In the latest installment of Work With, a film series from Working Not Working, we sit down with WNW Member Allison Filice. Allison is a San Francisco-based freelance illustrator and designer whose work colorfully explores her inner and outer worlds.
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Illustration by Allison Filice
A Mixtape from Allison Filice for the Journey Inward
“I encourage you to journey inward this winter. Set a course for what you want this year before the hustle and bustle takes you for a ride of its own. Spend some time alone journaling, reading, listening to music, or meditating.”
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A Mixtape from Allison Filice for Transmitting Your Creative Beacon
“What we should focus on is understanding who we truly are, what our unique message is, and creating our beacon that we transmit out into the world so that other people can find us. Our beacons are our illustrations, our blogs, our paintings, our photographs, our sketches, our videos.”
Read MorePart Speakeasy & Part Speak Out, The Lady Factory Exports Empowerment
Earlier this week, a one-of-a-kind "pop-up museum" appeared in San Francisco. Named "The Lady Factory," it's part speakeasy, part speak out. Clemence Pluche tells us why it was the perfect time for "a super-shareable, ultra-Instagrammable set of installations embedded with stories and subtext about women’s real lives in 2018."
Read MoreThis Artist Visualizes Our Universe's Most Abstract Mysteries
"I’m really interested in astronomy, quantum physics, psychology, and philosophy. They’re different approaches in search of the same answers." WNW Member Allison Filice is doing her part to add illustration to the list with her latest project. Titled "Strange Universe", Allison's undertaking involves visualizing the most mysterious concepts of how our universe operates. Each illustration captures both the incredible balancing act of these concepts and the hallucinatory depth required to even wrap our minds around them.
Read MoreWHY JOSEPH ALESSIO COMMUNICATES WITH A UNIQUELY TACTILE LANGUAGE
JOSEPH ALESSIO'S WORK
STRIVES FOR A COMPLETE
SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Here at WNW HQ, we love seeing new work from WNW Member Joseph Alessio. His tactile designs, defying the constant shift toward digitalization, are both comforting and revitalizing. In our interview below, Joseph tells us about his creative background, the differences in the creatives scenes of his hometown Detroit and his current home San Francisco, and why he's in no rush to fully define his style. "I do consider myself a young designer, though, and I think I'll develop a more defined style as I continue to grow creatively. Hopefully in 40 years I'll be that 60-something designer who's still pushing the kids and coming up with fresh ideas."
Joseph also riffs on the role of tangibility in his work: "Combining language and imagery is absolutely compelling—language, a collection of sounds that carry conceptual meaning, and then distilling those concepts into visuals—and when we craft those visual representations with tactile media, it becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Even if it's just a digital image of the composition, it evokes the experiences associated with those textures, scents, and objects, simultaneous with the verbal message—a complete sensory experience."
Tell us a little bit about your creative background. Who is Joseph Alessio and how did he get here?
Hey there! I'm a lettering artist and designer from the Midwest, recently transplanted to the SF Bay Area via Denver. I stumbled into doing lettering as a teen, as a hack-y way to make calligraphic compositions using a pencil instead of the proper tools; and when I discovered that lettering was actually a design discipline, a few years later while working at a tiny web dev shop in suburban Detroit, I was sold. Since I've had no traditional education, it's been an interesting path, and I'm constantly learning from any source that I can, and I think that's influenced my very eclectic personality and creative direction. I've been working as a lettering artist since 2012, balancing that with musical and other design interests. I'm a very hands-on person, and I love to get my hands dirty; so I do a lot of tactile and dimensional work and short-form stop motion using a broad variety of media, pairing the experiential aspect of familiar, tangible materials with the beauty of language rendered visually.
How would you describe your creative style? Do you recognize a signature style that links all of your projects, or do you try to excuse yourself and approach each project as its own entity?
I'm not sure I deal in a signature style, at least at this point in my career. I think I have definite tendencies—most of what I do is type- or lettering-based, and I generally try to find a playful or interesting take on the letterforms and materials, usually using tactile media or animation—but I actively avoid being... typecast (sorry not sorry). Some days you want to make things that are fun and playful, and other days you want serious concepts; it depends on the project. I'm not sure if this is damaging from a career standpoint—it seems the most successful careers usually hinge on endless variations of one general design style—but it's definitely more fulfilling from a creative standpoint. I do consider myself a young designer, though, and I think I'll develop a more defined style as I continue to grow creatively. Hopefully in 40 years I'll be that 60-something designer who's still pushing the kids and coming up with fresh ideas.
What does the idea of tangibility mean to you? Is your work a rejection of everything being digitized these days, or do you more just like the idea of combining language and imagery in compelling ways?
The more digitally-driven our world becomes, the more we need to hark back to the tactile and human. The digital is of course an integral part of our lives, even part of the process behind any of my tactile pieces; but it can't replace the tangible. Combining language and imagery is absolutely compelling—language, a collection of sounds that carry conceptual meaning, and then distilling those concepts into visuals—and when we craft those visual representations with tactile media, it becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Even if it's just a digital image of the composition, it evokes the experiences associated with those textures, scents, and objects, simultaneous with the verbal message—a complete sensory experience.
Which of your projects are you proudest of and why?
To date my favorite project is a self-initiated one, my "Tools of the Trade" series. It was incredibly time-intensive—I'm always drawn to things that take much longer than I have to spend on them, ha! Thankfully it was time well-spent, as the final product was really tight. Most people who create tactile lettering come from a styling or illustrative background, whereas I bring a lot of typographic study to the project; and I think that shows in this project in terms of composition and letterform quality. It's always a struggle to get materials to conform to make great letterforms, and you usually have to accept and embrace the limitations of each material as you work with it, but the tools made for a malleable, if tricky, medium. It's a great show-off series, although I still haven't successfully pitched the concept of tool type for an ad campaign yet!
What’s the creative scene like in your hometown of Detroit? How does it differ from your new base in San Francisco?
Detroit's a fascinating city. There's so much history there, creatively, but mostly remembered for industrial design or music. The industries that have driven the Michigan economy in the past century have created a blue-collar, Rust Belt grittiness in the culture, and I think that's why you see a lot of hard-working, no-nonsense creatives emerge from the region. SF has a few different cultures I think—the historically counter-cultural city, the recent but louder tech culture, the varying cultural personalities seeping in from all the corners of the Bay Area. It creates a fascinating milieu and it's hard to define, but it's a much more laid back, playful and colorful vibe than the more industrial Detroit or the dusty Denver, where I spent a year between my hometown and the west coast.
What do you see as the biggest perks and challenges of the freelance lifestyle?
The benefits and drawbacks differ from person to person, since everyone flourishes in different environments. For me, as an introvert, I work well on my own, and value the flexibility of freelancing. Creativity suffers when there isn't room to think, and I like to feel like I have that space to invest in ideas. On the other hand, all of those ideas have to be funded out-of-pocket, since a freelancer doesn't have the resources and gear afforded by a well-equipped creative department; and the stressors of running a one-person show—managing your own accounts, being your own marketing department, dealing with more complicated taxes, the lack of stability et al, can add up. At the end of the day, though, the flexibility and variety that freelancing can offer win out for me; maybe that will change at some point, but right now I feel like I could freelance long-term and be happy with it. I will say, though, I'm doing a short onsite contract with a major tech company as I write this, and those elaborate meals are way more exciting than whatever I put together when I'm working in my own studio...
Who and what are your biggest creative influences?
That's a hard question to answer! I love film, music, literature, and art as well as design, and I try to draw inspiration from as broad a sampling as possible—as much from Lynch's films and Lennon's songwriting as Lubalin's lettering or Lichtenstein's art. Typographically speaking, I'd say the people I look to most often for inspiration include older lettering artists such as Tom Carnase and Doyald Young; type designers or lettering artists who push limits like Ondrej Jób, Bart Vollebregt or Gareth Hague; designers doing really smart work like Kelli Anderson, Leta Sobieraski; people who do great environmental or tactile work, like SNASK, Craig Ward, Sean Freeman—I could list dozens of people in each of these categories but that's a great sampling to start with.
