Interview

You might think that creative communicators spanning the fields of the visual arts and design are busy these days just trying to keep their heads above water. And while staying financially afloat amongst current economic conditions is admittedly a challenge, there is no shortage of creatives' attention being devoted to helping solve the problems of those less fortunate. Sometimes this falls within a corporate framework, such as the Sappi Ideas That Matter program, which has to date funded more than 500 design-driven programs, adding up to $12 million in support of causes supporting the social good — that quaint concept that refuses to die.

The Deeply Graphic Design Podcast is a fairly new show from The Deep End Design Studio.

Here is a quick interview I made with Wes McDowell, who leads the podcast.

CB: What prompted you to create this podcast?
I have always been a fan of the talk radio format, and over the last few years I have subscribed to a number of other design-themed podcasts that I really enjoyed. Over the past year, I have noticed that many of them have started going away. I don't know if its because they got too busy to keep putting them out, or if they just weren't getting enough listeners to justify spending the time doing it, but in either case, I thought that I could fill the void left by them. Also, I find myself giving design advice to others in person, or on forums, etc, so it seemed like a natural fit to start a podcast.

I (Joe Moreno) started working at Apple during the dot-com boom in 1998, and I left the company in 2007. As much as I loved working at Apple, by 2007 I determined that I now had the financial freedom and opportunity to leave the company and begin working on my own projects.

Adapted from Glitch: Designing Imperfection (Mark Batty Publisher)
By Iman Moradi, Ant Scott, Joe Gilmore & Christopher Murphy
Dateline: October 23, 2009

Q: Please outline your working ethos and history as a graphic design studio—your experimental glitch research and the commercial side. How did this way of working come about?

The Apple logo is one of the most famous logos in the world. Apple fans not only put this logo on their vehicles to show their loyalty, they go to the extreme of tattooing themselves with it, a level of dedication very few brands achieved. The logo is admired for it's simplicity and many meanings that people attach to it. It's timeless. For 30 years it has been unchanged and I expect at least another 30 before anything drastic will be done to it.

When Jean Louis Gassée (executive at Apple Computer from 1981 to 1990) was asked about his thoughts to the Apple logo he answered:
One of the deep mysteries to me is our logo, the symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with the colors of the rainbow in the wrong order. You couldn't dream of a more appropriate logo: lust, knowledge, hope, and anarchy.

There are many theories about this logo and many of them are just that. Find out the truth, read the interview with Rob Janoff, the designer of the original Apple logo, who will tell you all about his design.

CB: When did you design the original Apple logo with the colorful stripes?
RJ: Early 1977. The agency got the account (Apple) sometime January. The logo was introduced with the new product Apple II in April of that year.

CB: Were you working for an agency at the time?
RJ: Yes, I was working for an advertising and public relations agency called Regis McKenna and I was an art director.

Here is an interview with the talented icon designer Jonas Rask from Denmark. Hopefully you will find it useful to have a bit of insight into his professional thinking and get to know him a bit better personally as well.

When I stumbled upon Jonas work some time ago on the net. I particulary fell in love with his highly detailed icons and the complexity of them. I wanted to know more about who he is and how these icons were created so I'll just had to ask him if he was willing to give an interview. Luckily he was more than happy to do the interview so here it is:

One of the misconceptions many new designers have when they start out in an ad agency is that they will work alone in a plush office taking client supplied copy and photos and designing the next great ad.

This is the first of a series of interviews with talented designers who are readers of CreativeBits. Hopefully you will find it useful to have a bit of insight into their professional thinking and get to know them a bit better personally as well.

I particularly love Cian's icons for their character, extreme detail and clear simplicity of ideas. I wanted to know about how these small jewels of design come alive, so I thought I'll just ask him if he's willing to give an interview. Luckily he was happy to respond, so here it goes: