What led you into design?
It’s a rather circular and perhaps unconventional (but certainly long-winded) story.
From an early age, it was clear that I had developed an unusual proclivity for design. I can recall being 7 or 8 years old and being tasked to produce ‘title pages’ for schoolwork. These single-sided sheets were used as a demarcation between new material and any previous learnings on the subject at hand.
In time, this would serve as my foundational introduction to design as a discipline. For whatever reason, I was naturally inclined toward incorporating some degree of intuitive ‘design language’ when constructing these ostensibly mundane assignments. I can distinctly remember typesetting letters equidistant from one another using a ruler and stencil in an effort to achieve a more balanced, uniform, and harmonious scheme.
But as I grew older in years—I also grew further in remove from this latent ability.
While transitioning through adolescence and early adulthood, my design sensibility was misplaced and, in many ways, forgotten. I had become far more invested in activities like playing sports (in which I played many) and pursuing girls (of whom I found few). My career aspirations also shifted, veering strongly in the direction of entrepreneurship and business.
It was these preoccupations that temporarily eclipsed my early creative inclinations, halting the honing of any skills related to the world of design. Then one day everything changed.
While studying business in university, a simple task was presented; create a logo as part of a group project. Yet, it was this seemingly diminutive assignment that was the spark that would reignite my dormant love for design—returning me to the path that brought you to these very words today.
What immediately followed could very well be considered monomania.
I would fall asleep to videos on techniques and approaches. I would read books. I would listen to leaders in the field. I would try to absorb as much information as I possibly could. What I discovered was, in many ways, quite defeating. The path of an autodidact is often littered with trials and tribulations.
Nevertheless—I refused to abandon my calling for the second time.
It was during this period of incubation that I had the good fortune to speak to and consult those whom I admired in the space. To this day, I remain grateful for their willingness to share time, wisdom, and insight.
From paragraphs of knowledge from individuals like Peter Li of 56 Digital in Toronto and studio conversations with Rodrigo Caula of NUOVA in Venice Beach to hour-long Zoom calls with George Kroustallis in London and Christopher Dalamagas of NON-STANDARD in Melbourne. I still reflect on these moments and experiences with the utmost fondness.
What does a typical day look like?
Most days are similar and follow a relatively consistent routine. I orient them around the completion of tasks rather than adherence to schedule. The philosophy I have is that one may schedule numerous activities per day—yet may still be utterly unproductive in the time you’ve allotted. (If you’re curious about this idea, a good book to reference is ‘Slow Productivity’ by Cal Newport.)
Within about 30 minutes of waking, I immediately start to move my body. This initial walk serves to clear my thoughts and allows me to reflect on the day ahead. I often ruminate on the dreams I may have had the evening prior. I will listen to podcasts or material I’m interested in, typically topics pertaining to history, politics, science, or design. On rare occasions, I will take a phone call or meeting but I much prefer to reserve this period for myself.
After I return from my walk, I will read a physical book for the first time and then make my morning pour over with, what most sane people would consider, pedantic attention to detail. I find the ritual to be releasing—an act of physical precision. Attempting to improve the cup ever so slightly each time demands presence, and though ostentatious, I find it a relaxing pastime.
Then I dive into visual research, observing and searching for the latest in the realms of art, creativity, and design. I think it's imperative to try and understand what is au courant or trending—and the reasoning behind their relevance. Ultimately, I’m searching for the underlying principles, throughlines, and thinking behind these unique works of creativity. What follows is the forming of an opinion on the material in front of me. I look for ways to appreciate or discern the nuance (or lack thereof) in all that I encounter.
After this, I’ll handle most managerial and operational tasks, such as emailing or taking meetings, before finally settling into deep work on whatever engagement(s) I’m currently undertaking. Because I find the ‘overhead work’ to be mentally fatiguing, I try to address these affairs prior to commencing more 'cognitively enriching' creative work since this action has the inverse effect—I'm invigorated.
I ensure that I exercise at least 5 times per week. I place these sessions strategically, after the first bout of deep work has been completed. These workouts are centered around resistance training with jogging or sprinting to supplement and offer me a bit of respite from creative thinking. While at the gym, I will listen to an audiobook during my mobility and warm up routine before swapping to music after the transition to weightlifting or running.
