I talked to
Armin Vit, founder of SpeakUp - one of the more successful graphic design blogs that have been launched in recent years. Very influential in its field, it has paved the way for similar undertakings by other authors.
Despite running its course, it has set a benchmark against which quality graphic design blogs can be measured.
More about the reasons behind SpeakUp's cessation and his experience with graphic design in the following questions answered by Armin Vit.
LL:
How did the idea for UnderConsideration come about?AV: The name actually came from not being able to get any decent domain for Speak Up, which was our first blog. Speakup.com or anything similar was taken, so we thought underconsideration.com made for an intriguing domain name, but we didn’t know what to do with it until we launched The Design Encyclopedia two years later, when we realized we could start bundling things together under one parent brand. So UnderConsideration allows us to basically whatever we want, whether it’s blogs, live events, design for clients, and have it all appear as coming from the same entity. The name also serves well to represent what we do and our philosophy: We don’t just do things for the sake of doing them, we take everything under consideration and then proceed.
LL:
Why did you create SpeakUp? Was it the lack of quality graphic design blogs at the time that made you start up your own?AV: It was a lack of design dialogue online and an abundance of design eye candy portals that were bred during the dot-com era. I imagined a place where traditional graphic designers, who did print and identity work, could come together.
LL:
Do you think SpeakUp created a ripple effect? Do you think it positioned itself as a prototype that others copied?AV: I do think so. We didn’t invent blogging, and Typographica was there before us with a multiple author model, but I think we were able to establish a new kind of dynamic that had never existed in graphic design. I don’t think people copied us at all, I think we opened up the field for others to throw in their own voice and do it confidently.
LL:
Why did it cease to exist?AV: It’s time had come. It had neither the energy nor the community it once had, and it just wasn’t fun to see it slow down. It make something that we saw as a chore rather than something we looked forward to doing.
LL:
What is your fondest memory of SpeakUp? Any piece of writing or interview that you are the most proud of?AV: For sure it was the discussion about the UPS logo redesign in 2004. That discussion just blew open a world of possibilities (among them Brand New!) and it brought together a lot of designers who had no other place to vent their frustration. There a dozen other instances, but I was always happy when people strongly disagreed with whatever I had to say at the moment; it always made me reconsider my position or fight stronger for it.
LL:
What other products/projects have come out of UnderConsideration?AV: There are all the blogs:
The Design Encyclopedia,
Quipsologies,
Brand New,
Word It, and now
FPO. We have done live events like seriouSeries and Opposites Attract. We used UnderConsideration as our design firm name when we approach clients and all that work can be seen in our “Department of Design”.
LL:
How do you plan to develop? Do you consider branching out into something you have never done before?AV: Yes, we are always thinking of what we can do next. We like to do things online because there isn’t much financial risk. But we will soon be trying our hand at self-publishing. A good friend recently called us “secretive bastards,” so I can’t reveal anything else about what we are working on!
LL:
What was your experience in graphic design prior to starting up UnderConsideration and what sort of made you swerve in that direction?AV: I have worked for four design firms prior to this, working my way up the ranks from junior designer to senior designer. In order: marchFIRST in Atlanta, Norman Design in Chicago, Decker Design in New York, and Pentagram in New York. All these places have allowed me to see how design businesses are run and I have taken what I have learned at each place to establish our own firm, which I think is what most designers want to do.
LL:
Do you remember the exact point when you decided to become a graphic designer?AV: Oh, yes. When I realized it didn’t require memorizing facts and doing tests. Seriously. I was a lousy high school student and I wanted something easy; graphic design and doodling seemed to be the right fit for me. It was only two years in, after I did my first logo and critiqued those of my classmates that I feel in love with design.
LL:
How do you find inspiration? What is conducive to producing great design?AV: I just watch. Watch and absorb. And see what comes out when I’m faced with a design project. I wish I knew how it worked, but I don’t.
LL:
What part of graphic design do you derive the most pleasure out of? Is it creating identites, posters?AV: Logo design. I really enjoy the process of arriving at a very simple and distilled interpretation of what a company “feels” like.
LL:
What graphic designers do you consider to be your major source of inspiration?AV: Too many. I love the work of Pentagram, Wolf Ollins, Saffron, 2x4, Vasava, Alex Trochut, Stefan Bucher, Marian Bantjes, Sam Potts... Really, too many to list.
LL:
How has New York changed your way of designing?AV: I watched New York, and it’s impossible to not let its energy and pace affect what you do. I noticed I did a lot of big, big type when I was there, so maybe I was reacting to all the skyscrapers.
LL:
In your opinion, what does the future hold for the print publishing? Could it become obsolete?AV: No, not at all. It just has to readjust, and work under new stricter circumstances. Designers will find a way to keep the medium engaging.
LL:
Any words of wisdom to an aspiring graphic designer?AV: Yes, there is no easy way out: You have to work hard. VERY hard.
LL: Thank you.
