Interviews with former TDC Scholarship recipients
2009 held an important milestone for the Type Directors Club—it was the 15th year that the club awarded scholarships. Since 1994, TDC scholarships have been awarded to 101 students in 12 different countries. The $1000 scholarships are given to students entering their fourth year of an undergraduate design program, and are awarded on the sole basis of design talent.
To mark this anniversary, I tracked down some former scholarship recipients. 16 of them were kind enough to answer a few questions and share their work with us. It has been extremely interesting to see where their talents have taken them, and gratifying to learn how the TDC was able to contribute to their career development in a small way. The interviews follow in chronological order.
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Full Name: Jennifer Crupi
School: Cooper Union, BFA;
SUNY New Paltz, MFA
Year of TDC scholarship award: 1994
Year of graduation: 1995, BFA; 1997 MFA
www.jennifercrupi.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
I have worked as a designer in the past but am currently teaching full time. As an undergraduate I double majored in graphic design and jewelry design/metalsmithing. I continued on to graduate school for my MFA in metals with the end goal of pursuing my own artwork and teaching at the college level. I have been an exhibiting artist for the past fifteen years and my sculptural work has been shown in over forty national and international exhibitions.
I am currently an Associate Professor of Fine Art at Kean University where I have taught and headed the metals program since 1999. I also recently concluded two years as Department Chairperson. Despite my other pursuits, I have never stopped designing and currently design departmental publications such as promotional materials, gallery posters/catalogs, lecture series mailers, etc.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
Two design work samples are attached. Art work samples can be seen on my website: www.jennifercrupi.com
How is type important to your work?
I have always been interested in the power of typography to communicate—both as content and idea. A sensitivity to type even when it plays a more supporting role is crucial to design that communicates clearly and effectively.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
I remember being very pleasantly surprised to receive such an honor especially since design was not my sole focus of study. To have such an prestigious award on my resume gave me an advantage as a fledgling designer and surely helped me get my first design job.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Have confidence in your work. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Get all that you can out of your professors. Challenge yourself. Value this time when you can explore and try new things.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I would like to try an environmental design project—as a way to combine my interests of sculpture and graphic design
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
It was great to be able to take advantage of the various resources and events at the Type Directors Club. It definitely helped give me greater exposure to the field and provided opportunities to interact and meet professional designers.
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Full Name: Jeff Piazza
School: Cooper Union
Year of TDC scholarship award: 1996
Year of graduation: 1997
www.behaviordesign.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes, I am a Partner and Creative Director of Behavior, an interactive design studio. Our primary focus is digital design, creating interactive user-centered experiences for both business and culture.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
I have attached three online projects to share which include:
1. HBO’s John Adams: www.hbo.com/films/johnadams
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2. Big Picture Learning: www.bigpicture.org
3. Behavior Design: http://behaviordesign.com
How is type important to your work?
Typography is an essential activity to everything we do. Much of our work is digital and editorially-focused, where good typographic practice is essential to communicating the content to specific audiences in a particular way. The way in which the type is designed is as much a reflection of the project’s message and brand as the words themselves. Given much of our work is online, there are strict parameters to adhere to. It has to look beautiful and effectively communicate the core message, and also meet the technical considerations for properly rendering in different web browsers, downloading, and search indexing. All of these requirements are factored into the design decisions we make to create the best possible experience.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
Receiving the TDC Scholarship as a student at Cooper Union helped give me the confidence to continue to pursue my passion for design. I am fortunate that I was given an incredible education, much of which was steeped in a graphic and digital design fundamentals. A key part of that foundation was understanding typography. As a creative director I try to share those guiding principles with our staff and instill timeless values into all of the projects we produce.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
There are a few messages I would send back:
• Enjoy the design process, design experimentation, and take as many risks as possible.
• Make your opportunities and cultivate your unique voice. This will serve you well throughout your career.
• Surround yourself with curious and talented people so you will never stop learning.
• Learn the art of time and stress management at an early age.
