Color Wheel

Typographic Texture

Texture

Video Summary: Marian Bantjes

Marian Bantjes is a Canadian designer, typographer and illustrator.  Everything about her is fascinating, from her work to her individual style to her personal story.  Marian was an art school dropout and found a job as a typesetter at a publishing company.  She worked for many years as a graphic designer at the design firm Digitopolis, but eventually became disenchanted with the client-based model of design strategy.  After leaving the company Marian moved to a remote location on Bowen Island, where she focused on personal projects, wrote furiously on the design blog Speak Up, and eventually found her own creative voice around age 40.

Following the personal mantra "Everything I do, I do for love," Valentine's Day became Marian's "thing," and she continues to create incredible custom valentines every year.  She has since become a wildly successful and sought-after designer who always follows her own personal ideas and instincts, rather than catering to the client.  Marian has published a book entitled I Wonder, constructed in the style of illuminated manuscript.  She is described by her colleagues as having an "obvious obsession," as copious amounts of time, love and attention are apparent in all her work.  Marian advocates for the fusion and inclusion of fine art in the commercial world, and for working against what's expected.

Video Summary: Jessica Hische

Jessica Hische is a San Francisco-based designer and illustrator specializing in lettering.  Her many notable projects include designing the book cover lettering and ornamentation for the Barnes and Noble classics series and the typeface for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom.  She gained recognition in the design world for her project Daily Drop Cap, in which she created a new hand-drawn illustrative letter every day and shared them as free downloads on the web.  Not only was this a smart marketing strategy, but it kept her on her creative toes! 

I would describe Jessica's work as bright, whimsical, stylish and super fun.  Her work has an aesthetic that definitely appeals to my personal sense of style, and she has an attention to detail and subtlety that makes her a standout among lettering artists.

Jessica is the co-founder of Title Case Typographic Artisans and shares this functional office space with her partner, Erik Marinovich.  Together they hold lettering workshops for aspiring designers around their communal work table.  Jessica and Erik start their work days with the ritual of changing into their studio moccasins and are self proclaimed "type nerds."

Some of the best advice I gained from Jessica's interview was to choose a career doing day-to-day work that you love, and to draw creative inspiration from EVERYWHERE.

Scale

Scale | Depth | Motion

Video Summary: Sean Adams

Sean Adams, a direct descendant of John Adams, is a wildly successful figure in the world of graphic design.  Sean is the executive director of the Graphic Design program at ArtCenter and the national president of AIGA, the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design.  He is the founder of Burning Settlers Cabin studio in Los Angeles and was also a founding partner of AdamsMorioka, Inc.

Sean has so much knowledge and expertise in the design field and shares it in a fun, accessible way.  I enjoyed hearing his perspective on generating design ideas -- steal from others, listen to your client, write things down and don't be afraid to shake it up and do the WRONG thing. 

Sean also had helpful tips on creating a portfolio and seeking employment, emphasizing the importance of networking and getting involved in the community.  I appreciated his encouragement to do anything and learn everything about design, since so many designers in today's competitive job market are multi-talented.

Lastly, Sean stressed the significance of design history and learning about the art and artists of the past (and present).  He leaves us with the question, "Where do YOU fall in the course of design history?"

Video Summary: Margo Chase

Margo Chase is a Los Angeles-based graphic designer with years of experience in many different aspects of the design field.  She initially started working in the music business designing album covers for major artists including Madonna, Cher and Paula Abdul.  Margo's mother was a calligrapher, and her signature gothic design style is influenced by the heavy, bold typeface of calligraphy.  She has developed several gothic style fonts and often uses traditional calligraphy hand tools and Japanese brushes in her work.  Margo is perhaps best known for designing the movie poster for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Margo founded her own successful design firm in the mid-eighties, Chase Design Group, and has since branched out to offer branding, packaging, interior design and more.  The Chase Design Group office is currently located in an old renovated warehouse in the Silverlake neighborhood of LA.  The open space, graffiti covered walls and library loft filled with vintage art books make it an ideal place to work and create. 

Margo Chase serves as an inspiration for designers everywhere, with her unique style, extensive experience and versatility within the design world. 

Rhythm | Balance

Point | Line | Plane

100 Iterations

100 Iterations | EYE