, food, etc). What would you say makes *brand* design differ from graphic design or even interface design?

Dave Ansett
Great question.
Graphic design has long been a passionate battleground of concept vs. aesthetic.
Brand Design is the purest form of conceptual design. Brand Design draws its entire rationale from a business and product positioning strategy. Inputs include market and customer trends, competitive analysis, and layers of brand definition delivering a brand proposition. The creative skills to translate that data into an evocative brand identity or piece of brand communication are in my view the pinnacle of ‘graphic design.’ The subtleties of crafting visual language to communicate subtle and complex information in a simple and memorable solution are a great challenge of creativity.

ThisIsInspired
Graphic designers – even type designers and advertisers – can look back on specific design periods (Art Nouveau, Art Deco, etc). Are there “periods” of brand design that you like(d)? What I mean is, I guess, is, Can you point to a specific ‘period’ of brand design and say it was influential?

Dave Ansett
The brand industry is still at a relatively young age. It is maturing and evolving at a fast rate of knots. Rather than a specific period, there have been brand design practitioners who have been influential, instrumental and inspirational in the evolution of branding:

• The initial partners at Pentagram in the early days of the brand design industry
• Wally Olins – first at Wolff Olins, now at Saffron
• Australia’s own Trevor Flett at FHA – now Futurebrand

ThisIsInspired
Everybody in the graphic design field seems to love a few certain designers (like Paul Rand, for example). But even then, most of us simply look at his work and see it’s completed design. As someone who works more with brand and identity, are you able to look at designs (such as Rand’s) and get an idea for how a creative process might have unfolded?

Dave Ansett
Absolutely. Regardless of the era, the classic visual designers had a logical framework around which they constructed their creativity. The creative process is often visible sitting just below the surface of the end result. The great designers each had their own methodology, but their work reads like a beautiful, poetic puzzle.

ThisIsInspired
“Brand” is like a buzzword, but it seems few designers know how to work in it well. What separates a designer (or design house) who jumps on the bandwagon from an established brand design team like your company?

Dave Ansett
I think I’ve covered this in my answer to question 2.
Plenty of design houses talk about brand – you could effectively differentiate yourself in the market these days by saying ‘we don’t do brand’, but few have the experience and skill set to understand and creatively translate the brand definition data into visual language.
Our creatives understand the layers of brand definition and market intelligence, they know how to identify and decode the visual language of a competitive marketplace, and how to take all of that data and translate it creatively into visual language that tells a rich and evocative brand story.

ThisIsInspired
Everyone has down days, and times when ‘creativity’ doesn’t come so easy. What do you do for inspiration? What’s your “Muse”?

Dave Ansett
I’ve always found the company of other creative minds to be the greatest inspiration. Whenever I’m glued-down with my thinking we start to bounce ideas and directions of each other, breaking the paradigms and introducing dislocated thoughts into the process. Once the framework for the creative solution is established, we collect a wall-full of creative stimulus and inspiration from the broadest possible range of sources we can find. The internet provides a bottomless resource of creative inspiration.

ThisIsInspired
Let’s say, hypothetically, you have a company (big or small) get in touch and they need a sharp new brand for an entirely new startup. It’s up to you to create a new brand and image from scratch. How do you start your creative day? (eg: Get up extra early and start with a sketchbook; have a cup of coffee and take some quiet time to collect your thoughts, etc)

Dave Ansett
The starting point is always strategic.
In simple terms, we begin with what we call brand immersion – gathering insight and intelligence into our clients’ customers and their competition. We flow that information into our brand DNA definition process, which provides all of the cues required for the creative brand expression. Whilst seemingly dry, this starting point provides the framework and the inspiration for endless creative expression. Once I’ve immersed myself in the brand strategy, I like to spend a couple of hours (preferably in the morning with a fresh mind) in our library of design books and on-line searching for creative jumping-off points and sketching down the thoughts and connections that spring from my search.

ThisIsInspired
There may be design principles that never change, but we can all look back on an old design and say “I could do this differently if I handled it now.” The design still works, but experience and personal taste may change. How has your work (or even your viewpoint on your work) changed over the years you’ve been involved in design?