What advice can you offer to up-and-coming typographers and letterers? What will it take for them to succeed?
First, invest time and effort in learning the foundational knowledge of letter design. Second, don't do what you see everyone else doing. Third, don't give up, and recognize that both developing skills or finding success take time. I think the recent trend of interest in lettering has peaked and we'll be seeing it lose its prominence a bit. It'll be harder to gain visibility as a lettering artist, because it won't be such a popular search topic or an immediately referenced design solution; so you'll need to be persistent. But, it will be great for lettering in general, because it will weed out a lot of the poorly executed work that the design world is currently awash in, it'll create some space for trends to reset, and it'll allow the focus to shift back to making really fresh and original work.
What’s next for you? What are you working on now?
I have a few things in the pipeline that will be a major undertaking, shifting to longer-form animation than I've currently produced and exploring bigger concepts than I've been able to play with so far. I'm also hoping to push larger scale work this year, in the form of dimensional installations and murals, large enough to let me get really creative with materials and textures and even work that will invite and allow public interaction. A lot of concepts in the works and good stuff that, if the stars align, will be a big step forward in terms of production and concept for me.
What do you do when Not Working?
Unfortunately many of my hobbies are also work-related—personal projects are always calling my name—but it's super important to enjoy life outside of that as well. I play a few instruments; that's another benefit of freelancing, actually—being able to take a midday break and turn up my amps without upsetting everyone because my neighbors are at work! I make a point to get outdoors every weekend—Muir Woods, Yosemite, Muir Beach, Point Reyes, so many incredible spots to explore around the Bay Area. Museums, reading about type or design (in a recreational way... I think), watching classic films, all that good stuff.
You’re a Working Not Working Super OG, and have been a member almost as long as we’ve existed. What does a community and tool like Working Not Working mean to you, your creativity, and your creative career?
It's been great to be on the platform, another way of getting my name out there; despite the fact that lettering and typographic image creation is pretty niche—fitting the working process of an illustrator more so than designer or art director—and therefore I'm not the most natural fit for the platform, I've still been able to make great connections and start conversations on WNW that I haven't elsewhere, because the talent pool is so high quality and well-curated. It's also been a great community to be a part of, going to to the networking events or parties that you host regularly, especially when in new cities where I don't know many people.
Who are some WNW Members whose work you admire and why?
I really love the work of Leta Sobierajski and Wade Jeffree—they have a huge body of work, very eclectic, and they bring a really punchy, quirky and fresh feel to everything they touch. Carly Ayres is a great one, I've worked with her briefly a couple of times; she's working with HAWRAF now and putting out great experimental, fun work. Nicole Licht has great stuff as well, I love the colors and tactility of her work. Kyle Read brings historical perspective and precision to lettering and type design projects, great work from him as well. Again I could probably list dozens of people here, but I've run out of searches on WNW! There's an immense amount of talent, and very high average level of awesomeness on this site.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for the great questions! Looking forward to sharing some of the projects I have coming up with you in the future.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
PROFILES OF THE WEEK: JANUARY 23RD
PROFILES OF THE WEEK:
JANUARY 23RD
Emily Coates, UX/IA Designer. New York.
Richard Leighton, Designer. San Francisco.
Laura Harrington, Art Director. New York.
Dan Hofstadter, Copywriter. Long Beach.
Arturo Aranda, Art Director. New York.
Elena Schneider, Designer. Koblenz.
Kalle Haasum, Art Director. Berlin.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
PROFILES OF THE WEEK: NOVEMBER 28TH
PROFILES OF THE WEEK:
NOVEMBER 28TH
Michael Ramirez, Producer. San Francisco.
Juliana Lynch, Art Director. New York.
Stuart Harricks, Art Director. New York.
Laurel Stark Akman, Copywriter. San Francisco.
Beck Hickey, Art Director. New York.
Thomas Pregiato, Designer. New York.
Greg Dalbey, Art Director. New York.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
PROFILES OF THE WEEK: NOVEMBER 21ST
PROFILES OF THE WEEK:
NOVEMBER 21ST
Monica Welsh, Art Director. New York.
Eun Bin Park, Designer. Seoul.
Caitlin De Angelis, Producer. New York.
Michelle Hirschberg, Copywriter. Brooklyn.
Charles Haggas, Creative Technologist. Austin.
Miro Klasinc, Motion Designer. Los Angeles.
Corey Koberna, Art Director. San Francisco.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
Overshare Podcast: Jessica Hische + Jennifer Daniel
Overshare Podcast: Jessica Hische + Jennifer Daniel
Overshare is a Working Not Working event series and podcast that features honest conversations with our favorite creatives about the tough stuff we don't talk about in public often enough. When the idea for Overshare was first born, Jennifer Daniel and Jessica Hische were two of the first artists that came to mind. In this fourth episode, we head to San Francisco and attempt to go deeper than the 34,000 tweets of these two professional oversharers. It was no easy task, but they were more than happy to oblige. Talking about their respective therapists early on in the conversation, Jessica explains, "My therapist doesn't say anything in our sessions. It's just me dumping onto her and then I leave." Jennifer quips, "[Mine] tweeted me once. That was weird. I had to fire her." Inherently the conversation did circle back to a discussion about how social media has impacted their careers, with Jennifer adding, "There is no question it has impacted my career. I would love to meet someone who said it didn't impact their career...I think in 140 characters now. It has absolutely informed my identity."
Aside from being incredibly talented designers and illustrators with equally intimidating resumes, Jessica and Jennifer have both had kids in the past couple years. As someone who doesn't have children and is not a woman, WNW co-founder Justin Gignac aimed to learn how motherhood can affect you as a creative as well as how it affects your career. After an educational detour into pregnancy, epidurals, placenta, and breastfeeding, Jessica and Jennifer opened up about the struggle to get back into the game after maternity leave. As Jessica describes, "People constantly ask me, 'Oh so wait you still have the studio?' People are surprised that I still have my studio in the city now that I'm a parent. Not even that I still work, it's that they're surprised that I don't work from home now that I have my daughter. Why would I give up my studio, why would anything in my life really change? Why would my business change that significantly?" "I was not prepared for that perception," Jennifer adds. "I did not really appreciate the understanding that the default is the mother takes care of the kid before their career. It is biological, I cared about those kids more than my career. But I love my job, I fucking love working...Professionally, women get screwed when they have children. Universally. If you are worried about your career after you have kids, you have a reason to be worried."
Beyond motherhood, both women open up about being a creative in San Francisco, the dangers of long-term goals, and if they ever worry that they've peaked creatively or professionally. Looking ahead, Justin asks what success means to Jennifer and Jessica. For Jennifer, "Success is about it being difficult. Success isn't about it being easy. I love a good struggle. Success is insatiable. I don't think about it and that helps me." For Jessica, "Success for me is making things that I find meaningful but that also other people find meaningful. In a more personal way, feeling still excited and motivated by whatever it is that I'm working on."
For those of you who couldn't join us, we have good news: you can listen to the entire conversation below on our podcast, brought to you by our friends at AND CO. Subscribe to Overshare on iTunes, Soundcloud, or with any other podcasting app via our RSS feed.
Jessica Hische
Jessica Hische
Jennifer Daniel
Jennifer Daniel
A heartfelt thanks to AND CO for sponsoring this episode of Overshare. Let AND CO, co-founded by WNW Member Leif Abraham, help you run your freelance business by managing your invoicing, time tracking, expenses and projects with the combination of a smart app and your personal Chief Operator.
Get 20% off for 3 months on all premium memberships with the code “WNW”.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us.
