Oh the things we do for graphic design…
The internet is great. It really is. It connects us in ways that no one previously thought was possible. As designers, at any moment in time, we can go to a countless number of “design inspiration” sites and look at someone’s work from across the globe. We can see their style, their talent and what they’ve made.
As a young designer, I couldn’t get enough. But gradually, as I looked through design inspiration websites day after day, I realized I wasn’t really thinking about each design. It seemed so superficial; looking at jpg after jpg, passing over each one briefly and being “inspired”. It seems laughable to me now. After all, can we really be inspired by 150x150px squares?
Don’t get me wrong; it serves a purpose (helping spark visual ideas), but I couldn’t help but feel like I needed something more. I wanted to see where these pieces were created. I wanted to meet the people who made the designs and hear the stories behind the work. I wanted to see the cities that they lived in and hear about the history behind their style.
Basically, I wanted a graphic design travel show. Such a great idea, right? Surely, some Gary-Huswit-wannabe had done this, right? But google search after google search uncovered nothing, and I was left wishing it existed.
But rather than say “oh well” and move onto other things, my friend Mat and I decided to just do it. We somehow decided that it would be a good idea for me to stuff a backpack full of expensive camera gear, book a flight to Eastern Europe in the middle of winter and try to film a graphic design travel documentary. We were the slightly insane, borderline deranged Gary-Huswit-wannabe’s that we were looking for.
Fast forward 3 months and here we are: launching our new site along with our first podcast, which explains precisely what to expect from the series. We hope you enjoy listening and watching as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.
Next week, we launch our first designer interview! Elisabeth Kopf – Vienna.
Stay tuned!
-Donovan