After training, I’ll eat, shower, and return to another work session. As someone who is highly extroverted, I find it crucial to consistently socialize at events, dinners, or any sort of activity with friends and colleagues. This offers a repose from any sort of internal creative dialogue and is rejuvenating for my psyche. If I do decide to stay in, I will watch films to wind down, typically avoiding genres that may be disquieting as I find it may leave negative psychological residue behind. Just before bed, I will read a physical book for the second time with the goal of priming my body to sleep 7.5 to 9 hours. I think it's paramount for not only my health and longevity, but my ability to generate novel yet useful ideas for both clients and myself.
What's your workstation setup?
It’s minimalist. Computer, monitor, keyboard, speakers, and mouse. I don’t personally find the workstation to be of significant import, other than being ergonomic and comfortable to spend time in, obviating the need for breaks due to strain. A caveat to this being that a good monitor may certainly inspire one to work more and helps to eliminate eye fatigue.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think that your station takes precedence over the environment and setting in which you work—this being that your surroundings are conducive to focus and clarity of thought.
As for sounds, if I’m creating a record cover for an artist I’ll be listening to the music that I’m trying to visualize, of course. In the event it is not available for my audition, I will substitute something that’s similar in tone or theme.
When doing work unrelated to music, often I’ll be listening to instrumental, ambient, or electronic music that is more reserved and subdued in nature. Overly jarring and aggressive sounds, or the presence of lyrics, can impede my ability to produce creative work. On occasion, I will listen to a podcast or conversation—but if there is significant lyrical or verbal content, I have noticed it becomes difficult to remain focused. There are also select moments when I am listening to music that is very demanding and energetic—this, however, is a more infrequent occurrence in my workflow. Some specific artists I’ve been listening to as of late are Jacques Greene, Purple Disco Machine, Gordo, TOOL, Rüfüs du Sol, Billie Eilish, Gesaffelstein, and SG Lewis among others.
Where do you go to get inspired?
Life is replete with inspiration. It can be found everywhere and in everything at any time—books, conversations, walks, movies, nature, clothes, even food or smells. When you commit yourself to appreciate the details in your day to day experience, with sufficient resolve and an openness to do so, you can very easily transmute the quotidian into the artistic.
What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?
Lately, the purview through which I've been examining the design and creative world relates to health and wellness—as I’ve founded my own brand in the space. Though I’ll answer this question from a number of perspectives.
Commercially, and as it relates to product design, I was just admiring the work that Edmund Lock and the team at Two Times Elliott produced for HelloKlean, featuring a custom cut of Repro from Dinamo. This was a gorgeous and tasteful execution across touch points in my opinion.
Culturally, I have been enamoured with post-production houses like RGBERLIN (specifically their contributions to the inaugural edition of HAW-LIN) and Purple Martin Studio. I’ve recently endeavoured to better understand the process of image-making from raw to result. These firms are consistently producing world-class deliverables across media and industry.
Musically, I loved The Kid LAROI’s single artwork for “APEROL SPRITZ” and the overall creative direction taken on a lot of his recent campaigns. The music video for “GIRLS” has this dated treatment and low fidelity that transports me back to my youth, I remember watching MTV music videos in my living room during the early 2000s and feeling the same way.
What pieces of work are you most proud of?
I find this to be a difficult question to accurately answer because I often oscillate between loving my previous works and hating them—perhaps this is the just the protean existence of being "creative". In many ways, one may draw a very loose parallel between the response of a parent when asked who their favourite child is; their answer being that they don't have one.
There are certainly works that I’m proud of, but when it comes to the ones that I am most, the list seems to consistently change with time.
If I had to pick one or two pieces, solely based on recency in this case, I’d say working with founder Alberto Deon on the Demon Footwear / Charlie Constantinou activation and campaign for H. Lorenzo in Los Angeles. Being given the opportunity to art direct and collaborate with generational design talents like Erwin Sanvictores and Scott Cutler made the work all the more meaningful and absolutely elevated the suite of deliverables we made.
The other would be the art direction, campaign, design, and merchandise I provided for my close friend (and genre-bending artist) Boslen and his debut LP 'DUSK to DAWN' in 2021. I distinctly, and vividly, remember being upstairs at 2track Studios in East Vancouver sitting on the couch with Natasha Dion and Cam Corrado reviewing what must have been our thirtieth iteration of the cover art. When the final album artwork was displayed on a monitor while we listened to the complete tracklist—I literally began sobbing. The world as a whole was in an uncertain, and in many ways grim, state at the time. The process was well over a year of conceptualizing, designing, and dreaming—so I felt a truly momentous sense of completion, relief, and ineffable pride that enraptured me to tears.