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Carlos Ricque Talks Agency Identity & Momentum at DigitasLBi
Carlos Ricque Talks Agency Identity & Momentum at DigitasLBi
MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR
One of the more essential yet fleeting qualities for an agency's success is momentum, and it's something DigitasLBI has a lot of these days. So we caught up with DigitasLBI's SVP Carlos Ricque to find out what steps he takes to keep the machine humming, how he caters his approach to allow his left brain and right brain to coexist and why the culture and evolution of DigitasLBI continues to excite him.
After working at Digitas for over two years in New York, Carlos recently made the move to DigitasLBI's San Francisco office. Below, he talks about how the change has energized him: "The vibe in this office is really special. The energy is contagious. And the combination of creative opportunity with a bunch of cool new people makes it almost a new office altogether."
Talking about how he personally strives to keep the agency looking ahead, Carlos notes, "For me that means getting involved when the work could be better, but even more importantly it’s being out in front of the work, removing obstacles, making sure nothing is going to keep a good idea from seeing the light of day."
As for how DigitasLBI separates itself from other agencies, Carlos makes a strong case: "This is a place with enough smart, hungry people walking around that if you have a good idea, somebody will know how to get it done. This makes us better than most in pitches because when we show an idea, we’re confident it’s going to be makeable...There’s not a lot of “wouldn’t it be cool if…?” If we’re showing you an idea, we’ve done the legwork. It’s viable."
Tell us a little bit about your creative background. How did your path lead you to SVP & Creative Lead of DigitasLBI San Francisco?
After college I went to Portfolio Center in Atlanta. This was before there were so many ad schools, so at the time PC was pretty much it. I fell in love with Atlanta, it’s a great city. I stayed and worked at several agencies there before moving to NYC. I’ve been at Digitas for about three years, all in New York until I recently took over creative here in the San Francisco office.
The vibe in this office is really special. The energy is contagious. And the combination of creative opportunity with a bunch of cool new people makes it almost a new office altogether.
We recently launched an event series called Overshare, where we interview successful creatives about their career challenges. What were a few definitive moments or turning points that had an impact on who you are today?
I’m really lucky to have worked with generous CDs, the kind that let you screw up in a way that makes you better for next time.
One of my first shoots was for a real estate client. My partner and I imagined a locked-off camera – a couple is in bed asleep in their new home, you hear a garbage truck and the guy snaps awake and dashes out of frame. Our CD suggested we get coverage of the guy running down the stairs. We started whining immediately – you’re ruining our vision, this is a one-shot only, here’s how TV works, blah blah blah. He pressed us, and we finally gave in and covered the shot, like we’re doing him a favor.
You can guess what happened next: He let us sit in that edit room for 2 days trying to make the spot work. But we were stuck with an 8 second shot of a pillow in an empty bed. Finally from the back of the room we hear “Maybe let’s try a version with the stair shot?” We had so dismissed it as an option that we forgot we shot it!
Obviously, getting that coverage was common sense. But he let us stumble through and figure it out ourselves. I always took that to heart, that the job of the CD is not just to make the work good, but to help make everyone on the team better at what they do. Thanks, Art Mellor!
“There’s not a lot of ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…?’ If we’re showing you an idea, we’ve done the legwork. It’s viable.”
What separates DigitasLBI from other agencies?
This is a place with enough smart, hungry people walking around that if you have a good idea, somebody will know how to get it done. This makes us better than most in pitches because when we show an idea, we’re confident it’s going to be makeable. We’ve already lined up the partners, or we prototyped it, or whatever. We can get it done. There’s not a lot of “wouldn’t it be cool if…?” If we’re showing you an idea, we’ve done the legwork. It’s viable.
How have you seen the identity of DigitasLBi evolve over the years?
It feels like we’ve gotten braver over the last couple of years. The work has gotten edgier. It’s not one or two teams, or small pockets of people, it’s happening across every office. The Boston team just did the wingsuit stunt for Dunkin’ Donuts. Chicago keeps reinventing the Maytag brand. In New York we won a Grand Prix for work in health. And San Francisco, in my opinion, does some of the best work in the agency. We took over E3 with 14-foot robot dinosaurs for PlayStation. We turned off Taco Bell’s entire online presence to launch their app, which is a lot more complicated to do than you’d think. We’ve been creating tons of original content for eBay. There’s still room to grow so we’re hitting it on every assignment, but the groundwork is there. And the talent is there.
“I try to create a vibe where people feel like they can do their best work, and try to make sure everyone feels ownership of the agency’s success.”
Momentum seems like a such a fleeting yet essential quality for the success of an agency. It’s something that DigitasLBi has a lot of right now. In what ways do you try to sustain momentum?
We’ve been doing well lately, and we’ve made some key hires that are going to change the trajectory of this office going into next year. I get really excited when something good is happening, because it benefits everyone in the building. Whether you worked on a particular project or not, when the agency wins we all win. So I try to create a vibe where people feel like they can do their best work, and try to make sure everyone feels ownership of the agency’s success.
For me that means getting involved when the work could be better, but even more importantly it’s being out in front of the work, removing obstacles, making sure nothing is going to keep a good idea from seeing the light of day.
“You have to make an effort to be a little bit irresponsible. Not careless. But irresponsible enough to ignore the rules, or the budget, or the timeline …just for a minute. Just until the idea gets a little bit more baked, so it can survive the other stuff.”
Being in a leadership position, how do you cater your approach to allow your left brain and right brain to coexist?
God. It’s tough. Both in-house and at the client, you’re dealing with business-minded people, deadline-focused people, budget-minded people. All of them are laser-focused on their thing, as they should be. So you need that logical part of your brain to make sure all the elements of an idea are in place, and stay protected.
But as creatives, our only job is to come up with an idea. It’s the thing that only we can do. So you have to make an effort to be a little bit irresponsible. Not careless. But irresponsible enough to ignore the rules, or the budget, or the timeline …just for a minute. Just until the idea gets a little bit more baked, so it can survive the other stuff.
I tend to do all of my creative thinking in the early morning, so I block off the early part of the day to look at work, go over ideas etc. Then I’ll do all of the grown-up work the rest of the day, once all the noise starts seeping into my brain.
“I’ve seen a lot of really good creatives not be able to let go of ‘their idea’ long enough to let anyone help make it happen. So their vision stays perfectly intact, in the presentation deck, because they weren’t big enough to let someone else bring it to life with them. ”
For someone entering the field of advertising today, what do they need to succeed? How has that changed from when you started your career?
First, you have to be able able to think quickly, but then keep refining your idea. Those are two different skills, and they’re very hard to combine. Some people are brooders - they need to go sit in a corner for three days before they can show you anything. They tend to get pre-empted by louder, faster voices. Others are the opposite – they’ll think of something fast, but if you challenge their idea or if something comes up that involves changing it in any way, they freeze up. The best creatives can come up with an idea quickly but still respond to inputs, roll with changes, while protecting the heart of the idea.
The second thing is you have to be cool working with people whose work you don’t understand…and know that they don’t understand what you do either. Back in the day it was a copywriter and an art director, period. Now there are so many considerations that can make or break your idea. It may not work in mobile; that may not be the way people use Snapchat; whatever it is, there are probably 6 or 7 disciplines, all very specialized, who have to understand your vision, and can then use what they know to help you bring something to life. I’ve seen a lot of really good creatives not be able to let go of “their idea” long enough to let anyone help make it happen. So their vision stays perfectly intact, in the presentation deck, because they weren’t big enough to let someone else bring it to life with them.
Which campaigns are you most proud of?
The team that worked on Take it From a Fish did a great job with that work. Last year we followed that up with a project for a lung cancer support group that became a passion project for us. We turned Leap Day into a #GiftedDay, for people suffering from the disease. When you have lung cancer there’s no support groups, no pink ribbon, nothing. It felt really good to create something with actual social value to support people who need that kind of connection.