• Invest in this “Google” thing. It’s going to be big.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I don’t have a particular dream design project because I enjoy working on lots of different things. I’ve been fortunate to work on diverse types of projects in all different media, from entertainment to financial, software to television. I get really excited by taking what I’ve learned in one project and seeing how it can influence another in completely unexpected ways. My dream is really to continue to find those opportunities.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
The membership enabled me to attend events and receive materials that I would not have had access to otherwise.
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Full Name: Shawna Dermer
School: Pratt Institute
Year of TDC scholarship award: 1997
Year of graduation: 1998
www.shawnadermer.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
I am a working freelance designer. I work both on-site for creative firms and for clients from my home studio. Recently completed projects include the event graphics and program book layout for New York Fashion Week and promotion design for Nikon. I design corporate identity, editorial, packaging, collateral, marketing material and websites.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
How is type important to your work?
It’s the most important component to my work and process. My first step with a new project is asking myself what kind of type fits the unique message? Which typefaces will best serve to communicate this content? With a logo I’ll play with the letterforms first and see what emerges. Then I find I have a clearer direction to proceed. When laying out a brochure or magazine spread I’ll first make sure that I have I have a good grid, that the copy reads and fits, that the type is creating clear delineations. Then the other components more easily fall into place, I can be playful and I have something that is really conveying a message.
I like to discover unusual type on the street and in my travels and take photos for inspiration. I also really enjoy experimenting with brush lettering and incorporate
it when I can.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
I put myself through school, working all the while. It was a difficult time, and the TDC scholarship helped when it was really needed. As my education is the foundation of my career I can thank the TDC for helping me build that foundation. I was proud to receive the award. It was a welcome recognition, and I still include it on my resumé.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Worry less about what other people are doing and nurture your own design path. What excites YOU? What are YOUR strengths? Take time to think about where you want to be in the future. What kind of design work? Environment? Be informed about trends in design while remaining independent of them. Focus on putting together a good portfolio. Prepare your best work and ask yourself what’s missing. Then tailor your final projects to fill the gaps. Keep in mind that the instructors and students you have made positive connections with are good connections to keep. Know that you’re a great designer. Get advice, partner up on the stuff you’re not so great at. Pay off as much of your loans as you can as soon as you can.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
One that would require me to live in Morocco to study the techniques of Arabic script from a master calligrapher. Or work with theater companies to do posters for productions.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
The events I attended helped me tap into the typography community, learn about different avenues in typography and helped me with inspiration for projects. I remember particularly being inspired by a talk given by type designer Jill Bell and a sign painting demonstration given by John Downer, who I later took classes with. The Typography Annual was also a valuable resource for ideas.
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Full Name: Matthew Strong
School: Pratt Institute
Year of TDC scholarship award: 1998
Year of graduation: 1999
www.strongstudio.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
I am the founder and creative director of Strong Studio, a small design firm established in 2006 focusing on branding and print for a broad range of clients.
I have also been teaching Package Design and Senior Project Graphic Design at Pratt Institute since 2004.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
How is type important to your work?
Type is vital in design. It can make the page come to life if done correctly or fall flat if poorly executed. Beautiful and awful type can be spotted in an instant, however it may take years for some to understand the difference. As a designer and instructor I know that typography is definitely the cornerstone
of a successful layout. Whether print or online, motion or static, 6pt. or 72, good type needs to be considered and incorporated as much as the photography, composition, concept and execution.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
After receiving the TDC Scholarship, I gained more confidence in my work and myself. After being honored as a TDC winner amongst other top designers in design schools, it opened the door to other opportunities and gave me the self assurance that I could compete at the highest academic level.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Keep pushing yourself daily and stay hungry. Write down your goals and dreams and don’t stop until you are at the end of your list—then start another one.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
The dream project is one which allows you to roll up your sleeves, play around, experiment and immerse yourself in the work for a good chunk of the time. No matter the client, project or budget, I salivate over such opportunities.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
It was through the membership that I began collecting the TDC annuals. Each year I look forward to the book and it is a staple resource for myself as well as my students. I bring in a different TDC annual each week—I have since removed the sticky note that once lived on the TDC 19 scholarship recipients page.