What design challenges do you face at your company?
I wouldn’t necessarily label my practice as a company, since it is entirely independent—but I would presume most of the challenges I face are similar to that of any freelancer navigating the creative sectors.
It's a consistent battle to acquire not only clients, but the right kinds of clients, with the right kinds of work. Many people who endeavour to operate independently have chosen to do so because of the passion they possess for their craft.
I think the difficulty in being both a ‘business owner’ and a ‘creative’ is the bifurcation in thinking required to adequately fulfill their respective needs effectively. We often want to believe these are disparate spheres, but the reality is they are inextricable from one another, and require development on a pari passu basis. The advice I received from Peter Li was to separate these components into the ‘Business’ and the ‘Work’ where you pursue excellence in each domain. I’ll leave this message from Peter to describe things more eloquently than I ever could:
“Although we usually see some sort of correlation between the two, they operate fairly independently from each other based on what I've seen. It's not uncommon to see a design studio bring in tons of revenue while pushing out sub-par work (this is most big design studios in my opinion). Likewise, some of the most talented graphic designers I know operate small independent practices which bring in a very modest amount of money, often just enough to support one freelancer.”
What music do you listen to while designing?
Any advice for ambitious designers?
There are a few essential principles I would instill in an ambitious designer. While perhaps clichéd or banal, I believe there remains value to be gleaned from their reiteration.
One: it is an absolute necessity that you develop fortitude.
You will be told no. You will be rejected. You will be ignored. You will be forgotten. And all this will happen far more frequently than you will ever be affirmed or given the greenlight. The secret is to never take these things personally, never internalize them, and you will never be filled with indignation.
If someone attacks you ad hominem, absolutely defend yourself (appropriately) and resolve the matter accordingly. But as it pertains to your work, always view things from the perspective that they are providing a critique of what you are creating (or presenting) rather than commentary on who you are as a person. In these critical moments, realize you have been given the opportunity to improve—take it. Many of the creatively inclined have great difficulty separating themselves from their outputs. It requires consistent effort to remain steadfast and I would suggest taking the steps internally to have a healthy relationship with yourself.
Two: you must commit to unrelenting consistency.
If you are ambitious—you want to be great.
To be great requires many things. But of the utmost importance is an assiduous commitment to your craft. You can ascribe innate talent, luck, exposure, and other external factors to the presence, or absence, of your success. Regardless, you must consistently take the necessary action to improve. Within our field, this means proceeding at a pace that you can upkeep every single day—without fail and without brevity in your approach.
Three: reach out to those you admire.
Parsimony will not foster your growth. You must be willing to share words of encouragement, express your interest, and seek to collaborate or learn from others that are leaders in your field. Even if your outreach is received poorly (or not at all), take solace in the fact that you’ve voiced your genuine sentiments. Should you one day find yourself on the receiving end of such a gesture, honor it by paying forward the same generosity that was once extended to you.
Four: leave room for life.
Embrace the unexpected. Accept that life is innately mercurial. Life is truly unforgiving of those who are rigid and obstinate yet equally has a pronounced predilection for those who are flexible and adaptable. Meet every situation with brio and deference—you’ll always be better for it. You will find that, although lacking preparation, it’s only once that you experience something for the very first time. Strive to uncover the hidden inspiration in your unforeseen circumstances.
Anything you want to promote or plug?
594 days ago I embarked on a journey.
I founded and serve as the CEO of a unisex and hormone-safe self-care label called Talgh, which was created in 2023 alongside my friend Austen Goodman. You can check out what I’ve been working on at www.talgh.co—should you be interested in seeing the application of my methodology and thinking into the world of health, wellness, and endocrine optimization.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s likely you got the sense that I would not (and could not) recommend a single creative—and you likely knew it wasn’t only going to be limited to designers. The following list is provided in alphabetical order.
Alberto Deon. Ben Levinas. Christopher Dalamagas. Dean Giffin. Edmund Lock. Erwin Sanvictores. Elizabeth Goodspeed. Felix Yuen. George Edge. George Kroustallis. Joe Tsao. Joshua Abejo. Landis Tanaka. Megmik Vosghanian. Nabil Ettahir. Peter Li. Priscilla Oliveros. Rodrigo Caula. Roko Gabrilo. Scott Cutler. Simon Abranowicz. Yağmur Ersayin.
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