What do you do when not working?
I read a lot, and generally spend a lot of time with my wife and our little girl. Since we’ve just moved here we’ve made it a goal to be outside exploring as much as possible.
Are you a WNW Company with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
PROFILES OF THE WEEK: OCTOBER 17TH
PROFILES OF THE WEEK:
OCTOBER 17TH
Kat Kaye, Photographer. Los Angeles.
Björn Jonas, Photographer. New York.
Deanna Halsall, Illustrator. Manchester.
Haik Avanian, Designer. Brooklyn.
Katherine Fernandez, Copywriter. San Francisco.
Matthias Hoegg, Animator. London.
James Wignall, Director. London.
James Cameron Ewing, Art Director. San Francisco.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
7 Tips for the Advertising Freelancer
If you work at a big agency, it seems like once a week that somebody sends out an email about farewell drinks and plans to join the freelance army.
There are lots of reasons for the explosion of advertising freelancers in recent years. From an agency perspective, more project work versus AOR assignments means that agencies are less likely to take on permanent staff. From the freelancer side, many people like the freedom and flexibility that freelancing provides. The money is pretty good too.
Read More
ANXY: A BEAUTIFULLY-DESIGNED MAGAZINE ABOUT OUR INNER WORLDS
ANXY: A BEAUTIFULLY-DESIGNED MAGAZINE ABOUT OUR
INNER WORLDS
Embracing your individuality and creativity and sharing it with the world requires a lot of courage, regardless of whether it comes easily to you or not. It means you're putting time into discovering yourself. We at WNW are always thrilled to see our members address not just the highs but especially the lows that come with the territory of self-discovery. Anxy Magazine is a prime example. Anxy's founder and Creative Director, WNW Member Indhira Rojas, tells us, "Anxy is intended to be a creative and artful exploration of mental health combined with powerful personal narratives. We are looking to create a publication that allows us to dive into our inner experiences and share what’s *really* going on in our lives. Our mission is to reduce the stigma around mental health conversations and make them an integral part of our daily lives."
Anxy aims to show that there's no longer a need to expend all of your energy on internalizing your struggle. And that the curtain we use to hide anxiety is really just a thin veil that distorts the realities of it: "We want to normalize these bad feelings and share how others have navigated or are still navigating those negative and dark moments... Each issue of Anxy uses a central theme—“loneliness” or “boundaries”—to build an original, insightful, and creative perspective through interviews, personal essays, reported features, visual stories, and recommendations for what to read, watch and download to round out the conversation." In our interview below, Indhira opens up about her own experiences with anxiety, expresses why a tactile magazine is the right medium to guide this conversation, and offers some insightful and generous tips on embracing your own anxiety.
Yesterday, Anxy was featured as the Project of the Day on Kickstarter. Head over to Kickstarter to back this mission. And if you are interested in the project and want to collaborate with the Anxy team, email them here: hello@anxymag.com. They'll be looking for writers, illustrators, photographers, you name it.
Tell us a little bit about your background. Who is Indhira and how did she get here?
I’m the founder and creative director of Anxy Magazine, and principal at Redindhi Studio, a design practice focused on branding, editorial and interaction design. As a designer, I’m curious how the stories we tell each other shape our lives, influence our behavior and evoke our emotions. Most of my career I’ve been in the intersection of publishing and technology, developing visual strategies and identities that enable compelling narratives.
I’ve worked on a wide array of projects, from leading interaction and art direction at The Bold Italic, to launching the Once Magazine app and the Modern Farmer website, working on the re-branding of Atlas Obscura and designing Eric Ries' latest book The Leader’s Guide. Another transformative milestone in my career was working at Medium, where I lead the branding and creative art direction of some of our first publications such as Matter, Gone, Re:form and Backchannel.
Now, how I got here, here: I’m originally from the Dominican Republic—a Caribeña. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship that brought me to the US to complete a degree in Communication Design at Parsons School of Design in New York City. I later moved to San Francisco, CA to pursue a Masters in Design at California College of the Arts, which allowed me to transition into tech.
What is Anxy, and what led you to start it?
Anxy is intended to be a creative and artful exploration of mental health combined with powerful personal narratives. We are looking to create a publication that allows us to dive into our inner experiences and share what’s *really* going on in our lives. Our mission is to reduce the stigma around mental health conversations and make them an integral part of our daily lives.
I decided to start the magazine because I found myself in the middle of a rough time, dealing with a lot of grief and anger from doing my own therapy work and just feeling like — wait, I can’t be the only one. Why is it so hard to reach out to someone and say: “I’m feeling this huge void in my chest right now, and I know it’s sadness, and I don’t know what to do with it. Have you ever felt that way?” It’s like, unless there’s a death in the family, where there’s permission to grieve, we don’t allow ourselves to have those raw conversations and talk about some really dark feelings and experiences. We are all working so hard to make each other believe we have our shit together. Um. We don’t. Let’s get real.
I wanted to hear about other people’s experiences and how they have navigated them —what they do with the things that arise, how it has influenced their work, their everyday lives. I also wanted to bring together the psychology concepts that can bring language to what sometimes is so hard to describe and pinpoint.
Unless there’s a death in the family, where there’s permission to grieve, we don’t allow ourselves to have those raw conversations and talk about some really dark feelings and experiences. We are all working so hard to make each other believe we have our shit together. Um. We don’t. Let’s get real.
How did you decide on the format of Anxy? How does a serial publication better enable a conversation into anxiety?
For Anxy, we decided on a bi-annual publication, in which each issue is based on a theme, such as “loneliness” or “boundaries,” because we wanted to create a tactile collection of conversations. That way we can dive deep into a specific topic and create a complete volume of original, insightful, and creative perspectives. So much online content gets lost in the vortex. If you don’t click on the link from that email or feed—wooosshh—the story disappears forever (or until your Google it, if you ever do). And even when you do read it, even if you ‘save it’ … it still gets lost in some kind of digital archive.
We are looking to share these themes and stories through interviews with folks we admire, personal essays, reported features, and visual stories. We hope it will be content people can come back to for months to come, the way you do with a good book—you read it in stages and sometimes more than once.
The advantage of a serial publication, as opposed to a podcast or blog, is getting to experience content on a printed (tactile) page. It enables the juxtaposition of words and images in a way that connects to your senses differently. If done artfully and with an appreciation for beautiful design, Anxy can hopefully go beyond what’s currently in the market covering these topics.
The advantage of a serial publication, as opposed to a podcast or blog, is getting to experience content on a printed (tactile) page. It enables the juxtaposition of words and images in a way that connects to your senses differently.
In what ways are you applying your experience as a UX and visual designer to the magazine?
I’m applying my experience in some ways that are a bit more obvious, mainly understanding our audience and the need we are looking to fill, and creating the conceptual framework and visual direction of the magazine — from the branding of the publication to the tone of our video, website, and all the promotional materials.
Other aspects that have really come in handy, which are less visible, are putting into practice the strategy and project management skills that I’ve learned through ‘shipping’ things. This is the first time I’ve created a Kickstarter campaign. There are a lot of pieces that have to come together—it’s been quite the journey.
Anxy Mag has the potential to combat the misconception that you’re alone in facing anxiety. Do you see that feeling of loneliness in feeling alone as the most dangerous effect of anxiety and depression?
For me, the most dangerous effects of anxiety, depression, and numerous other mental illnesses, is not wanting to be alive anymore. It can start with a devastating feeling of loneliness and grow to feeling totally invisible and misunderstood. Feeling that no one could ever understand how we feel, because how could they? They are not the ones in this body, with these experiences, dealing with these thoughts.
