Overshare Podcast: Shantell Martin + Ivan Cash

Overshare Podcast: Shantell Martin + Ivan Cash

 

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. For our 6th episode, WNW co-founder Justin Gignac talks to Members Shantell Martin and Ivan Cash, who both possess an enviable level of self-awareness, gratitude, and the ability to appreciate and live in the present. It makes the resulting conversation especially lively and insightful, as it shifts from creative foundations to the complex ideas of sharing and spontaneity and connection, to how artists can challenge an overreliance on technology both professionally and personally.

Shantell kicks things off talking about her background growing up in a white, racist, and homophobic community where she immediately felt like an outsider. "Because I didn't look like anyone else around me, I didn't have that pressure to fit in and to be like everyone around me... I was almost given a passport to be myself from quite an early age, which I think allowed me to explore this kind of natural creativity that I had inside me." For Ivan, the first creative project that brought him to where he is today resulted in getting arrested. While taking a screen printing class in college, Ivan made t-shirts encouraging the firing of then embattled New York Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas, and sold them outside of Madison Square Garden on game nights. After three nights of selling out of shirts, Ivan was arrested on the fourth and taken to Midtown South Precinct. "News of the arrest ended up getting a lot of coverage. I was interviewed on ESPN Radio, and a year later that project got me my first professional job in advertising. So, in many ways, getting arrested got me my first professional job."

Both Shantell and Ivan are artists very much driven by human connection. Shantell discusses the concept of spontaneity and sharing that drives her work and captures the magic of what art can be. "Why are we here in life? It's to share... We've gotten to this stage where we imagine that art is this romantic moment of craziness that an artist does, and that's because we don't have access primarily to an artist's process... 99% of my work is done with an audience and I allow the audience to see my process. And that's the magic. Before I do anything, there's a blank canvas. After, there's the final result. We can all look at a final product and bring our baggage to it... But the moment of connection, the moment of sharing for me is when you actually create the work. And if you can share that, then we're all connected in that moment and we're all experiencing the same thing happening at the same time. And when I produce a work that's never existed before, then for me that is essentially connecting and sharing at its core, and that is what I'm here to give to the world in a way that no one else can."

Ivan's work often focuses on the burdens of technology and always being "on." The conversation naturally shifted toward meditation, which both Ivan and Shantell have practiced. "I've gone on a number of long-term silent retreats that are a total recharge for me, where I can process everything," Ivan says. "We work out our bodies but when do we work out our brain or have a cleanse to process all of the crazy shit that happens on a day-to-day basis?... It's usually a week, but I've sat a month in silence... I think it couldn't help but allow me to pursue my passions more and learn 'what do I really want?' It became clear there was no other path but to do what I felt most convicted and passionate about. I hope that I'm a better listener from it."

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.

 

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.


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Artist Gemma O'Brien Shows Us ​​​​​​​How To Travel To Cuba

Artist Gemma O'Brien Shows Us
How To Travel To Cuba

WORKING NOT WORKING

We like to feature members' adventures since the freedom to travel is one of the many luxuries for freelancers in the WNW community. WNW Member Gemma O'Brien was the first we've come across who has traveled to Cuba. So we reached out to learn about the logistics of traveling to Cuba, to find out what the creative scene is like, and to get a preview of what's to come now that Gemma's packing new inspiration: "I have a folder of reference photos I took on the trip that I am waiting to integrate into a piece; there's a wealth of inspiration in the textures, colour and signage from Cuba. As someone who is always drawn back to the boldness of working in black and white, Cuba reinvigorated the power of colour for me and I think that will be the biggest influence on the work I make over the next year."

 

Tell us a little bit about your creative background. Who is Gemma and how did she get here?

Sure! My name is Gemma, I’m 29 going on 30, I’m a Gemini, and I work as a designer/artist in Sydney, Australia. My specialty is lettering, illustration and typographic murals. My creative path began when I dropped out of Law School at age 19 and made the switch to Design. After I graduated from art school I worked in a couple of post-production studios before taking the leap and going out on my own to focus on typography and illustration in 2012. Now, my time is split between working in my studio in Redfern and travelling the world to speak at design conferences, teach lettering workshops and generally have a good time

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 differently?

