Tell us a little bit about your self...

Born/studied/lived in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Live for design/surf/friendship and beer.

When was your first introduction to design?

I first became aware of graphic design through my father I guess. He is a draftsman and always had an amazing array of Rotoring pens and other drafting equipment. I started playing around with type stencils and old Letraset to create books and interesting compositions - raw, expressive typographic experiments. After years of doing that I was hooked and knew design was my ideal life pursuit.

Have you had any formal training or are you self taught?

I have completed a design degree, but I believe that all designers are all self-taught in many ways. In my degree we were prodded and prompted to steer our own destiny really - looking back on being a student our futures where always going to be what we engineered. I believe no amount of study can prepare you for a life in design.





How did you go about setting out and working for yourself?

After working for a few studios over the years I came to realise that I worked better on my own. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the studio environment – I loved it. It was more that I wanted to have a sense of ownership on the projects I worked on, and the ability to see a job through without it being thrashed around by several designers before it was completed. So I parted with my full-time position and set my sails as a solo-operator. I have some great friends in the design community so when I need some advice or guidance with a project I shoot them an email and we tear holes in the design to give me some feedback and direction.

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?

Staying motivated in tough times. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused on design and your business when some parts of the world can’t even eat regularly or don’t have a roof to sleep under. I guess it’s this constant weighing up of what is important in life that I struggle with from time to time as a designer and a consumer.

What/who are your major influences in design?

So many influences – wow. The water (surf) is a major inspiration to me – it’s something that I have been involved with all my life and I draw inspiration and momentum from it constantly. I also had the amazing opportunity to work for ATTIK in the UK for a few months a couple of years ago. The friendships I made there and the perspective it forged for me was unbelievable. In many ways ATTIK modeled my design style and direction and really made me focus on getting a strong concept in my work. Along with that I look to the work of Bibliotheque, Grant Dickson, Trevor Jackson, Jeffrey Docherty, Michael C Place and the late Josef Muller Brockmann.




What is your favorite part of the design process?

Most definitely the concept stage — especially when working in collaboration with other designers or studios. It’s a fantastic feeling to talk an idea through until you can see it in your mind, then to go and work quickly through it until your eyes hurt — print>pin up>talk>decide>sleep>repeat!

How do you feel your environment (Melbourne and Australia) influences your work?

Australia to me has such a strong design/artisitc culture which seems to be growing stronger each day. Along with this our country has so much rich history and character behind it and I think this distinct flavour shows through in our design. I would say Australian designers are a little more humourous and light-hearted, definitely more so than some larger countries, and I guess I can say this is in my work at times.