The misconception we want to tackle is not just that you are not alone, it’s also that trauma is so much more common than we care to admit to each other. We dare claim that it’s a rite of passage in life. At some point, we will experience something difficult in some form or another. Big or small, individual or collective, it’s probably going to happen. And it’s understandable that you may feel buried by it. We want to normalize these bad feelings and share how others have navigated or are still navigating those negative and dark moments.
There seems to be a general consensus that anxiety and depression are particularly prevalent in creative individuals. Why do you think this is?
I’m one of those folks who believes all humans are creative, not just us labelled ‘creative people’. But, putting that aside, us “creatives” generally tend to feel more comfortable in the realm of expression and making. It becomes the way we channel our inner experiences. When making is the channel, our emotions related to our anxiety and depression comes through and becomes more visible (both in the work and how we carry ourselves), especially if what we make is publicly consumed. For others, non-labelled creatives, anxiety and depression are probably just as prevalent, it’s just channelled in ways we are not as aware of.
At times it can feel very rewarding to feel connected and make. Other times, you realize that a busy mind, not being able to think about other things but the problem at hand, is really a mind that cannot think about negative or dark thoughts. Creativity can be that double-edged sword.
How has your creativity helped keep anxiety at bay? And how has your creativity perhaps opened the door to anxiety or depression?
The way my creativity has kept anxiety and depression at bay (which has been a sad revelation, even in its comfort) is that it’s a great tool for distraction, sometimes dissociation. I’ve noticed for me, I get into problem-solving mode or into a flow and then everything else disappears. At times it can feel very rewarding to feel connected and make. Other times, you realize that a busy mind, not being able to think about other things but the problem at hand, is really a mind that cannot think about negative or dark thoughts. Creativity can be that double-edged sword.
The aspect of creativity that can open the door for anxiety and depression is when we lose track of what we are making and start judging ourselves. We can sometimes be very harsh. Whether it’s ‘this is not good enough,’ which can turn into ‘I’m not good enough,’ or ‘why can’t I be this or that?’ It just opens the door for that inner critic and puts you in a real rut.
'Mathographics' poster. Design contribution to Anxy Kickstarter campaign by design visionary & WNW Member GMUNK.
What are some top tips you can give to fellow WNW members who struggle with anxiety, or are close to someone who struggles with anxiety?
Huge question. I will talk about things that have worked for me. But I don’t think it works for everyone. As we all manage things differently.
If you have become aware enough about your current state to realize something is off and you are tired of being tired, look for support: a professional therapist, a group, a friend who can really hold your experience. Talking to a professional therapist saved my life.
Meditation has been really helpful for me, mainly because it has helped me become an observer of my inner dialog and realize that thoughts are not reality, they are just thoughts—we just tend to believe everything we think. That can be un-learned.
For those who are close to someone who struggles with anxiety (and they are not in a state of self-harm), I would say, just be present for them when you are with them. Be a steady presence in their lives so that they can feel safe and supported when they are with you. Listen to them. Pay attention without judgement, and most importantly without trying to solve their problem (this is really really hard!).
Anxy Magazine Assistant Editor Katie MacBride (far left) with Founder Indhira Rojas in the studio with Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Maerz, and Editor-at-Large Bobbie Johnson (right). Photo by Michelle Le.
The team you’ve assembled is stacked with so many talented individuals. How did you pitch Anxy as an endeavor worth joining?
Anxy has been a labor of love for everyone involved. I feel so lucky to count on such an awesome team of talented folks. To be honest, pitching Anxy didn’t require heavy lifting. Everyone involved has dabbled with therapy in some way, and feels the same need I feel—a desire to connect with others around our issues and stop with all this pretending. We can see people are craving open discussions about coping with anxiety, depression, fear, anger, trauma, shame, and all those things can change the direction of our work and our lives.
Anxy Magazine Senior Editor Madison Kahnin the studio with Editor-at-Large Bobbie Johnson. Photo by Michelle Le.
Anxy Magazine Founder Indhira Rojas (left) at Redindhi Studio in conversation with design team. Photo by Michelle Le.
This is the right time to have this conversation. Other publishers are beginning to broach the topic, and many public figures have come forward with personal revelations about mental health. Actor Kristen Bell wrote about her struggles with depression and anxiety; comedian and podcaster Marc Maron has made a career out of talking about complex emotional issues with his creative peers.
We feel a real revolution taking place around normalizing mental health outside the medical arena. It felt like an opportunity ready for the taking and so they jumped on it with me. :)
Anxy Magazine Founder Indhira Rojas (center) at Redindhi Studio in conversation with design team. Photo by Michelle Le.
How can WNW Members get involved in helping Anxy Mag and its mission?
There are many ways to get involved in helping Anxy — the most urgent is supporting our Kickstarter so we can make this project a reality! The second best way, specially for WNW’s huge community of creative professionals, is to become a contributor. If you are interested in the project and want to collaborate with us, please reach out to us at: hello@anxymag.com. We will be looking for writers, illustrators, photographers, you name it!
Anything else you’d like to add?
Please join our community and help spread the word. We are slowly ramping up our social media, but we would love to have you follow along in your journey!
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
WHAT DOES YOUR LAST PHOTO SAY ABOUT YOU?
WHAT DOES YOUR LAST PHOTO SAY ABOUT YOU?
The ‘Last Photo’ Project is an ongoing video series where WNW Member #96 Ivan Cash asks strangers in different cities to share the last photo on their phone. With ample opportunity to pull back the curtain, the project plays out as a fun, sociological experiment.
When we featured this project over two years ago, Ivan had made stops in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. It is fascinating seeing not only how much a person can be defined by a recent snapshot, but how the collection of last photos offers a commentary on each city. Ivan has since visited six more cities with their own stories to tell, most recently Honolulu. The project has become a viral sensation, received international recognition, two Vimeo Staff Picks, over 1M collective views, and inspired off-shoots across the world.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
JESSICA SVENDSEN: HOW TO AVOID GETTING TYPECAST AS A DESIGNER
Jessica Svendsen: How to Avoid Getting Typecast as a Designer
Mike O'Donnell / Editor
Tracing the lineage of our members' creative approaches often adds a new dimension of intrigue to their work. Take WNW Member #5204 Jessica Svendsen. While the spontaneity and freshness of her designs are readily apparent, even her most seemingly straightforward projects come across as well-informed and considered. This may stem from her background studying Literature at Yale before diving into an MFA in Design: "I appreciated the Modernists because they started to play with textual composition, using everything from typography, composition, and book design to defamiliarize the reading experience. When I began to study Modernism more closely, I started to pay attention to the relationship between the textual and the visual. I suppose that's the moment when I started studying design."
In our interview below, Jessica discusses not only her fascination with the (de)composition of form but also why she doesn't hope to have a consistent creative style: "If design is a visual interpretation of the content, then it should be impossible to do script typography on every book cover of canonical literature, or repeat the same visual aesthetic for a different client."
And in the same way that her approach to design arose from a different discipline, Jessica sees her graphic design practice offering similar opportunities: "When I consider a lifelong career, I find that design—unlike other mediums—offers the possibility of a varied practice. Design can cover a broad spectrum of work, especially as it functions in tandem with technology. Like the Eames, a designer can also be a filmmaker, a screen printer, an architect, a strategist, and a curator. My ideal is to morph into a more multidisciplinary studio, where I have opportunities to create furniture, interiors, clothing, murals, and films. When design becomes a more malleable job description, it can encompass everything I would rather be doing."
Tell us about your creative background. Who is Jessica Svendsen and how did she get here?
I am a designer, currently based in San Francisco, California. Most recently, I was a designer at Apple working on their global communications team. But before moving to San Francisco, I was a designer at Pentagram in New York for partner Michael Bierut.
You received a BA in English Literature from Yale. Are you typically captivated by elements like plot and character, or more so the language and craft? Who are a couple of your literary heroes?