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Full Name: Heung-Heung Chin
School: Cooper Union
Year of TDC scholarship award: 1998
Year of graduation: 1999
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
I’m a freelance 2D and print graphic designer based in NYC. My main client is John Zorn’s nonprofit organization, Hips Road.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
• Naked City typogram for John Zorn’s Naked City CD
boxed set.
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• IAO typogram for John Zorn’s IAO CD.
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• Book cover (back/front) for J. Hoberman’s “On Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures and Other Secret-Flix of Cinemaroc”
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How is type important to your work?
Type will make or break your project. My work is very detailed, so typography as the main piece of information becomes an element of texture. Printing can be expensive, so typography should be used in an attractive, informative and sometimes challenging way.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
There was one less expense to worry about since it was hard to make money and be a full-time student. This meant more focus and energy on work. It was a stepping stone to successfully develop an independent study class that is now my career: esoteric 2D printwork. There may have been more credibility introducing myself to the world.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
This is a tough question to answer. There are everyday, “real-life” problems that they don’t teach you, that you end up figuring it out for yourself (health, taxes, finances, etc.) I didn’t have the time to learn new media (motion graphics, web design), but had to choose between disciplines (printmaking, photography, 2D graphic design and the web as well as everything else not offered at Cooper Union.) I suppose I could have told myself that it’s okay to have a very specific personal style/look and not have to emulate everything else out there. Perhaps that’s just a nice way to say that being locked into one style can be a handicap, but people do look for that. It helps to eliminate the projects I do not want to take on.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I want to mix traveling and photography documenting old type (such as in Rome). Then incorporate the images/fonts for my main client (John Zorn) or for my own book or art/fashion project. This could involve glass/paper etchings, silkscreens, laser printing, c-prints, letterpress, paper (sheet or scroll), fabric, etc. I would like to work with leather, precious metals and light (LED, bulbs, etc.). This could be an installation or smaller pieces suitable for a wall.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I love the annual, typography and paper shows since I’m in the 2D world. There are great lectures if you take advantage of them.
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Full Name: Alexander Tochilovsky
School: Cooper Union
Year of TDC scholarship award: 1999
Year of graduation: 2000
www.someat.com/site
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
I am currently an Owner/Operator of the “Studio of ME/AT” (or The Studio of MIke Essl and Alexander Tochilovsky), a small design studio in New York. We specialize in designing for print—predominantly, but not limited to, books. We also do some design for the web. I am also an adjunct instructor at the Cooper Union (teaching Typography) and recently co-curated the exhibition “Lubalin Now”, also at the Cooper Union (on view until December 8, 2009).
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
How is type important to your work?
Type is extremely important to my/our work. It is often the first place I get ideas from; it is also one of the most enjoyable parts of the design process. Good typography and a great choice of typeface(s) can elevate any piece of design to an astounding level. I really enjoy simply looking at type, and draw a certain amount of inspiration from the forms themselves.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
Receiving the award made me really look at the work I was doing more carefully. I started to pay a lot more attention to type; I felt that since I received the scholarship then my typography had to live up to that high standard and honor. I got really serious about trying to understand the inherent characteristics of type, learning the history and evolution of typefaces and lettering. I became intrigued by the construction of letterforms, as well as the cultural connections/implications that typography has. The award made me focus on type to a much greater degree than I would have otherwise.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Take the calligraphy class! The great calligraphy teacher Don Kunz was still alive then, and I know that I would have learned a great deal from him.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I would love to be involved in the design of a restaurant; from the interior design, signage/identity, down to the small details that go into the creation of a restaurant.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
The membership introduced me to some of the best type designers, educators, and typographers in the country (and probably the world). I met an amazing array of people whose work still inspires me as designer and educator to this day.
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Full Name: Natsumi Nishizumi
School: School of Visual Arts
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2002
Year of graduation: 2003
www.natsuminishizumi.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes, I am. I have mainly worked for fashion, interior and food magazines in the marketing department of Conde Nast Publications since 2006. During this same period, I founded my own design studio, White Box Design Studio Inc, which offers services in graphic design and illustration.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
How is type important to your work?
