Interview by Ryan & Tina Essmaker November 26, 2013 Photo by Jesse Golden GMUNK artist designer Bradley G Munkowitz, aka GMUNK, is a graphic designer with over a decade of experience in the motion graphics industry. He is passionately involved in the global design community, giving lectures around the world. He designed UI and holographic …
Interview by Ryan & Tina Essmaker November 19, 2013 Photo by John Madere Paula Scher artist designer Paula Scher has been at the forefront of graphic design for four decades. She began her career as an art director in the 1970s and has been a principal at Pentagram’s New York office since 1991. Paula has …
Born and raised in Australia, Justin was blindsided by digital art in 1998 when he discovered what was possible with a computer and the burned copy of Photoshop 4 that a friend had given him. Although there was no formal career path for digital art when Justin started, that didn’t discourage him, and neither did being rejected from existing art collectives—he decided to start his own collective with friend Kevin Stacey, and Depthcore was born. Twelve years later, Depthcore and Justin’s career have evolved into more than he could have imagined, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. —Tina
We didn’t know what we were getting into with this interview. There was only a handful of information published about Elle, but we have some mutual friends, including several TGD alum, and we were intrigued. Tina was out of the city, so I set up shop in my favorite Lower Manhattan bar and coffee shop, recorder in hand, ready for my first solo interview. Before Elle and I finished our first glass of wine, I knew I had stumbled upon someone special, someone who is pursuing life to its fullest, throwing caution to the wind, and turning a cheek to safe and normal. Many of us dream of living our lives this way, but few of us have the resolution to do so. It’s our hope that this conversation inspires you to find that which is uniquely you, that which makes you come alive—and that you dare to explore “the ether of the unknown” as Elle finds herself doing now. —Ryan
You might know Timothy Goodman from the wildly successful 40 Days of Dating—the dating experiment turned viral website from Tim and TGD alum, Jessica Walsh. But we’d like to share the rest of Tim’s story with you, love life aside. We met Tim at Bar Six, where we polished off several rounds of IPAs while Tim opened up about his early life in Cleveland, Ohio. He recalled the mentor who challenged him to grow up, reflected on risks he’s taken, and speculated about the future. Unsurprisingly, Tim has always been a rule-breaker—and perhaps a heartbreaker, too—but there’s more to him than that. Spend some time getting to know Tim and we think you’ll agree: he’s the kind of guy you can go have a beer with and leave feeling inspired, like we did. —Tina
Joshua Davis has a natural gift for creating something from nothing. As a child, his artistic talents were nurtured and encouraged by those around him, and with dreams of starting a successful career in fine art, Josh moved to New York City. His plans were derailed, however, when he got caught up in Manhattan’s drug-fueled party scene of the mid–90s. In the span of three months, Josh’s promising path to success was destroyed by addiction, poverty, and homelessness. It was only after everything had been destroyed that he was able to see an opportunity to build something even better. Josh got sober and created a successful new career at the intersection of technology and art. Over a decade later, Josh continues to find opportunity in unlikely places, and inspires all of us to do the same. —Tina
This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Heads of State, the Philly-based design studio that started out as an experiment between friends. You’ve likely seen their incredible work—a prolific amount of posters, illustrations, design, identities, and more have come out of their studio in the last decade—but we’d like to introduce you to the guys behind the work: Jason and Dusty. These two are generous, hard-working, standout guys who have put an enormous amount of care into everything they’ve done from the beginning—and it shows. The two talked with us about their path—which wasn’t always easy, or clear—the teachers who influenced them along the way, the advice they now give to their students, and why their biggest risk was moving back to where it all began. —Tina
On a warm August evening, we met Frank for food and drinks at Burger Joint’s West Village locale, where we enjoyed conversation that lasted well past closing time. After burgers, we made a brief stop at Gray’s Papaya for a late-night “frank” with sauerkraut before moving on to The Meatball Shop. When we parted ways at the end of the evening, we knew we’d experienced something special, and we couldn’t wait to share it with you. Get ready to settle in for a long, yet extraordinarily compelling read that will invite you inside the brilliant mind and generous heart of designer Frank Chimero. —Tina
After being virtual friends with Josh for some time, we finally had a chance to meet him in person last October. Friendly, upbeat, and instantly likable, Josh has a contagious laugh and an optimistic attitude toward life. Since saying goodbye to his role as principal designer at Twitter, Josh has ventured out on his own, but this isn’t the first professional—or personal—risk that Josh has taken over the course of his winding path. After a music-filled childhood, Josh spent his teenage years wanting to be an art teacher; instead, he had a brief stint teaching kids to use computers, which sparked his interest in the web, and the rest is history. We talked with Josh about his work in the startup world, his decision to leave Twitter, the responsibility he feels to do meaningful work, and what he’s up to next. —Tina
I first saw Jane speak at this year’s 99U conference. Amazed by her openness and genuine love for what she does, I immediately wanted to learn more. Jane is a go-getter who is not afraid of a little hard work. That’s evident in the fact that it took six years of working in anonymity before sugru was released into the world. Read on to learn about how Jane’s childhood in the countryside strengthened her innate DIY spirit, how a failed experiment turned into an opportunity, and why, even when the situation appeared bleak, there was still hope for success. Jane is a pioneer who has merged science, design, and business to create a product that is putting fun back into people’s lives. Thank you, Jane, for inspiring all of us to embrace play. —Tina
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