I like to think the common thread in my work is text, words, and language. Beyond the constraints of working with the alphabet, I like to explore a wide variety of visual forms – from detailed drawing to loose calligraphic brush work. I tend to get bored easily so I need to keep my style fluid to stay interested.

 

The freedom to travel both for business and pleasure is one of the many luxuries of freelancing. How did you end up setting your sights on Cuba?

Cuba came about because I had some free time between two international conferences – the AIGA conference in Vegas and Brief Festival in Madrid. It would have been crazy to fly all the way back to Australia, so my fellow jet-setting friend, Frankie Ratford (Founder of The Design Kids), suggested we go to Cuba!

A lot of artists have an interest in visiting Cuba. Can you share a little insight into the process and logistics of traveling there?  

I think there are a number of ways to get there now; however, there are still limitations if you’re American or traveling through America solely for tourism. I didn’t encounter any trouble, but take my travel advice with a grain of salt! I booked through a travel agent which involved a bit of paperwork, but it included the visa and documents. Frankie traveled via the Cayman Islands which bypasses America. I think she bought her visa on the plane for 25 bucks? My only other advice would be to get cash at the airport when you arrive in Havana, you’ll need it straight away to pay for your taxi. Internet access is very limited. It’s kind of like going on a holiday in the nineties - be prepared to live without the internet and plan what you’re doing each day the old-school way because you won’t be able to rely on Google.

Did you have any expectations of what Cuba would be like ahead of your trip? In what ways were you surprised?

Prior to my visit, I had seen images from photographer Danny Clinch and photos of murals painted by Rone in Cuba in 2016. Other than that I had no idea to what to expect. It really was unique and quite amazing when I arrived. I was surprised by just how prevalent the classic cars were -  I had imagined there would only be a few set up for rides for tourists, but they were everywhere. It really felt like going back in time.

How long were you in Cuba? Did you just stay in Havana or explore elsewhere?

I only had 5 days in Cuba before I had to get to the next design conference. We stayed in Havana for a couple of nights and then got a car to take us to Varadero which is a beach town about 2 hours away. Varadero was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Havana. White sand, turquoise water, chickens roaming the streets and lots of delicious fruit: definitely worth a visit.  

During your visit, did you get a sense of what the creative scene is like in Havana? (Murals, museums, music clubs?)

I actually didn’t see a huge number of murals, but I probably needed more time to explore. The bright colours of the buildings, hand-painted signage and interesting tile work throughout Havana all contributed to an overall sense of creativity and eclectic character. Fabrica de Arte Cubano is a big art gallery and club that was recommended to us. There was a huge line up so it's best to arrive as early as possible. I also visited the experimental graphic printmaking studio (Taller Experimental de Gráfica de La Habana) which was incredible. It is a big workshop with an attached art gallery (Galería del Grabado) and many Cuban artists were working on prints in the studio whilst I was there. I believe they also offer lithography and woodblock printing classes which I would love to do if I visit again.

Any particular venues, attractions, or restaurants that you recommend to members planning to visit? What was your greatest experience in Cuba?

I think my favourite experience was just walking through the little streets of Old Havana – it’s a sensory overload, with so much character in the old buildings. Two restaurants I would recommend are 304 O'Reilly on Calle O'Reilly and Cafe Miglis (Cuban and Swedish fusion).

Has this trip influenced any recent projects or your work in general? Any creative lessons learned?

I have a folder of reference photos I took on the trip that I am waiting to integrate into a piece; there's a wealth of inspiration in the textures, colour and signage from Cuba. As someone who is always drawn back to the boldness of working in black and white, Cuba reinvigorated the power of colour for me and I think that will be the biggest influence on the work I make over the next year.

What’s next for you? What are you working on now?