Dave Ansett
My work has changed significantly over the years, and continues to evolve. I have grown from a designer with a love for concept, to a strategic brand thinker with a love for design. As a result my work has become increasingly honed as brand communication. It has grown in complexity of message, but simplicity of solution. I now see my role as a creator of rich and evocative brand stories that play a critical role in positioning my client’s brands in order to meet their companies business objectives. I’ve transformed from designer of nice things at the end of the chain, to being responsible for a critical component in the success of the business.

ThisIsInspired
Last question: What’s your take on that new look for Pepsi?

Dave Ansett
Apparently simple questions like these usually have a complexity of answers, each with a potential barb in its tail.
What I believe is that Coke has successfully evolved their brand identity over decades, maintaining and strengthening the power of their visual assets; the Coke red, the iconic Coke bottle, and the coke signature mark – rich with authenticity. Over the same period, Pepsi have failed to build a single, high visual brand asset – choosing instead to constantly evolve in an attempt to stay ‘current’. The latest look for Pepsi is yet another evolution, following the current trends of brand identity visual language, but devoid of a deeper connection to meaning, tradition or brand story.

*

On a last, personal note I’d like to say that despite an already busy schedule, Dave was right on the ball as we worked out the details for the interview. Dave, thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and talk.

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

Related posts:

1. An Interview with Brand Strategist Devin Liddell
2. ThisIsInspired Talks Shop with Terri Nakamura
3. ThisIsInspired Talks with Art Student Wesley Yendrys About Design & Creativity

Who Is Terri Nakamura?

Terri Nakamura, currently keeping busy at Nakamura Graphic Design in Seattle, WA, earned her B.A. in Art History from the University of Washington in 1976 and has helmed graphic design and branding projects for clients ranging from Boeing to Safeco. Her creativity has earned her over 30 professional design awards. ThisIsInspired was able to catch up with Terri on Twitter (@TerriNakamura) and ask her about creativity, work, and what gets her inspired.

The Interview

ThisIsInspired:
First of all, I noticed on your LinkedIn profile that you’ve handled some high-profile projects – including design for web, collateral, as well as brand. So question Number One is, What made you fall in love with design in the first place? Was it a childhood passion or more business prospect?

Terri Nakamura:
I’ve loved art since kindergarten. When I was 16 or so, I had a part-time job after school working for the U.S. Coast Guard public information office. A kind journalist there suggested graphic design as a way of integrating art and creativity so I might actually someday be able to earn a living. He showed me how to research, write, & crop photos, and I created a brochure for a US Coast Guard icebreaker. When it came back as a printed piece, I was hooked.

ThisIsInspired:
You’ve done work for some very familiar names; Besides the contrast in client size what differences, if any, are there creatively in a large project versus a small one?

Terri Nakamura:
The small projects always seem much more demanding than the large ones and there is an inverse ratio of remuneration. Large clients respect your time and expertise and understand the value of services. Small clients have conservative resources, are often not sophisticated in working with a designer—making them scattered or indecisive or unable to articulate what it is they really want or need—and they sometimes ask for the moon, not thinking about the added hours of time required.

ThisIsInspired:
A lot of designers point to a specific period or movement as their muse or influence. Are there any design periods or schools of design you particularly like? Art Deco? Bauhaus? Moderne?

Terri Nakamura:
Of the choices you suggested, I would say Bauhaus. I gravitate toward simplicity and functionality because I like a clean look and feel, but I will do what makes the most sense to achieve the objectives of whatever projects I have in my office. I like to make information accessible to the reader in an anticipated fashion. I rely on “the grid” to make order of practically everything I do, and I’m a strong believer in headlines, subheads, photos and captions to quickly tell a story to a reader who is willing to spend only a few minutes looking.

ThisIsInspired:
If there is a specific period of design, what makes it grab your eye?

Terri Nakamura:
I don’t get to do work in this genre, but I love stuff from the 60s and 70s and what came out of the grunge period. I also love the work of David Lance Goines, but is it appropriate for a lot of work? No.

ThisIsInspired:
You have a whole career of design under your belt. Having a portfolio like yours doesn’t come easy, to say the least. What roadblocks, creative-wise, have you had to jump along the way?