I wasn’t into typography until my typography and portfolio teacher at SVA, Carin Goldberg, taught me about typography and how type works. I am passionate about design and type is very important to my work. If you have strong skills in typography, you don’t have to stick to one field. It gives you more opportunities to work on a variety of projects.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
It was an honor to receive the TDC scholarship. I gained confidence in my design and motivation to improve my skills.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
My final year of school was so intense. I had to work on several school projects plus I was doing an internship in a design studio, so I rarely had a chance to attend design lectures or events at organizations such as Type Director Club and AIGA… too bad. It’s a great opportunity to meet creative people and be inspired by great designers there.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I have recently launched my own line of eco-friendly products incorporating my design and illustration. I would like to create and add more items to my collection.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I didn’t know about this until now.
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Full Name: Tanaporn May Jampathom
School: Parsons School of Design
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2002
Year of graduation: 2004
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Well, yes and no. I’ve since taken up an educational career path and am a college writing tutor by day. I do still take on a light stream of design projects here and there, though. Mostly, they’re small or personal projects—an invitation, a logo, an illustration, cards and brochures.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
“Current”… I’m afraid the best I can do is “recent”!
• Invitation to a groundbreaking ceremony for a new temple building in Pennsylvania, along with the invite to the
building’s opening ceremony 2 years later.
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• Logo for S/GSS, an engineering company based in Florida and Virginia.
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• Brochure cover for a systems engineering seminar given in Bangkok, Thailand.
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How is type important to your work?
Well, in my day job as a writing tutor, I certainly care a lot more about what the type is saying—granted it’s almost always Times New Roman or another Word default font. In design, I’m always trying to challenge myself to make the type part of the image, and not look like it’s just been tacked on to it. It’s tough!
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
It was certainly a confidence-booster for my interest in type. I knew that it was worth all the time and careful attention, and wasn’t just my nerdy obsession!
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
You mean, besides stop smoking, eat right, and take my vitamins? I would definitely just remind myself to embrace change in all its forms. And try to measure myself against myself, not the rest of the world.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
Yes, I still dream relatively big: designing a country’s flag, the graphics and signage for an airport, car dashboards, are all “out there.”
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
To be honest, I don’t think I took full advantage of that. In large part, it was probably due to living in the city and feeling like I was already in the midst of so much fascinating inspiration, visually and otherwise.
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Full Name: Christopher Masonga
School: Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA)
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2003
Year of Graduation: 2004
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes I’m working as a graphic designer
at Genesis advertising & design. I’m doing design for print.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
view full image
How is type important to your work?
I value type, to me its a graphic element like any other shape.
I always try to make sure that type and graphics are unified.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
Since I could not afford the college fees, the scholarship helped me to finish off my studies. It put me in a position to understand the importance of type in design. The TDC annuals and newsletters I have received also contribute to my flexibility in working with type.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
My year appears to have been hard, but through reading books of type and viewing other designers’ work, I was inspired so it was not a challenge and I managed to handle all my projects.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
My dream project is to do design work for T. B. Joshua.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
The TDC annual and newletters provided creative inspiration and examples of other designers’ work. This inspiration helped improve my work, and my college classmates’ work as well.
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Full Name: Philip Lubliner
School: Pratt Institute
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2003
Year of graduation: 2004
www.fogelson-lubliner.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes. I started a studio with my partner, Gary Fogelson. Fogelson-Lubliner. We do traditional graphic design work, primarily for cultural clients. This includes books, posters, identity, editorial, motion, web.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
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How is type important to your work?
Type is always one of the first elements that comes up when we start on a new project. The connotation of typographic choices has the potential and often does drive an underlying concept through a majority of our projects, even if the type choices are rather simple.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
The scholarship gave me confidence that the risks I was taking with type in school were valid and appreciated. I always consider type as an essential conceptual element in every piece we produce.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Glad you’re having fun. Just keep doing it.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
We love working on projects in the arts. A museum/gallery identity/communications project would be fun. Posters are always a great way to spread out a visual idea and experiment a little. It’d be nice to do more.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I haven’t continued my membership, but the few events I attended helped me understand the serious nature of what goes in to creating good typefaces, and I have the upmost respect for type-designers who do make very useable and beautiful typefaces.