I am working on a few commercial jobs and a new installation for China Heights gallery in April. I have a fair bit of travel coming up too: Costa Rica for FID conference, Bermuda to judge ADC Awards, and Barcelona and Sweden later in the year for Smashing Magazine Conference and a mural festival.

 

Who are some other WNW members whose work you admire and why?

I love Llew Mejia’s detailed illustrations and Karan Singh’s bold patterns and designs.

 

Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!

 

Artists Honor 2016's Best Albums With Reimagined Cover Art

Artists Honor 2016's Best Albums With Reimagined Cover Art

MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR

No one can deny the joy of year-end lists, with their ability to help you both comb through the past 12 months of your life and catch up on all the goods you overlooked. WNW Members and music fanatics Eric R. Mortensen and Richard Perez are here to feed your fix with a unique spin. They're the minds behind 10x, which sees visual artists celebrating their personal top ten albums of the past year with reimagined cover art. This year, Eric & Richard intentionally decided to enlist a total of 19 visual artists. As Eric tell us, "So naturally we bumped it up to 19 artists this year, which was a totally intentional number and had nothing to do with anyone dropping out last minute. Totally meant for it to be 19."

It's amazing how well the project turned out, considering Eric and Richard are constantly trying to one-up and undermine each other in the interview below. They credit the brief they sent out to the artists. By setting certain parameters, the overall collection has an added touch of visual cohesion since the music selections are very eclectic. "We try to keep it simple, but coordinated. Fixed color palette, inclusion of a small logo, some basic rules as far as acceptable selections (no reissues, only releases from the current year, etc.) Some participants bend these rules, but that is half the fun."

Take a look at the past editions of 10x in case your "favorite albums of 2015" Spotify playlist is looking a little underwhelming. And remember that the next edition of 10x is only 12 months away. Eric & Richard are just as excited as you because their friendship depends on it. Because as Eric puts it, "As soon as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, Richard is back in my crosshairs." That's a natural result of two freelance creatives with similar aesthetics going head-to-head for the same gigs. Richard, firing back with an "I’m shaking in my winter boots," explains: "I think there were at least two times this year where it came down to Eric or us at Skinny Ships. We settled it in the streets."

 

Tell us a little bit about your creative backgrounds. Who are Eric Mortensen and Richard Perez, and how did they get here?

Eric: I got into graphic design through music. My brother was in a band. All my friends were in bands. Even our mailman was in a band. I don’t know, someone told me The Postal Service was a music group. Anyways, I couldn’t play anything but I knew how to draw cool ska guys in photoshop. Now I get paid to draw cool ska guys for clients like NASA, Google, and Facebook.

Richard: I was introduced to the wonderful world of design in high school when I was the layout editor of the school paper.

Eric: Richard told me he took the layout editor position to impress girls.

Richard: Yeah that didn’t work out. Anyway. I went to SF to study design, snagged a studio gig at Office, before going out on my own. Somewhere along the line, I started focusing more on graphic illustration. Now I work with my partner, Jen DeRosa, under the Skinny Ships moniker. Where we get to do cool stuff for Google, Facebook and not NASA. NawSA.  

WNW Member Mark Weaver

Adam R. Garcia

What is the 10x project, and how did it get started?

Richard: The 10x is an annual illustrated list of visual artists’ favorite albums of the year. The first was 10x10 in 2010 and originally posted to flickr (remember flickr?). Sharing just a list of my favorite albums seemed a little plain, so I jazzed things up with some illustrations.

In 2014 Eric joined the project and it’s all been downhill from there.

Eric: He means downhill like downhill skiing. You know, jumping off hills in neon colored outfits, crossing skis together in midair while an electric guitar wails kinda stuff. It’s just Richards’ weird way of saying I made the project cool.

Richard: In 2015 we upped the ante and asked a few fellow illustrators and designers to join in, bringing the number up to 10. It was a blast seeing what other creatives were listening to that year.

Eric: So naturally we bumped it up to 19 artists this year, which was a totally intentional number and had nothing to do with anyone dropping out last minute. Totally meant for it to be 19.