I definitely gravitate toward language and craft. When I was an English major at Yale, I focused on twentieth century modernists—authors like Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, and Eliot—precisely because they experimented with language and vernacular. But I also appreciated the Modernists because they started to play with textual composition, using everything from typography, composition, and book design to defamiliarize the reading experience. When I began to study Modernism more closely, I started to pay attention to the relationship between the textual and the visual. I suppose that's the moment when I started studying design.
You then received an MFA in Graphic Design at Yale. What lead to this transition into design?
While I considered a few schools for graduate school, I knew that I wanted to go to Yale. They encourage students from other disciplines to attend, so at times, it felt like I was surrounded by fellow outsiders. But the MFA program, particularly under the tenure of Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, focuses on the conceptual framework underpinning any design project. Ultimately, students start to develop an approach that spans projects and formats. At Yale, most try to resist the traditional definition of graphic design; instead, students are encouraged to work in a range of different media, with projects that aren't necessarily tied to the restrictions of the commercial world. They pull faculty from leading firms and studios in New York and the Netherlands, so it becomes an exceptional time to be able to work with them.
How would you describe your creative style? Do you recognize a signature style that links all of your projects, or do you try to excuse yourself and approach each project as its own entity?
I have a point of view about style, but I hope I don't have a consistent style. I approach each project on its own, because my process is guided by the content or material. If design is a visual interpretation of the content, then it should be impossible to do script typography on every book cover of canonical literature, or repeat the same visual aesthetic for a different client. I would also hope that with each new project, I'm pushing my work forward in some way, challenging myself in new ways instead of repeating what I already can do.
“I keep returning to the Eames when I consider how I want my own studio practice to evolve. It’s easy to become pigeon-holed by the work you present online, but I deeply appreciate how the Eames were able to span a wide range of disciplines and projects. They’re identified as designers, with graphic design as only one part of their expertise.”
Who are some of your biggest creative idols and influences?
Designer David Reinfurt noted in an interview with Ludlow 38 that the boundaries of contemporary design practice span a broad spectrum of work—a designer is also a curator, architect, educator, programmer, and filmmaker. But Reinfurt argues that a multidisciplinary design practice is not exactly new. In fact, Charles and Ray Eames designed everything from furniture and homes, to films and exhibitions. Part of their work was self-initiated, part was commissioned, but “what links them is not a specific activity, but rather an approach.” I keep returning to the Eames when I consider how I want my own studio practice to evolve. It's easy to become pigeon-holed by the work you present online, but I deeply appreciate how the Eames were able to span a wide range of disciplines and projects. They're identified as designers, with graphic design as only one part of their expertise.
Last year, I worked with Michael Bierut to design a monograph for Selldorf Architects, and we would occasionally meet with Annabelle Selldorf and her team to review progress. She is a strong, sole figure in power, leading a large team. She speaks with quiet, deliberate precision, but always with a certain forcefulness. I came to respect her, not only for the exquisite buildings and spaces that she creates with her team, but as an architect who insists that her practice is always intellectually rigorous and rational.
It's also hard not to be influenced by Iris Apfel and her persistent, visible rejection of conformity. More importantly, she expresses a point of view. In the recent documentary Iris, she describes how she was told: “You’re not pretty. You’ll never be pretty. But it doesn’t matter. You have something much better. You have style.”
“I used to evaluate jobs based on the work alone, because that’s what would keep me coming back each day. But I’ve learned that it’s the people you work with that is far more important. The team you’re on, the people that surround you each day, that’s what makes or breaks a studio experience.”
What were some challenges in launching your career as a designer?
My first challenge was transitioning into design. Most studios only hire designers with a BFA and are rarely open-minded enough to even consider someone with an English degree. Given that I was a late bloomer, it was hard to simultaneously learn technical, formal, and conceptual approaches to design. But most of the challenges I've encountered over the past three years were due to being a designer within a larger organization. I've worked at design studios, where I've seen sexual harassment go unchecked, too many inflated egos, and underpaid talent. I've also worked in-house, where I've seen inefficiency, unnecessary hierarchy, and unused talent. I used to evaluate jobs based on the work alone, because that's what would keep me coming back each day. But I've learned that it's the people you work with that is far more important. The team you're on, the people that surround you each day, that's what makes or breaks a studio experience.
While your work comes across as fresh and spontaneous, a lot of your projects also demonstrate an underlying decisiveness and confidence. What kind of research and preliminary explorations typically inform these decisions throughout your process?
I typically mull over ideas away from the computer, so perhaps that results in a certain decisiveness. As far as preliminary explorations, my work is comparatively lo-fi and rough. I prefer working with more analog tools like a camera, scanner, or laser cutter. Perhaps because I was self-taught in software, I usually cobble together methods.
What moment or project in your career so far has made you the proudest?
In graduate school, I designed weekly posters to announce visiting critic lectures in the MFA Photography Department. Each poster references the work of the visiting artist, but I also used certain formal devices to unify the entire series. To announce visiting photographers Joel Sternfeld and Richard Misrach, I used vinyl letters on a sheet of plexiglass. I then photographed how the sun casts angled and distorted shadows behind the letterforms. To find the appropriate backgrounds, I spent several afternoons exploring various spaces and materials around New Haven. The process was deeply rewarding because it synthesized a number of interests—architecture, photography, light—and made me realize how I prefer working with objects in physical space.
Biggest career failure?
Accepting a job at Apple. That is my only life decision I regret. To use the words of artist Tucker Nichols, “As soon as I got there, I knew I had taken the wrong step.”
“Perhaps because I studied another subject in college, it’s easy for me to imagine doing something besides design later in my career. But when I consider a lifelong career, I find that design—unlike other mediums—offers the possibility of a varied practice. Design can cover a broad spectrum of work, especially as it functions in tandem with technology.”
If you weren’t a designer, what do you think you’d be doing instead? Given your love of literature, have you ever tried your hand at creative writing?
There is a separate track in the English major at Yale for students interested in creative writing. With some foresight, I judiciously refrained because I have absolutely no talent for creative writing. I simply analyzed literature, which arguably, was the best training for being a designer. Studying literature and practicing design are both about analysis and interpretation of content. But in design, you're also required to make that interpretation visual.
Some of the strongest designers I know were trained in another discipline or field. They discovered design in college, or in their first job, and transitioned into design. But I find that those who explore design through a different lens—whether being trained in another discipline, or studying another field in their studio practice—bring a new point of view to design, contributing to more diverse, more nuanced work. Perhaps because I studied another subject in college, it's easy for me to imagine doing something besides design later in my career. But when I consider a lifelong career, I find that design—unlike other mediums—offers the possibility of a varied practice. Design can cover a broad spectrum of work, especially as it functions in tandem with technology. Like the Eames, a designer can also be a filmmaker, a screen printer, an architect, a strategist, and a curator. My ideal is to morph into a more multidisciplinary studio, where I have opportunities to create furniture, interiors, clothing, murals, and films. When design becomes a more malleable job description, it can encompass everything I would rather be doing.
But, I do fantasize about being a full-time ski bum one winter, so there's always that possibility.
What do you do when Not Working?
Relatively early on, I realized that I have a cap on the number of hours I can spend on creative output each day. So I have always prioritized balancing work and life. For some designers, there's no distinction between the two, but I need time away from the studio. However, my non-studio hours are rather average and mundane: traveling as much as possible, cooking dinner, bike riding, practicing yoga, watching films, and so on.
What cultural and creative venues do you frequent in SF (arthouse theaters, galleries, museums, bookstores, record stores etc)?
The renovated SFMOMA recently opened, with an extensive new space designed by Snøhetta. While the museum is sometimes a labyrinth to navigate, and the curation can feel disjointed across exhibitions, it is a vast collection that now feels like the weightiest on the west coast. And the ever-narrowing, Scandinavian maple stairwells are a must see.