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Full Name: Stuart Lyle
School: Parsons New School for Design
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2004
Year of graduation: 2006
www.stuartlyle.name
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes, Im working as a Junior Art Director at AR, a fashion advertising agency: www.arnewyork.com
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
I’ve done a few websites, here are the links:
• www.thakoon.com
• www.fabiochizzola.com
• www.stefaniestein.com
• www.stuartlyle.name (my site)
How is type important to your work?
In advertising type is definitely not the focus, but having a strong understanding of type can train your eyes for proportion and scale, which are used in all forms of design.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
The award helped me financially to complete school when I otherwise might not have. It also was a great feeling to be recognized.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Don’t give up on print design.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I would like to work with other designers from different fields to create a type of product/fashion/interior/tech company.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I was able to enjoy more speaking events than I would have normally.
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Full Name: Roy Rub
School: The Cooper Union School of Art
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2005
Year of graduation: 2006
www.toposgraphics.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes I am. Seth Labenz (a fellow Cooper Union graduate) and I are running a design studio named Topos Graphics.
Topos Graphics is a design consultancy, based in Brooklyn, NY. We deliver relevant, meaningful design solutions through the processes of research and investigation. Our methodology employs a wide range of tools, resulting in clear and visually intriguing work. We help clients defy expectations.
More specifically, we work with publications, identity, promotional items, type design and lettering, editorial illustrations, etc.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
Credit for all work shown is Seth Labenz and Roy Rub, for Topos Graphics.
How is type important to your work?
I think that there isn’t a single project I do without type in it! Type is the alpha and the omega, the starting point and the final outcome of every design piece we do. Currently I am also working on developing my own type foundry. I design types in Hebrew and English and hopefully multi-lingual ones as well. So I should say that type is really at the center of all I do.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
I have to say that, honestly, I didn’t take enough advantage of this membership and fellowship. However, getting recognition for typography-centered design was an important encouragement and support, and did push me (along with other elements) to realize and pursue the development of a career with typography at its core. It felt great to learn that there is a great group of people that care about typefaces just as much, if not much more, than me!
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Make your own work, it doesn’t matter how weird and different it is. Smartly, and sophisticatedly, bend the rules and push them. I see way too many graduates trying to do and be things they see around them. This is sad, imagination-less and boring. Use that year to kick, push, transgress all the crystal goblet rules (now that hopefully you know them!).
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
There are probably million of them. Currently it is creating a really good English-Hebrew-Arabic typeface, with a working italic cut to all three languages. But, generally, I find that interesting projects are about the people you work with, no matter what field they come from.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I regret not taking better advantage of it.
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Full Name: Jee-Eun Lee
School: Fashion Institute of Technology
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2005
Year of graduation: 2006
www.jeenaya.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes, I’ve been working at Mirko Ilic Corp. for the last 3 years as the main designer. We do lots of different kinds of work, ranging from hospitality clients (hotels, restaurants, etc.) to identities, books, work for non-profit organizations, etc.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
1. La Fonda del Sol (designs and window decals for a restaurant in New York City.) Art direction: Mirko Ilic.
2. The Joule (designs for hotel in Dallas.) Art direction: Mirko Ilic.
3. Charlie Palmer at the Joule (designs for restaurant in Dallas.) Art direction: Mirko Ilic.
How is type important to your work?
Type is an important component in our design work—if it’s not done right it shows right away, so we try to pay careful attention to it.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
It inspired me to work even harder. And since hard work has always been the most rewarding thing for me I continue to give it my best at my job.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Travel more often to interesting destinations.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I would really love to redesign the identity and signage system of the MTA. It is the biggest mass transit system in the world. The New York City subway experience directly affects the quality of our daily lives. Yet we do not have a choice when it comes to designs for such public systems—we have to take it as it is. We can’t “shop” for better quality systems like we can for better cars. Because of that, little attention is paid to making it better.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I really enjoy the TDC annuals—they help me to see some of the best work out there. Moreover, knowing that there is a serious organization dedicated to typography is positive for students, and it can help set high standards and raise “type-consciousness”.