Richard: Yes. 19 is a nice round number.

Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch

WNW Member Richard Perez

What are the kinds of guidelines that you pass off to the artists?

Eric: We try to keep it simple, but coordinated. Fixed color palette, inclusion of a small logo, some basic rules as far as acceptable selections (no reissues, only releases from the current year, etc.) Some participants bend these rules, but that is half the fun.

 

What are some of the lessons you learned in previous years that helped the project evolve this year?

Richard: Just general time management. When it was only Eric and I working on this I remember we would both be working the night before to have artwork ready for the next day's post. Eric somehow managed to corral 19 artists this time around.

Eric: We also invested a lot more time into making the website more engaging... 10x16 is a huge leap forward from 10x15. We were lucky to work with Joey Maese to develop something special this year.

Erik Marinovich

WNW Member Jessica Hische

Are you both musicians, or do you just love the ways that music can intersect with the visual arts?

Eric: I don’t play anything but I know Richard has a little OP-1 keyboard. I like to imagine he composes exclusively for the audience of his two cats, and that his shit is really good. Like super progressive shit for cats.

Richard: This is true.

WNW Member Simone Noronha

Grace Danico

 

What are your 3 favorite album covers of all-time?

Eric:

  1. Haha Sound by Broadcast (Artwork by Julian House)

  2. Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra (Artwork by Shusei Nagaoka)

  3. Power, Corruption and Lies by New Order (Artwork by Peter Saville)

Richard:

  1. Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson (Artwork by Barry Godber)

  2. Power, Corruption and Lies by New Order (Artwork by Peter Saville)

  3. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spiritualized (Artwork by Farrow)

 

What are your 3 favorite albums of all-time?

Eric:

  1. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

  2. Graceland by Paul Simon

  3. Blue Album by Weezer

Richard:  This is tough, but at this precise moment:

  1. Odelay by Beck

  2. The Beatles by The Beatles

  3. Low by David Bowie

Nate Utesch

WNW Member Damien Correll

Are you always listening to music while you work, or do you prefer zero distractions when you listen to music?

Eric: I consider the ability to listen to my own music while doing my job to be one of the greatest luxuries one can be afforded.

Richard: Lately it seems to be 80% music, 20% podcasts coming through the office speakers. But some aural distractions are always needed.

WNW Member Chris Muccioli

WNW Member Eric R. Mortensen

Do you guys collaborate on other projects, or do you just join forces each year for 10x?

Eric: Because of our similar aesthetic approaches we tend to bid against each other on projects throughout the year. 10x is a time when we set down our swords and come together in collaboration to defeat our common enemy: seasonal affect disorder. But let me be clear… as soon as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st Richard is back in my crosshairs.

Richard: I’m shaking in my winter boots. But yeah, we’re usually competing for the same gigs, I think there were at least two times this year where it came down to Eric or us at Skinny Ships. We settled it in the streets.

Mike Davis

Mackenzie Brookshire

Who are some other WNW members whose work you admire, and why?

Both: I think we would love the opportunity to highlight some of the amazing 10x participants who are also WNW members:

Mark Weaver, Chris Muccioli, Damien Correll, Jessica Hische, Simone Noronha, Grace Danico, David J. McMillan, Shawna X

 

Anything else you’d like to add?

Eric: Buy some new records in 2017!

Richard: ✌

Justin Pervorse

Alana Louise

Anna Hurley

WNW Member David J. McMillan

Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!

WNW CONNECTS: THE COLLECTED WORKS & STARRY

WNW Connects:
The Collected Works & Starry

WORKING NOT WORKING

We love when creatives and companies come to us with Working Not Working success stories. Makes us feel all warm and fuzzy. The recent collaboration between design studio The Collected Works and startup Starry is a perfect example, especially given the impressively sleek and innovative outcome. Starry, which offers a pioneering touchscreen anti-router with perfect WiFi, used the WNW platform to discover and hire The Collected Works with the challenge of "visualizing the internet."

