The digital version of the SXSW Interactive Program Guide is now available. Packed full of information, this guide is a must-read before leaving home and on the plane, as well as a great resource on the ground. Download today!
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/468457
Q: Can you tell us about your creative process in designing the 2015 Interactive bag? A: For the 2015 Interactive bag, I really wanted to do some- thing a bit humorous. I think if any group of people appreciates a good industry-centric joke it's web folks. After a lot of brainstorming (both alone and with friends), the most topical subject to poke a little fun at seemed to be wearables (the week my first sketches were due was the week of the Apple watch release). I love that the tech industry has taken over the term "wearable," so "Totes: The Original Wearables" won out as the phrase to be lettered. I wanted to make a design that was really bold and legible, but also beautiful, so I kept the color palette simple and the letter styles pretty gender neutral. Whenever I'm working on a piece of lettering art, I start with a sketch before I vectorize. I work through a few different layouts and then settle on the one that's best aes- thetically and communicates the clearest. When making the final artwork, everything is redrawn in Adobe Illustrator. Q: For someone who isn't familiar with your work or style, how would you describe it? A: I think I'd say I make custom letter-based artwork (drawing words and phrases from scratch) that is influenced by vintage lettering designs but not so much that it feels out of place in the present. Everything I make definitely has a warmth to it too—it feels hand-made but not naive or slapped together. Q: How do you get inspired? A: As far as inspiration, I find that I am most inspired by making sure I have enough diversity in the kind of work I take on. I definitely love shorter-term projects more than long-term ones because I'm able to work on a lot of things at once. I love looking at old lettering samples and books, cruising pinterest and friends' flickr accounts for inspiration, as well as just drawing inspiration from the world around me by staying involved in the creative community and making sure that I spend as much time developing my skills as a human as I do developing my skills as a designer. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring designers and visual storytellers? A: It sounds cheesy, but "follow your heart" is really the best career advice. That doesn't mean drop all of your respon- sibilities and pursue a weird unattainable career, it means pay attention to your life, to what makes you happy, to what makes you frustrated and upset, and do what you can to work toward a happier life. It's not about starting from scratch or completely shifting gears, it's about knowing how and when to make little adjustments to your every day life until sud- denly you realize that you're on course to what you actually want to be doing. Q: What superpower would you like to have? A: Teleporting. Or being able to speak every language. Q: When did you know you wanted to be a letterer and type designer? A: I went to art school to study art in general, and it was there that I fell in love with graphic design. I really liked that graphic design was about problem solving and creating artwork for others rather than just for myself. I incorporated a lot of illustration and lettering into my work while in school, though at the time I didn't realize that lettering could be it's own separate career. It wasn't until after I was working for Louise Fili that I saw that you could be a designer that focuses on lettering or just be a letterer in your own right. When I went off on my own as a freelancer, I knew hardly any lettering artists – the field has really grown since then and I'm meeting people all the time that call themselves letterers. Type design is a whole other monster. I'm still edging my way into that world, but (to put it in nerd terms) it's the equivalent of switching from being a UI designer working exclusively in Photoshop to being a CMS developer. You think in systems instead of thinking about everything you're creating as only existing in one form. Mike's "That's More Like It" Latte To each their own latte Starbucks.com/loveyourlatte © 2013 Starbucks Coffee Company. All rights reserved. 2015 BIG BAG TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR 2015 BIG BAG ARTIST, JESSICA HISCHE VISIT JESSICAHISCHE.IS. SXSW 2015 Interactive Festival 23 FESTIVAL OVERVIEW