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Full Name: Wei Lieh Lee
School: School of Visual Arts
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2006
Year of graduation: 2007
www.onthewei.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes I am currently working as a designer at Mother New York. I work on branding, packaging, product design, billboards and advertising campaigns. Sometime I have opportunity to work on smaller projects such as book covers and record albums.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
How is type important to your work?
Typography is as important to my work as scissors are to a barber.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
Receiving the TDC scholarship was a huge encouragement for me. I do not know how much it has helped me in my career, but it definitely gained me more confidence in my design.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
“No pain, no glory.”
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I do not know what my dream project is yet, but I do dream about my projects all the time.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
I am sad to say that I did not take full advantage of my free one year TDC membership.
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Full Name: Adam Mignanelli
School: Parsons New School for Design
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2006
Year of graduation: Fall 2007
www.thinkagm.com
www.ballastnyc.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes, after spending about 2 years designing for SPIN Magazine I moved to Vice where I currently am the Design Manager for Vice Magazine and Virtue Worldwide,
Vice’s advertising agency.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
• Hand Drawn Type for Ruffian’s Lookbook
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• Identity design for SPIN’s SXSW showcase 2008
view full image
How is type important to your work?
Typography is essential in the all the work that I do: advertising, more artistic work, as well as my own freelance work. When using type for an advert, I always first look for the most effective type to voice the brand. Whether that is a subtle tone or loud and obvious, the typeface is always setting the stage while working with supporting imagery. What you find with advertising is that your client’s major concern is legibility, so for me it is always a bit of play as far as how far you can push your favorite illegible typeface. When it comes to doing freelance work and personal projects, I am a sucker for the “distressed” fonts and illegible, ornamental typefaces. I am also a lover of, and was known throughout design school for hand drawn type. These are all things I gravitate towards in my design process.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
The TDC Scholarship helped my studies, by going to the club meetings, and seeing some inspiring talks from guest speakers. I also made professional connections which helped me with internships and the interview process for jobs.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Keep working, and work more.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
I would love to design a large scale type sculpture.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
The membership helped me feel part of the design community, and kept me informed with what the professionals that I looked up to were doing in the field.
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Full Name: Louise Ma
School: The Cooper Union School of Art
Year of TDC scholarship award: 2006
Year of graduation: 2007
www.hellolouise.com
Are you a working designer? Where are you working? What type of design work are you doing?
Yes; I’m now a full-fledged freelancer. After graduating I worked for a year at the NYTimes.com design group, before leaving to strike it out on my own. Now I do mostly web design work, with a few print projects and iPhone-based projects mixed in.
Please provide samples of your current work. (Shown here)
How is type important to your work?
On the web there is a very limited palette of web-safe fonts, so that presents a challenge. Working with so few choices and such rigid design rigid restrictions in web-space, it becomes my imperative to make work that is both functional and visually pleasing.
When you received the TDC scholarship, how did it affect your studies? How has the scholarship affected your career?
It definitely had a positive effect. It was a way for me to know that the faculty was paying attention to what I was doing, and in turn that esteemed judges at the TDC was paying attention. It felt like my hard work in school had paid off, and encouraged me to remain dedicated to what I was pursuing.
If you could send a message back in time to yourself during your final year of design school, what would it be?
Don’t worry too much about the future, (what will come after school) but focus instead on how to make the best of the present.
Do you have a dream design project, a project you would love to work on?
Yes, and that dream project would be anything that would be able to engage the greater community in a positive or interesting way. I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of OurGoods.org, which is this website that lets New Yorkers barter with each other to exchange services, time, and goods. That is pretty close to what I’d like to always be doing with my design.
Your Scholarship also included a one year membership to the TDC. How has that membership helped you?
It did?! I didn’t know!