Below, we talk to Collected Works duo Justin Colt and Jose Fresneda, and Jane Huschka and Don Lehman, Starry's Creative Director and Head of Product Design. The conversation's pretty insightful, hearing from both sides simultaneously as they walk us through each step of the collaboration, from first contact to finished product. The Starry team tells us what they saw in The Collected Works that made them a perfect fit, and how the creative studio ultimately exceeded their expectations. The Collected Works duo goes in-depth into their creative process for this project, which included bringing in fellow WNW all-star Nick Hum. 

P.S. Interested in connecting with Starry and The Collected Works? Good news: Starry is hiring. "Don is looking for Product Designers. Jane is looking for Art Directors, Designers, and Copywriters. Definitely reach out if you’re reading this and are interested." And The Collected Works is down to meet up. "If you want to talk about a project, are starting a studio of your own, want to explore the virtual reality, or just want to chat, we make time whenever we can. Hit us up!"

 

Tell us a little bit about your creative backgrounds. Who are Justin Colt and Jose Fresneda and when did you start The Collected Works?

We met each other at The School of Visual Arts when we were both pursuing our Masters in Design. During school, we often collaborated on assignments, and generally helped each other out as most of the students in the program do. We were also taking on occasional freelance work. It was beneficial to team up as it made us seem more legit as a partnership. We were also both working part time at other studios in the city. Jose was working with Dark Igloo, and Justin was with Milton Glaser.

When we graduated in 2013 we were at a bit of a crossroads. We could take full-time design jobs or take a chance on starting our own studio–a personal goal for both of us. We had one client at the time with a project budget that could keep us afloat for a month. We took the plunge and started The Collected Works together. We applied what we learned in school, at Dark Igloo and Milton Glaser, and hustled to find as much work as we could. That was 3 years ago. Since then we’ve been lucky to not only stay afloat, but work with really talented people on rad projects.

 

Who are Jane Huschka & Don Lehman and how did you both wind up in-house full-time at Starry?

Jane is the Creative Director and part of the founding team at Starry. She’s specialized in branding, marketing, visual and experiential design. Before Starry in 2014, she was with much of the same team at Aereo. Previously she worked at the small branding agency called RED with clients like the NFL, Civic Entertainment Group, and Apollo Theater.

Don is Head of Product Design (UX & ID) at Starry. His background is in industrial design and user-centered research. Before Starry, he ran his own design studio, More/Real, working with clients like SiriusXM and Rubbermaid. He also happened to be a big fan of what the team at Aereo was building (which, as Jane would say, is how he was lured in).

We met in early 2015 when Don first joined Starry. We were excited to work together for a ton of reasons. We saw what a huge project and opportunity it was. We’re the type of designers that are very comfortable wearing a lot of hats, so working at a startup is appealing to us. But most importantly, we’re both passionate about making people’s lives easier. If there is a way to make anything we touch more useful and delightful, we will find it.

Since the very beginning, everything has been incredibly collaborative. We started small with finite resources. We worked together on everything. Engineers, developers, designers, marketers… anyone who could contribute would. We’re slightly larger now and it’s still the early days, but we strive to work this way. We’re all on this fantastic mission to make something great.

Had you heard of Starry when they first reached out to you on WNW to help with the design of their new router?

Collected Works: We had very little idea of the concept, the project, or really anything Starry was planning to do. This was prior to announcing anything publicly, and they were still working with a secret codename. In our first meetings, we didn’t know if Starry was a product, a service, or anything about their general mission. We did know it was going to revolutionize how we use the internet, and was founded by an incredibly talented team. After we said we were onboard, and they felt we were a good fit, we got all the info.

 

Can you give us a little insight into how Starry got started and what its core mission is?

Starry: The internet is amazing. But internet service? Not so much.

So we set out to reinvent how you get the internet. We’re creating radical technology that’s wireless, fast, affordable, and easy to use. Just one company for everything you need including your service, products (including Starry Station), and support. We think people deserve more choice and a better experience.

