Category: Observed.
Had a great time doing a quick 20 minute odd talk, which went really well according to my number one fan Ajmal:
…apart from the last guy, who my and friends and I felt talked at us like were we undergraduates, and didn’t get the hint when half the audience left.
It was also another excuse to continue test-driving my Nagasaki font (watch this space, more info on this soon), and as always a pleasure seeing Simon and Aporva (once again, stay tuned for something fun as well).
I "met" Ash via email back in 2001. At that time I worked on the site for my local comic shop in Antwerp. I showed him the site, he liked my work, we started talking and that resulted in me redesigning his site. More websites (and redesigns) followed, leading into doing print and logo projects (and ultimately more comics work in general).
Thats a tricky one… I’ve learned that there is a time and place to fight and other times to come to a consensus instead of having to back down. I think design as a whole is always a collaborative process that extends to the client being involved instead of a fight where one party has to "be right" and "win". While I’ll be the first to admit that I always try to pull the client to my side of the argument (and I usually succeed by way of explanation and design), a lot of my more known work has come out of a shared solution with the client.
Its something I’ve thought about on occasion, and while I absolutely love designing for the comic book industry, I don’t want to limit myself. The one thing that makes design interesting to me is that I’m able to do a lot of different things. I think too much of one thing, no matter how much you love it is ultimately going to become a drag. Having said that, I’d love to do bigger comic-related design projects.
Assuming you’re talking about font families, my 5 fonts would be Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk, Univers, Futura, Nagasaki and Aldine 721.
It’s always an honour (and an ego boost – let’s be honest) to be asked to speak, whether it’s a large event or a small lecture. The fact that people are paying money to see you monkey around on stage is enough motivation to do something interesting. Semi-Permanent was great, met up with Ash Wood, long distance friends and a very receptive audience.
It never went away. Just like any major design philosophy, it trends in curves. You have to look beyond the poser shite, because they don’t last. Modernism is more than a typeface and a grid.
New beginnings.
So the cat is out of the proverbial bag… After eight(!) years I am leaving Kleber, and move on to join Studio Output as their new Digital Creative Director to help them strengthen their offering in the digital arena:
Studio Output have hired award-winning Belgian designer Tom Muller as their new Digital Creative Director. The appointment comes as Studio Output builds up their in-house digital arm due to increased demand in that medium.
Tom spent the last 8 years as creative/design director at Kleber Design Ltd, world renowned for their forward-thinking and award-winning interactive work in the entertainment and media industries. He has worked with clients including Sony Music, MTV2 and The Pet Shop Boys.
Dan Moore, Creative Director of Studio Output said “We’re very excited about such a shining light of the online design community joining us. We’ve long admired Tom’s work and look forward to pushing our offering into the digital realm.”
Studio Output is a highly creative company working with clients including Sony PlayStation, BBC, Arts Council England, Ministry of Sound and HMV.
http://www.studio-output.com
Without sounding too gushing this is an exciting time, the job has incredible potential, and with a range of interesting projects in the pipeline I’m looking forward to flex my creative muscles and get to work.
Having said that, my time at Kleber has been fantastic. I’ve made some good friends, learned an awful lot about how the industry works, and realised that a few good men can do a lot of work. Alas, all good things come to an end, and while part of me will miss some of the trappings of the old job, I feel the timing is right for a change and do New Things. I’ve always liked the versatility of Studio Output, and when our paths crossed last year when Kleber created their new website, it was a no-brainer to join them when they offered me the position.
A huge thanks to Chris and the extended Kleber family for the interesting ride these past 8 years — I look forward to follow Kleber’s future projects (and possible collaborations) from the other side — and I will see Team Output in 2 weeks time after my busman’s holiday!
To be continued…!
Another post listing some of my favourite covers from the 80s, and probably my first encounters with the American Graphic Novel format. Looking back at those now I think that the 80s were a very fertile ground for comics, especially with the rise of independent comics — and the Big Two (Marvel and DC) put out a remarkable amount of more left field work (sometimes using company characters) in their range of prestige format books. I was pretty much a Marvel Zombie back then, and the “Marvel Graphic Novel” label in the corner or at the top of their books meant I was going to be in for a treat: psychedelic art & stories by the likes of Rick Veitch and P. Craig Russell — not to mention the incredible graphic storytelling — and Bill Sienkiewicz on pretty much everything, from covers to movie adaptations…
So here are a few of my favourites from, to me at least, a golden era in comics:
Continue reading…
This month’s issue, which is all about the workspaces and work environments of designers/studios, features a photo of my/our home studio in the Comment section, accompanying my response on the CR blog Question of the week “Where do you work” —
Since 2005 Kleber has converted to what you can call a “virtual” company — meaning we got rid of our office in London in favour of working remotely from our homes. Since we’re a small studio to begin with and have been working together for a long time it was a painless transition, and we’re in touch with each other every day via phone, IM and email.
As far as location is concerned… We’re currently spread out all over the UK with people in Sheffield, London (me) and the South-East — and have no problems whatsoever with being available for clients (we can easily meet them at their offices), and the luxury of working from home is second to none. Location these days is not important. With a proper internet connection and a phone you can work for anyone, anywhere at any time.
The theme of the CR issue was largely inspired by the excellent Studio Culture book from Unit Editions (Tony Brook+Adrian Shaughnessy). Its quite an interesting topic to discuss, partly because of the inherit voyeuristic tendency we have to have a peek into other people’s work place, but also to see how they actually work… and there seem to be largely 2 categories: the ultra-clean white Vitra/Vitsœ setup (Modernism by numbers?), or the Ikea/2nd hand/whatever works interior that kind of organically grows over the years.
Personally I’d love to one day have a wall covered in Vitsœ shelving — although Mrs M is an advocate for the democratic Billy book case. When reading about other studios and looking at photos of their work environment its always pretty obvious that the ones with all the high spec “design must-haves” impress you first time round, but on second thought they all look a bit soulless at times. And while I like some of that clinical minimalism, I personally prefer a bit of organized chaos. And Mrs M has a keen eye to combine Modern with Vintage or Ikea, to create an environment that looks alive. Even now, after more than 10 years of having worked at, and seen, different work space setups I still haven’t found my “perfect” work environment at home.
I’m pretty happy with how my work space has been for the past 3 years (constantly evolving), but there’s always that nagging “Hmm, how about a bigger desk? Should I get that extra shelving?”. But then I get rightly told of by Mrs M who has a more practical eye on things and keeps me in check while I try to convince her that maybe one Vitsœ unit in the office wouldn’t hurt ;).