For those interested in architecture and urbanism, I'd also recommend visiting as many tech campuses as one can. The critic Alexandra Lange has a fantastic volume dissecting Silicon Valley urbanism, but when you visit in person, you start to see the evolution of office parks, to campuses, to retrofitted buildings downtown that have all the perks of a tech bubble.
“I try to attend critiques or academic lectures because they encourage you to engage, to ask questions with criticality, and to situate design within both a historical and contemporary context.”
Do you thrive off of being part of a creative community or are you more in your element as a lone wolf?
I deeply appreciate being part of the academic design community, which I experienced as a graduate student at Yale, and as faculty at Parsons and Pratt. When I was still at Yale, I had a conversation with the photographer Gregory Crewdson, who is the department chair of the MFA Photography program. He argued that a critique was the last place where you could have an open and honest conversation about a photograph. I feel the same applies to design.
In New York and San Francisco, there are thriving, diverse, creative communities, where on any given night, there could be a lecture, opening, or event hosted by a different design organization. But the conversations that take place there either remain at a very superficial level, or represent a very narrow definition of design practice. Instead, I try to attend critiques or academic lectures because they encourage you to engage, to ask questions with criticality, and to situate design within both a historical and contemporary context.
Any album, film, or television recommendations for your fellow WNW members?
I recently watched The Lobster which may be the most unsettling film I've seen in a long time. Or for those who fantasize about being a chef, or appreciate cooking, I highly recommend season two of Chef's Table.
Discover more creative talent and projects like this on Working Not Working. If you're a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, news, or opinions to share, email us.
A RETURN TO PHOTOGRAPHY & A CALLING IN SILICON VALLEY
A RETURN TO PHOTOGRAPHY &
A CALLING IN SILICON VALLEY
We talked to WNW Member #4973 Helena Price about returning to her passion for photography, finding her niche in Silicon Valley, and what it's like to have over 19k Instagram followers. Helena also shared some of the challenges that came with launching her career. "When you’re just getting started and you’re the only one doing a thing, it’s easy to believe that you’re doing something wrong or that you’re not doing something that will legitimize you as a photographer."
But what excites Helena most is talking about this year's launch of Techies, her first personal project and proudest career moment. "I put over 1000 hours and all of my heart and soul into it. It’s my first personal project ever but I’m incredibly proud of it and I learned so much about myself and what I want my work to be in the future."
P.S. This Tuesday night, we'll be hosting a Drinking Not Drinking happy hour in San Francisco. You'll have the chance to hang out with Helena, as well as some other badass WNW Members and their slightly less badass friends. Check your inboxes for the link.
Tell us about your creative background. Who is Helena and how did she get here?
I got my start making photos when I was six, on disposable cameras from Wal Mart. I shot on them for a solid 10+ years before making the switch to digital. Shooting has always been an obsession of mine, but I never thought of myself as an artist or had plans to do it professionally—I grew up in a small town and was quite sheltered from the creative world so I didn’t know it was an option for me.
I never studied photography formally—I got a PR degree from NC State. Eventually I moved to California on a whim and got a PR job in Silicon Valley (and stopped taking photos). After building my career in startup land for a few years, I eventually became disillusioned and picked photography back up as a distraction on nights and weekends. Next thing I know, I’ve barfed out a few thousand photos, built out a portfolio and quit my tech career to try my hand at being a full-time photographer (with no plan or savings account).
Since then, I’ve managed to build a solid photography business doing editorial, commercial and portrait work, mostly focused on Silicon Valley.
"I’ve also been broke for most of my life and when I took the leap, I didn’t have more than a few hundred dollars in my bank account. But I’ve always viewed not having a safety net as a constraint I could use in a positive way."
What was one of the biggest challenges in launching your career as a full-time photographer?
It was definitely a massive risk. I was essentially throwing away another career I’d invested all of my time, heart and soul in. I’ve also been broke for most of my life and when I took the leap, I didn’t have more than a few hundred dollars in my bank account. But I’ve always viewed not having a safety net as a constraint I could use in a positive way—I knew I would hustle hard enough to find enough jobs to pay my rent because there was no other option. I knew I’d make it work because I had no choice.
Other than that, everything was a challenge in its own way—I had no experience as a professional photographer and I was totally winging it with every new job that would come my way—but I just focused on doing the best job I could, learning everything the Internet would teach me and figuring it out as I went.
I also had a really strong business background from my previous life in tech, and that turned out to be a huge asset for me when building my business, and helped me approach it pragmatically instead of spending all of my time freaking out over the risks and challenges.
One of our favorite projects of yours is the Techies portrait series, covering subjects under-represented in the tech world. What lead to this idea, why is it important to you, and how do you see it evolving in the future?
I’ve been wanting to do projects like this for about ten years now, but I didn’t know what my first subject matter would be until December, when I had the idea for Techies.
Tech is in a weird place right now. “Techie” used to be a term people used with pride, and now it’s become a loaded term, almost derogatory. Conversations around diversity and inclusion in the industry have risen to a boil, yet there are many in tech who dismiss the issues and claim that tech is actually a perfect meritocracy.
I worked in Silicon Valley for four years before ditching the industry, so the project stemmed from my own personal experiences in tech. It just felt like the right thing to dig into and explore right now, and I felt like someone uniquely positioned to do it.
How can WNW members get involved?
As far as WNW members getting involved, the best thing you can do is just dig in and get to know more about what it’s like being underrepresented in tech, because these stories are present in every industry. If you’re aware of the issues and want to know how you can make a difference at your company, you can find a huge list of recommendations at projectinclude.org, an initiative created in part by members of my project.
Otherwise, I’m doing a ton of events in San Francisco this summer, including a launch party/photo show on June 22nd, so come hang out and meet folks in the project.
How would you describe your creative style? Who are some of your biggest creative idols and influences?
I enjoy toeing the line between categories. Aesthetically, I like the challenge of attaining both polish and authenticity. My biggest influences are the same ones I had years ago, like Annie Leibowitz, Dan Winters, Stephen Shore. I also have huge aesthetic crushes on the work of folks like Carlos Serrao, Bjorn Iooss, JUCO, Ben Toms, Jason Nocito, Geordie Wood, Amy Harrity, Jody Rogac, Julia Noni, Sharif Hamza, I could go on.
"I put over 1000 hours and all of my heart and soul into it. It’s my first personal project ever but I’m incredibly proud of it and I learned so much about myself and what I want my work to be in the future."
What moment or project in your career so far has made you the proudest?
Launching Techies. I put over 1000 hours and all of my heart and soul into it. It’s my first personal project ever but I’m incredibly proud of it and I learned so much about myself and what I want my work to be in the future.
Biggest career failure?
Hard to say yet. It’s only been three years so I haven’t had a chance to fuck up too bad yet. But if I had to pick something, I’d probably say it was my initial fear of going into tech as a market. Nobody else was shooting tech—no other photographers were remotely interested in it or looking into it. When you’re just getting started and you’re the only one doing a thing, it’s easy to believe that you’re doing something wrong or that you’re not doing something that will legitimize you as a photographer. If I had listened to my fears and gone to do subject matter that everyone else was doing, that would have undoubtedly been my biggest career failure. Sticking with tech as the market to build my career in was the best decision for my business I ever made.
Where do you hope to take your photography career in the next five years? Is there a dream client or project that you hope to make a reality by then?
I generally want to do what I’m doing now, but way way way better. I want to continue doing work in tech, and continue making personal projects that spark conversation, and continue shooting portraits of interesting people. From a business perspective, I historically want to do EVERYTHING, from business to production to post, so I want to figure out what is best for me to continue owning and improving at, and what makes sense to delegate, in terms of scaling and making the best use of my time.
As far as dream clients, I want to shoot Vanity Fair covers. I believe I will do it, it’s just a matter of whether it’s 5 years or 15 years from now. All I can do is make a plan and work towards it, and hope the opportunity comes knocking along the way.