If building our own ISP from scratch sounds insane, believe us, it is. But everyone here is scary-smart. Most of the founding team (including Jane) came out of Aereo, the internet-TV service that allowed you to stream over-the-air TV (the kind you usually need an antenna for) to any device. Kind of like Netflix for broadcast. It was considered slightly controversial, and after spending several years fighting the broadcast companies, Aereo ultimately lost its case in the Supreme Court.

Obviously, that’s quite the way for a company to end and you would think something like that would’ve forced the core team to call it quits. But the amazing thing about this group is that we didn’t just rest on one great idea; we moved on to the next. Like how to use millimeter-wave technology to deliver Internet through the air! After Aereo closed its doors, we immediately started the development of Starry Internet.

What was it about Collected Works’ WNW Profile that most stood out to you?

Starry: All of their projects have such a unique look and feel. They’re smart. Thoughtful. Bold. And even though Justin and Jose are both classically-trained designers, everything they create feels so totally fresh and playful. We hadn’t planned to hire a studio to help bring our wireframes to life (at the time, Jane was looking for a full-time designer to bring in-house) but we came across their profile on WNW and felt right away like they were the right match.

Was there a particular past project in their portfolio that clued you into the fact that they were the right fit?

Starry: For us, what really stood out about the Collected Works' portfolio was the combination of experimental and practical work. On the experimental side, we appreciated their Nike light paintings, the sound visualizations for Red Hot, and the countless little animations that they’ve sprinkled throughout their portfolio. That was something neither of us could really capture in our wireframes and we hoped that their imagination would help bring the experience we’d designed to life.

What was the brief?

Collected Works: In short, the objective was to “visualize the internet”. That’s a really broad question, but an exciting one. At this point, we knew Starry was building a touchscreen router, called Starry Station, that was part of a bigger internet ecosystem. It also had a larger objective: to help people understand how they’re connected to all these devices in their home.

The router itself was already beautifully designed, and now they needed to figure out the UI for the touch screen. This is how people would interact with and understand what was connecting to their network. How do you show a complex web of devices? How do you interact with them? How do you quickly understand your internet health? How do you fix problems when they occur? These were some of the challenges we needed to figure out.

Starry: When we started our collaboration with the Collected Works we had a fistful of wireframes and early prototypes but knew we needed help if we were going to redefine a category. Our competition? The router. Your stereotypical ugly, black, blinking box. A device designed by utility companies – not something you’d set out in your home that's kind of scary for the people who use it.

So we asked Collected Works to imagine we had designed a router that was easy to use. Fun to set up. At a glance, it could tell you that your internet is working, what devices are connected, and what’s using the most bandwidth. And when there is an issue, it could tell you how to fix it. On top of that, make it beautiful and intuitive. A touch magical. Something that belongs in a home, not in a science lab. Easy, right?

 

Did Starry give you a lot of freedom to run with it? Or was it a very collaborative process?

Collected Works: Overall it was the best sort of collaboration. We could run with ideas and come up with lots of different directions we could take the project. On our end, we did a lot of animation mockups of what a visualized internet looked like. Sometimes it was a blob. Sometimes it was a chart. There’s really no definitive right answer, so it was all about playing with and testing a lot of different options. Then we’d all get together and talk about what made sense. We’d also talk about what was possible from a technology standpoint. This was also awesome because the Starry development team could build and test these prototypes we were conceptualizing at the studio.

Did you find inspiration from other products in this arena? Or were you in more of a futuristic sci-fi frame of mind when “visualizing the internet”?

Collected Works: During our initial research sweep we found a lot of examples of what NOT to do. Most data visualization, especially in this field of internet speed and usage, is incredibly clunky and confusing. We needed to make this information understandable and engaging. It needed to feel more organic, almost like the router was a microscope, looking at the DNA of your internet. Soft shapes, simple color logic, and data visualization that was easy to understand were all the underlying goals.

 

What were some of the challenges of delivering the goods on this brief?

