The following interview was included in the beautiful MA dissertation project of Morgane VanTorre, Typographic Space as Playground, published in April 2021.

Can you briefly describe yourself ?
I'm a self-taught designer, primarily working independently / directly with clients since moving to NYC in 2005. Early on I found a niche doing brand, marketing and UI/UX design for fashion brands. I first began pursuing design in 2001 after taking a break from academics. I received a master’s degree in religion and thought I would continue to become a professor of theology and philosophy. Even though I hadn't formally studied art or design, once I started learning and creating, it felt very natural and I instantly became quite passionate ... and never returned to the academic path I had been on.

I got my start as a designer working with a couple small streetwear brands in LA, eventually going in-house with a brand called Rosasen. This was my real-world crash course where I was all of a sudden designing everything (print ads and catalogues, websites, t-shirt graphics, signage, labels and hangtags). Grateful for that experience which laid a foundation and gave me the tools I needed for a career in design.

I was born and raised in Portland Oregon, then lived in Los Angeles from 2001-2005 before moving to NYC for almost 10 years, then 'settling down' in the Hudson Valley (1.5 hours north of NYC) where I currently live with my wife Jenny and our two children, Kurhula (9) and Ted (11). We have a house full of rescue animals, two beagles and four cats. I've been teaching our daughter to ski this winter, which has been a great source of joy for both of us :-)

How could you define your creative work ?
I'm almost always looking for the simplest path, in the interest of clarity, and in response to a society (and digital world) that — for me — is often so busy and loud, and constantly moving and fighting for our attention. I long for stillness. Some projects are a form of meditation, examining the path from complexity to clarity, structure to freedom, or vice versa.

For some projects, I enjoy creating rules and limitations as part of my process and seeing what can be made and communicated within those restrictions. Or even further, the hope is that the work can even convey energy and emotion because of the subject matter (and because of the texture, negative space, repetition and other simple techniques … that hopefully allows you to *feel* the concepts). The 'wordplay' series, for example, is only black type on a white background. Simple on purpose, but I choose the words carefully ... 'mind', 'self', 'space', time', and so on.

I'm looking to connect, discover, explore with a playful minimalism and diagrammatic reasoning. There is often also a super-literal quality to my work ... content with seeing things as they are, but from just a slightly different or fresh perspective.

I suppose the thread that connects *almost* everything is that I'm trying to create from a good place, and with genuine, never-ending curiosity. I'm choosing concepts/subjects that I think other people can relate to, exploring visual representations of love and togetherness ... creating and sharing things that can bring some light, encourage thoughtfulness, or provide a brief moment of pause.

Where comes from your interest for written-words, typography ?
I've been drawn to typography from a young age ... seeing type in magazines and newspapers, on album covers and in advertisements. My father was in advertising and publishing and those industries had a certain glamour and intrigue for me. But it was always the combination of the type and copywriting I enjoyed most ... and the search for a 'big idea' that can connect with hearts and minds.

I started creating self-initiated projects regularly in 2018 after spending the first chapter of my career focused almost entirely on client work. All of a sudden I knew I needed to invest time in finally discovering my own voice and visual language. I was asking what do I want to create and how, but the more important question for me, especially for typographic work, is usually what do I want to say? And why? So in that sense the written words and concept is really essential.

In your talk “Inserting Myself into the Conversation” for Type Directors Club Salon (2019), you said that "words have an impact", where is come from their power(s) meaning(s) ?
Ahh so this may be the trickiest question to answer because there are a few layers of meaning. On one hand it's quite personal in that I'm naturally a bit shy and fairly introverted. Similar to what I'm doing in other aspects of my work, also in life I try/hope to say more by saying less. And to some extent I often wish others would be more thoughtful and careful with their words.

The particular work I was commenting about, 'Play on Words' is a reflection on culture and politics. I see an erosion of truth and morality/common decency. The truth is no longer the truth because of the digital media landscape that allows everyone to have their own interpretation of truth, based on who they 'follow'. I believe that anyone with 'followers' (individuals, companies, governments) has a responsibility to recognize and use their platform to lead with actions and words that are truthful and genuine, to inspire kindness and love in others, to use their power and voice for the good of humanity.

