Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I'm originally from England, now living in Austin, Texas. As a kid I listened to a lot of old-school hip hop, which got me interested in graffiti and letter forms. Finally, one of my early art teachers in college looked at my reproduction Funkadelic album cover and accused me of being a graphic designer, which was a term I wasn't familiar with at the time. I think I resisted at first, but I soon learned to embrace the truth.

You use some amazing color combinations. Do you have a resource you like to use for inspiration on palettes?

I troll the blogs to jump-start my brain at every stage of the creative process, but mostly it's trial and error - a sort of Zen process. The colors tell you when they're right.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

I live in books and movies. I'm rarely on top of what's going on in the world beyond those mediums - not really out of choice, but because I've always got my head in the clouds. A great story almost always inspires me to create something.

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design?

I dig the Ogden plumbing logo by Matt Everson. It's a perfect logo. I hope I'm never approached to do a logo for a plumbing company, because my thinking will be stunted from the start. I'm also deeply enamored of Alex Trochut's work, although I don't think I could pick just one example.

What's your current creative obsession?

Lettering - a return to my roots. It comes in waves, but I'm occasionally so obsessed with letter forms that I dream about them. It's sad really. I've also been writing a lot lately, which I do mostly for myself but which has been really cathartic.

Thanks for your time Simon.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I loved to spend hours drawing and playing with legos as a kid but never imagined you could have a job drawing or creating things. Even throughout middle school and high school I took as many art classes I could but it was always just for fun -- the thought never occurred to me that art/design could be a course for my life until I went to university. On my first day of college registration, I was walking to a meeting for the undecided majors when I ran into a friend from high school who was headed for the art department meeting. I think she said something like "Hey, you should come to the art major meeting." So I went. I ended up signing on to study graphic design and from the first day of drawing class I knew I was in the right place.


What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

As nerdy as it may sound I've always enjoyed going to the library or the bookstore - I think it's the fact that books are all about ideas, and something about being surrounded by them and being able to explore all kinds of topics usually tends to get my brain working. I also love scrounging through old junk in flea markets and thrift stores, the older and junky-er the better.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

Hmmm... I'd say one piece I really like (mostly for sentimental reasons) is the "Haircut" illustration I created while in school, simply because it reminds me of the smell of the printmaking room and the fun times had with fellow art students and friends in the midst of a really intense semester. I tend to over-think when I'm working and it helped show me that solutions come when I can let go, have fun and stop trying too hard.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I'm addicted to blogs such as Brand New, The Book Design Review, i love typography, FormFiftyFive and Design Observer.


What's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

There's no way I could ever narrow down a favorite piece, there's so much out there to love! However, one piece that has really inspired me lately is a wall mural designed by Michael Osborne for Family Services of San Mateo The mural was created on a drab, uninspiring back entrance used mostly by dads coming to see their children. (The center is used a meeting place where children in the custody or primary care of one parent can spend time with their other parent). What really inspires me is that the mural solves a problem while providing a sense of pride and joy to the visiting parents, and was painted by the kids and members of the community.

What's your current creative obsession.

I've found myself using the color yellow quite often lately, hoarding sticky notes, scraps of paper, and envelopes or packaging I get in the mail... not sure what that says about me.

Thanks for your time Nathan. Really love your work. Keep it up dude.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I'm an Iowa boy who left the comfortable anonymity of the countryside and a possible law career to try and follow what I thought was something that would make me happy. Two cities, four agencies, and countless hours of work later, I feel like I finally am doing what I was meant to do. It's been a long journey, and it's not even close to finished.

What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Anything from times past. I find an incredible amount of inspiration just by experiencing things from a different era. I love to read old books on industrial design, archetecture, whatever from the 50's, 60's, 70's. Obviously the challenges have changed, but within those clashes of context we can find new ways to approach new problems.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?

Just finished it actually: - a music video and accompanying website for Doomtree's Mike Mictlan. It encompasses the entirety of my training as a designer and artist, and was a collaborative piece in every step of the way. It took conscious efforts in graphic design and direction, motion graphics, time-based art, music, typography, web design, promotion, etc. It really wrapped up everything I've been trying to learn into one package, super proud.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?

I always have trouble answering this sort of question. I read a lot, actually I buy a lot of books and read them when I can. There's probably more books on my shelf I haven't cracked yet than there are books that have been read. I don't really read many magazines. Most of the content is available online, the only advantage is the physical nature. Blogs, most of the typical ones. Swiss Miss, But Does It Float, Form Fifty Five, Draplin, Kindra Murphy, all sorts of stuff. Keeping up with it all is intimidating though I need an RSS Reader Reader (Fever maybe?)

What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design.
(*not created by you)
Fuuuuck. Hardest question ever. Probably the original Avant Garde logo by Herb Lubalin. Or his Families logo. Definitely Lubalin though.