Terri Nakamura:
The worst thing for me is having a complete mental block about where to start on a project. In the beginning of my career I guess you could say small client budgets were road blocks because they could so severely limit what could be done—but at the same time they were also catalysts to be more creative. Extremely tight deadlines can be roadblocks if you don’t have enough time to invest in the creative process. When I first started my business, a copywriter wisely told me, “Terri—you always do the very best job possible at the moment.” The “at the moment” part of that advice has always felt like an escape hatch for me.

ThisIsInspired:
Let’s say – hypothetically – you have a project lined up and all other tasks are off the table for the day. You know it involves your best creativity; How do you start the creative day? (eg: Make coffee, open the sketchpad and doodle project ideas or start with a calm breakfast not thinking about the project at all…)

Terri Nakamura:
I would make myself some coffee or tea, read through the creative brief if I’ve been provided with one, review meeting notes and take another look at samples that might have been identified as relevant or attractive during the course of “discovery.” If I have a concept for how a piece will fold or how many pages it will be, I’ll do thumbnails showing possible information distribution, and even construct small dummies, delineating the info on each page/spread/panel. It helps me figure out the visual flow. Then I start thinking about the overall look and feel, fonts, color palettes, imagery, etc.

ThisIsInspired:
We all have our “muse.” But even if we both love a certain type of music, for example, we’ll also both have our own ways of using it for inspiration. Whereas I might put it on and sit on the porch, you might put it on and open a moleskine. What’s your ‘muse’ (as it were) and how do you call it up?

Terri Nakamura:
Jazz, R&B, hip hop, alternative, classic rock – it’s all there in my iTunes Library, on my Pandora stations or on Blip.fm, where I am a “DJ.” I have my Harmon Kardon speakers straddling my monitor, bump up the music and usually begin with thumbnails on paper.

ThisIsInspired:
Everyone and his brother (it seems) “has Photoshop” or “knows HTML” but rarely it’s the outright skill that makes a design work. Our own unique personal aspects come into play as well, whether it’s a knack for choosing a palette or a good way with copywriting. Could you name three components of your work that make it uniquely Terri? (eg, you were able to help it be successful in a way, or ways, someone else may not have been able to)

Terri Nakamura:
Like all designers I use CS4 (Adobe Creative Suite), with an emphasis on Photoshop and InDesign. But I think I’m a different sort of designer because I make it my business to really understand the personality of my clients including learning their particular “language” and “behavioural” styles. It makes it possible for me to anticipate their needs, often before they verbalise it.

Also, unlike most designers, I actually read everything I design, so I frequently catch grammar and spelling mistakes and correct them. If a photo caption or headline is missing, I write them because even if a client elects to not use them, it gives them a clear idea of the word counts needed to fill the space.

Third, my knowledge of print & web production means my clients have someone who can facilitate their creations by liaising intelligently with printers and developers. Finally, this is a fourth point, but I am a fun, interesting and engaging person, so people enjoy working with me. Clients frequently become real friends, and they remain friends even after our working relationships have ended. Each person is special and I do things to make them feel valued.

ThisIsInspired:
The common last question. In your career you’ve been able to create designs for brand names we see in the supermarket every week – brand names that are almost household terms. Do you have any tips or pointers to those who would love to pursue a career in design?

Terri Nakamura:
If you are talking about freelancing, I would say relationships are everything.

“Given two designers of equal talent, experience and cost, people always choose the one they like best.”

Align yourself with a writer or establish relationships with people (public relations companies, internal marketing directors, advertising agencies or direct clients) who may be able to refer work to you. This means networking and always having a business card on you.
One thing I think that is always overlooked is explaining to your friends and acquaintances exactly what it is that you do. They know you’re some sort of artist, but by showing them what you are capable of doing, they can become inadvertent agents who promote your work. And by asking experienced people for advice, I think many will offer it freely. I remember being there myself, so I’m usually happy to help less-experienced people find their ways, and sometimes make calls and contacts on their behalf.

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I’d like to thank Terri for agreeing to an interview for ThisIsInspired. It happened pretty quick on a Monday evening, and she was right on the button and very professional in her response. So, Terri, thank you for your time and attention to detail.

Thanks for reading This Is Inspired! Catch more inspiration online at ThisIsInspired.com and share comments and feedback.

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