Many in positions of power, mostly knowingly, choose to not see or accept the responsibility. Instead, taking advantage of their audience, abusing their power—to maintain and establish more power—sometimes through calculated misinformation. 'Gamification' is now fully woven through modern society, and some leaders use it against us.

Words have an impact and we need leaders (in business, politics, culture and entertainment) who choose their words (and actions) more thoughtfully and carefully, and with more reverence for where and what those words will lead to.

"WorldPlay" is a "type-illustrations" serie. "Starting with a word then making note of its modifiers that can be represented with simple type play … using black text as the only design element." you succeed to represent the meaning solely through the spatialisation of its words. What's your process ?
The process mostly happens in the mind. I have come to 'scan' words or phrases that I read or hear or remember and then think of the ways I can represent them visually with simple type compositions. For example, if you want to say/show the phrase "slow down" ... of course you can do that by just showing the word 'slow' at the bottom of a page. There's something I love about this challenge of saying more with less and searching for little aha moments. It's also an opportunity to try to turn words/ideas into poetry. Can I make a poem that people can feel and experience using only one word? I also enjoy the chance to look for subtle moments of humor and wit in this format.

How do you choose your typeface ?
In life and art I gravitate to simplicity so it's similar with selecting typefaces. I have an appreciation for grotesque typefaces for many reasons. I enjoy the history, that even though they are more simple than their ornate predecessors, at the time they had an element of 'punk rock’ for being new and different. And that on the surface they seem straightforward but most have a lot of variation, personality and quirkiness when you take a closer look.

I usually place the most value on function and clearly communicating a concept. I want the idea to be the hero. So in that sense I prefer simpler typefaces where the style itself doesn't command too much attention.

That said, I have a deep appreciation for type design in all forms ... the level of detail, nuance and commitment required to make a typeface is amazing. And the beauty that can be conveyed in every glyph, each one is a piece of art.

You seem to like playing with letters and to consider typographic space as a large playground. Do you create even so your own rules of game or let a big part to the improvisation/chance ?
A bit of both depending on the project/concept. I usually find that I'm most creative when I'm working within limitations. Sometimes I purposely create rules like with 'wordplay'. Even when I don't setup rules, overall I still usually shy away from using too many tricks or effects. I like to see what I can do without them, using mostly just basic principles of design (grid, scale, spatial relationship / negative space, etc) to create a story or communicate a concept.

Sometimes I do challenge myself to create with more freedom and flow, and to let go of the need for structure. It doesn't come natural but I want to keep pushing. I'd like to be able to explore more without having a preexisting idea of where things will end up. I have to remind myself that not everything needs a clear message or concept or process.

Inspiration to concrete poetry is obvious within your practice. Your artwork reminds me concrete poems of Tim Ulrichs or Edwin Morgan. Do you know these names ? Could you speak more about this influence ?
Actually my study of concrete poetry doesn't go very deep. Mostly I have come to this work through honest exploration of simple techniques, without having specific references/inspirations. Believe it or not I wasn't familiar with Timm Ulrichs or Edwin Morgan but now of course after viewing their work, I see very strong similarities in the use of space, pattern and repetition and so on. I'm sure I've seen some images of their work in passing. It's making me even more inspired!

I'm drawn to concrete poetry because it's a space where language/writing/art/design/architecture all meet. It's a way to translate one's voice into a visual language. I see it as a different form of drawing or painting using language and text as the pencil or brush. As I'm thinking about this question, I'm realizing there's a lot more I'd like to say using concrete poetry as a framework. I want to write and use my voice more.

That said, I also enjoy concrete poetry that doesn't always communicate a specific message, but rather where the letters are just taken as forms that combine to create something entirely visual, so one can see and feel and interpret the work in a more abstract way.