What's your current creative obsession.

Working with people. The discussion and the compromise is a lost art. I find it amazing to work with people on projects and just get your hands dirty. Discuss, disagree, argue, yell at each other, get frustrated, fight, work late, comp dinners, make up and hug, and eventually make something amazing. I just love working with people. Maybe not all the time, but what I learn from the experience about process and myself always stays with me, and I appreciate that regardless of the outcome. Gotta be okay with failing sometimes.



Thanks so much Greg for your awesome work and words of inspiration. Keep on rockin' brotha!

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:


I am a designer (print/web) and illustrator based out of both Los Angeles, Ca. and Nashville, Tn.


I've been involved with art since I was a kid. I started taking oil painting classes when I was 6 years old and learned how to illustrate at a young age. My Grandpa was an illustrator for Howard Hughes and translated blueprints into conceptual illustrations; i.e., planes flying off into the sunset, etc. He would consistently encourage my artistic developments and gave all sorts of art equipment from the 40's and 50's.


I toured the west coast twice right after high school in an indie blast-metal band called Genosha. The only way we could recoup the expenses of touring was through screen printing our own merch. Music really brought life to my passion for art that I thought I had lost. I saw the two live seamlessly and was even able to make a little extra money on the side with it.


I decided I didn't want to work full-time in retail and or tour as a musician so I buckled down and went to design school in Pasadena, Ca. I was hired as a web designer after my first year in school. Although I went to several schools for design over the course of 6 years and feel very educated (at least in design), I never finished my degree.


How did you land the CMT logo-design job?


I've worked with CMT/ MTV Networks in the past and I was fortunate enough to be able to work with them again considering the level of talent they usually pull from. They have some ridiculously talented staff designers at CMT like Matt Lehman (invisibleassociates.com) and Brad Davis (actionherodesign.com).


What's your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?


I love sci-fi books... almost exclusively Issac Asimov. Anything as technical as a good sci-fi book requires investing time into the styles which is why I stick with Asimov. Probably take me another 1-2 years to get used to another author. At the end of the day, I find that books somehow explore deeper and more imaginative things than movies, music and other media are either too restricted by time and or by format to do.


What's your personal favorite piece of work you've created?


Probably my Path or possibly Arcology poster.


What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.


ffffound.com, designworklife.com, sci-fi-o-rama.com, abduzeedo.com,


What 's your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)


Robert Peak's 1984 Olympic stamp collection.


What's your current creative obsession.


At the moment, I would say making music.

Thanks for your time Justin. Lookin' forward to seeing your CMT logo!
-Aaron Scamihorn-

Tell us who you are and how you got to where you're at:

I'm Mig, and I'm a print and interactive designer creating awesome things in the Windy City. I'm really pumped to be an interactive designer for Threadless, the Social Media Liaison for AIGA and most recently, an instructor at The Chicago Portfolio School! When I'm not helping Threadless make magic, I like to pursue a lot of personal projects, in addition to contributing to various design blogs and magazines—like The Avant Garage!

Most people don't know that I got my start in graphic design quite backwards. After graduating high school, I had no clear path of where to go next. I was a heavy tech-nerd and a Photoshop enthusiast. I was going to pursue 3D animation, video game design, web design—everything but graphic design. Luckily, I chose graphic design and discovered the AIGA. Ever since then, I've met a lot of great people and stumbled upon all the right opportunities.

Voila!

What's your position at Threadless like?

My role as the interactive designer entails designing and updating the Threadless sites, in addition to executing emails and interactive ad campaigns. The position entails a minimum of 8 hours of craziness, with a casual mix of nuts and insane. That being said, there's no "typical" day.

Favorite Threadless shirt?

It changes, probably weekly. But for now, Love Your Fellow As Yourself followed by a close second, That is Inappropriate

What's your favorite source of creative inspiration outside of Art & Music?

Life. Friends. Books. Plays. Beers.

Tell us about your Humble Pied project:

I was asked to do a presentation at an AIGA student conference. In typical Threadless fashion (pun), I wanted to crowd-source student tips by my own personal friends and mentors. Rather than having them go by the wayside, I wanted to create a place to house everyone's advice so they could last forever, and stimulate dialogues along the way.

That said, it's one inspiring creative type sharing one piece of advice, all over iChat video.

VISIT HUMBLEPIED

What's your favorite piece of advice from your interviews on Humble Pied?

It's hard to have a favorite, they're all great in their own ways. One that really sticks out is the one by Kate Bingaman-Burt, where she recommends that we look at each other not as competitors, but as collaborators.

What's your favorite art or design piece of all time?

CBS logo.

What's your current creative addiction?

Pulling the trigger on personal projects as opposed to letting them float in your head. WordPress is the jam.


Thanks a ton Mig. Keep on Rockin' in the Free World!