"Most of my subjects didn’t hire me themselves, so they don’t know me or trust me, and I have about 30 seconds to get on the same level as them, make them my bestie, make them feel like a babe, and make them feel like they’re not even in a photoshoot and we’re just hanging out. I had never done this with a president before."
You’ve shot portraits of some very familiar faces. Have any celebrities surprised you? Who’s one person you’d love to do a portrait of?
Probably the most interesting portrait I’ve been hired to do is that of George W. Bush.
Portraiture is an interesting challenge—most of my subjects didn’t hire me themselves (their assistant or comms director did), so they don’t know me or trust me, and I have about 30 seconds to get on the same level as them, make them my bestie, make them feel like a babe, and make them feel like they’re not even in a photoshoot and we’re just hanging out. I had never done this with a president before.
Long story short, we snapped snarky jokes at each other until we had a breakthrough and the tension was gone, I got some great portraits, and then he wanted to stay and hang out with everybody. The secret service was astounded—apparently no one had pulled that off before. Pretty neat.
As far as a dream portrait… Barack or Beyonce.
What are some tips or advice you can offer to photographers who are just getting started? Or established creatives considering a career shift toward photography?
My best advice is 1) Make the work you want to get hired for before someone hires you to do it, and 2) Get to know everyone you can, have a genuine interest in people and do favors with no expectations in return.
You have over 19k followers on Instagram. Are you more strategic with what you post at this stage? Do you feel like you’re suddenly creating work for an audience and ‘likes’, or are you just putting out work that you would put out anyway? Any expert tips on building a massive following?
I’ve changed how I used it over the years. I started off using it as just a mobile journal (before I became a pro photographer), snapping whatever I was doing that day, and I didn’t share any of my actual work on it until recently. A few months ago, I zapped it all and now I use it more of as a news feed—if I have work published, if I’m doing a talk, or occasionally a post about what I’m up to. It just makes more sense with my career now vs. when I started.
I’m actually vehemently against the practice of “posting for the likes” as a successful growth strategy. It may pay off in the short run (if you consider likes payoff), but at the end of the day your work is going to look like everyone else’s if you’re catering to what’s popular. It’s good to ask yourself, why would anyone hire you if they can’t differentiate you from other creatives? What sets you apart? Having a style that’s your own, while it won’t get you as many likes in the short term, will at the end of the day be what makes you stand out and gets you jobs.
As far as tips for building a massive following - there will always be people who have more followers than you, so the sooner you stop caring about it and focusing on the work + building connections that matter, the happier you will be (and ironically, you may then make more interesting work and build a following from that).
If you weren’t a photographer, what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I think it’d be really cool to host a Vice TV show.
Things you would tell your high school or early twenties self?
To trust my gut and not to care so much about what others think.
What do you do when Not Working?
Sleep and exercise and spend time with close friends.
What cultural and creative venues do you frequent in SF (arthouse theaters, galleries, museums etc)? How does San Francisco influence your creativity?
I enjoy art-hopping when I can, either in biggest museums like the De Young or now SFmoma, or smaller contemporary galleries like CULT. I am finally making time in my life go to see movies, which is a new thing for me, and I get a ton of aesthetic inspiration from cinema - the storytelling, the set design, the lighting, etc.
Otherwise I still get a lot of inspiration from Silicon Valley—the hustle is just as important as the creative side for me, and it’s nice to be surrounded by people who are working just as hard, and understand the fact that you are obsessed with your job and they don’t think it’s weird.
Do you thrive off of being part of a creative community or are you more in your element as a lone wolf?
I dabble in a ton of different communities - photography, design, technology, media - and I love being tangentially involved in all of them, and they all inspire me in different ways. Other than that you can usually find me hiding in my apartment focused on my work.
Any album, film, television or book recommendations for your fellow WNW members?
Some really valuable books I’ve read in the last year:
If you’re feeling cluttered - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
If you want to get better at saying no - Essentialism by Greg McKeown
If you want to get better at meeting people and building relationships - How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
If you want to get some mental clarity - 10% Happier by Dan Harris
Who are some other WNW members whose work you admire, and why?
I love the photography of Elizabeth Weinberg, Daniel Seung Lee, Noah Kalina, Gabriela Herman, Cait Oppermann, Damien Maloney, Amanda Jasnowski, and Josh Wool, to name a few. They all happen to be awesome people too.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
PROFILES OF THE WEEK: APRIL 11TH
PROFILES OF THE WEEK: APRIL 11TH
Luke & Omid, Copywriter + Art Director. San Francisco.
Nate Luetkehans, Designer. San Francisco.
Sarah Bruns, Art Director. New York.
Bob Pullum, Art Director. San Francisco.
Caroline Lee, Copywriter. Venice Beach.
Lisa Kaplan, Producer. New York.
Casey Harper, Designer. Portland.
Fuzzy Wobble, Creative Technologist. Brooklyn.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
A LOVE LETTER TO FREELANCING
A LOVE LETTER TO FREELANCING
While many WNW Members approach their freelancing lifestyles with a love that's pure and true, #7569 Claudio Gugliere has gone a step further and actually written a love letter to freelancing. And he's not afraid of PDA, seeing as it was the landing page on his portfolio site for an entire month. Freelancing can be a terrifying and soul-searching adventure, which Claudio outlines below. But he also shares some great advice for those of you who took the leap, or are ready to: "Understand that now you represent a full company by yourself. Make sure you do for yourself all those things you expected your old job to do for you."
Tell us a little bit about your creative background.
I'm a Designer trained in Advertising and Fine Arts specialized in designing products and driving design teams with flawless execution. I've been responsible for directing and executing interactive experiences for clients like Lonely Planet, Adobe, Mixpanel, Google, Kayak, EA, CNN, Nickelodeon, Microsoft, History Channel and Motorola to name a few.
What inspired you to declare your love to freelancing?
Freelancing is not for everybody but if you like it you'll probably love it. This letter was a long overdue essay about the pros and cons of freelancing. While exciting, it is important to remember it can be terrifying as well.
Best advice about freelancing you've received? Best advice you can give?
The best advice I can give is: Understand that now you represent a full company by yourself. Make sure you do for yourself all those things you expected your old job to do for you. That includes getting time off, investing time in learning new skills, taking time to meet new clients, networking and having a good life-work balance. Learn quickly from your mistakes and don't repeat them.
A Love Letter
After a lot of thinking last year I decided to go freelance. As part of an agency I had developed my own vision about how an agency should work, what the internal culture and responsibilities towards clients should be and I found myself more and more invested in my side projects. I've always considered side projects a creative escape so the more they took over my life the more I realized I wasn't satisfied with my day to day workflow and how I was taught to approach problems. It was time to try something new.
After talking to some freelancers I decided to make the move. Freelancing seemed like a natural step so I started at it by changing all that I never felt comfortable with while working at an agency. I became a producer, a manager, a designer (yay!), and a consultant. I became the person that sends a recap email after each meeting and the person that chases payments a month after issuing an invoice. I felt scared and excited, but mostly alive.
Pros and cons of freelancing
After 9 months in the world of freelance there are some things I feel I can share, some of them were immediate results from freelancing while others I came to realize over time. I hope this helps you decide if you ever find yourself in the same situation.
Let's compare both the good and the bad stuff:
While freelancing has been a great experience for me it might not be for everybody. It's a trade off, and while it can lead to a more lucrative salary (or sometimes not!) you might be losing out on a great experience and professional development at a company or agency, which is especially important at the early stages of your career when you are building a portfolio of your own. I have definitely missed that bit.
As for me 2015 has been a blast and 2016 is looking even more exciting. Things are changing (they always are) and great opportunities surface all the time. One of my goals for this year is to keep my site more up to date. More posts coming soon ;)
Yours truly,
Claudio