Collected Works: One of the challenges off-the-bat was to staff up as a studio so we could handle the workload. As it’s just two of us over here, one of the first things we did was hire a friend of the studio, and WNW all-star, Nick Hum. Nick had helped us with a few other projects, and he was a perfect fit for this one. We also really liked that everyone involved was from the WNW community.

Secondly, for the work itself, everything we proposed (all the UI, animations, charts, graphs, interactions and screens) needed to be incredibly flexible and able to accommodate any user's home network. So, a visualization for a network with 3 connected devices had to work just as well as a network with 30 devices. This took a lot of testing and prototyping to get just right. Which meant a lot of collaboration with the Starry team, to code and test what we were prototyping.

Finally, time was always ticking. The Starry team had a hard shipping date that was rapidly approaching, so we needed to be really efficient with our time.

Tell us about the finished product. How does it work?

Collected Works: Starry Station is a router that allows users to control and understand their WiFi like never before. It’s a powerful piece of hardware that’s beautiful enough to put on your desk, and simple enough for your parents to use. No more blinking lights to decode, just a better way to stay connected to the things we love.

On the Starry Station touchscreen, there are a variety of different visualizations. “Ambient” view is the default screen, which represents connected devices as floating orbs. The more devices connected to your network (phones, computers, printers, TV, etc.) the more floating orbs. In the center of these orbs is a number (from 1 to 100) that we call your “internet health score”. This number represents how healthy your connection is. A variety of factors can influence this–from internet speed to the number of devices online. Overall, ambient mode gives you an at-a-glance view of your internet. You can see it from across the room, and understand if everything is cool, or if something is going wrong.

The secondary state is what we call the “1-foot view”. This is when you tap on the screen and the orbs and health score transitions to a simple dashboard. From here you get a detailed breakdown of your internet and can fix any issues. You can see what is connected to your network, and how those devices are using bandwidth. You can test your internet speed, and see your usage over time. You can also add or remove any restrictions, such as disabling your kids' devices until after they finish their homework.

In the end, the UI eloquently and simplistically answers a very tough challenge–to visualize the internet. Starry Station works so well that we use it every day, here at the studio. 

In what ways did Collected Works surprise you?

Starry: The Collected Works surprised us in a lot of ways, but what really stands out is how collaborative and unflappable they were. Despite the ridiculously tight timeline we’d set for ourselves and, admittedly, a constantly shifting set of deliverables. What you would call stereotypical startup problems. :)

This project could have easily turned into one of the worst experiences ever, but it didn’t. They met deadlines and exceeded our expectations every time. We’re still very proud of how much we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

When searching for and discovering creatives, what do you look for first in a portfolio?

Starry: Outside of great work? The ability to explain and rationalize a process and the decisions made – whether it’s product, design, or copy. Attention to detail and craft. The desire to do something great.

 

Who are some other Working Not Working members whose work you admire and why?

Starry: We’ve had the pleasure of working with and interviewing quite a few talented WNW individuals over the last year. Aside from Collected Works, we’ve collaborated with Sarah Lim and our own Justin LaFontaine is a member.

Profiles we admire include the talented Leta Sobierajski (who just gets geometry), Mike Lacher and Todd Lamb (who just get the internet)...the list goes on. We do a lot of our recruiting on our own so there’s a chance you’ll hear from one of us if we like your work.

What’s next for Starry?

Starry: We recently started a beta program for our internet service in Boston. After that, hopefully coming soon to cities across the US.

 

Anything else you’d like to add?

Starry: Yes! We’re hiring. Don is looking for Product Designers. Jane is looking for Art Directors, Designers, and Copywriters. Definitely reach out if you’re reading this and are interested.

Collected Works: Thanks so much to Working Not Working for the continued opportunities, parties, lectures, connections, and adventures. You’ve really been a pivotal part of the studio.

Other than that, we’ve been very fortunate that many studios, agencies, designers and people we look up to have made time to meet with us and lend advice. We like doing the same whenever possible. So, if you want to talk about a project, are starting a studio of your own, want to explore the virtual reality, or just want to chat, we make time whenever we can. Hit us up!

Are you a WNW Member or company with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!