23 Questions!

A father who worked for an agency and a mother who doodled life in-situ, it was inevitable that Ryan would make his impression on the world via some elaborate doodles of his own. Read on and discover our latest A-List.

What sparked your passion for design?
My Father worked in an agency and would often come home with concepts for familiar brands. Seeing what was pitched but never actually made it out made me feel like I knew something that most people weren’t privy to – like I had inside information. When it came time for me to pick a career direction, creative seemed like a fairly natural choice.

How creative were you as a youngster?
In an applied sense, I’d say not particularly. I have always; however, gravitate to new things, interesting things, gorgeous things. My best childhood friend was the daughter of a post-ashram artist so we were at least regularly exposed to group creativity. We had experiences that likely borderline on parental negligence, but that’s what shapes us. I wore being a fully qualified six-year-old beekeeper as a badge of honour.

Do you come from a creative family? Were they supportive of your desire to be a designer?
My Mum has a capacity to doodle life in-situ while she’s on the telephone. I’ve still got scraps of paper with notes that say “call your Nana” with a drawing of the cat looking depressed, or “the bank wants to speak with you about your student loan” with a sketch of a man holding a noose.

I think they initially would have preferred that I do something different, but have warmed to creative as a career choice over the years.

What sort of education and training have you had?
I studied Applied Language in Canada and the UK and supported my study habit with ad-work on the side. Ultimately, I have found that I am a far better creative than translator so it has become my career of almost 15 years now.

Who did you want to work for when you first entered the industry?
I’ve been inspired by Bill Bernbach since first I read some of his quotes. His was a name that, when mentioned gave me the sense that inspired design and copy were not only saleable but in the long run far more effective. My first job (after much pestering) was with DDB in 1996; I was 16 and absolutely thrilled.

Tell us about your first project and what do you feel about it now?
My first job was a pitch for General Mills. Specifically, the account was their Canadian Breakfast Foods portfolio. I organised and built the deck in PowerPoint; really digging in to the guts of the app at that point, it was a bit of a mission to replace the standard bullets with pictures of marshmallow fruit from Lucky Charms and Trix cereal. Our office was under construction at the time, so construction became the theme of the pitch: We had the client put on yellow hard hats, check-y shirts and work boots while serving doughnuts from the box. We ended up winning $32m p/a worth of business, I had my first taste of late nights in the office and the whole event is actually still very close to my heart.

What is your preferred software to work with and what has been the greatest advancement in technology over the past 5 years? I think like many people, I’m especially attached to the Adobe Creative Suite. It’s been with me (in various forms) from the beginning. For years I would use Illustrator 8 for absolutely everything, claiming that 9 and 10 where actually inferior. Now, when I write features pieces I still prefer using InDesign to Word.

The greatest advancement over the last five years is without question the iPhone. As an ad medium, the location aware functionality and opens up nearly endless possibilities to marketers. In terms of personal convenience, I rate my Mighty Mouse as a close second though.

What are the various mediums that you’ve worked with and is there any that you would like to explore? I’ve worked print since I started working and I worked on web when it started webbing, which I think is a nice opening bracket to my career. I think I’d like to add something really exciting for the mid point and another for the closing. Maybe 3D Television when it becomes a bit more mainstream and something to do with Transporters after they’re invented as a closer.

Is digital technology going to eliminate the need for print?
I have a real attachment to physical media so, you know, I really hope not. To quote Heather Mallick, one of my favourite columnists “Technology moves on but human nature doesn't change… The problem of the survival of written media, as opposed to TV and radio, has been skewed and wrongly presented… It's not rocket science, it's not even muffins, it's just the way things work.”

Whose work do you really admire and why?
I really admire Doug Coupland’s work. Both written and visual, he has a unique aesthetic that I really twig to.
See: here and here.
Read: JPod, Eleanor Rigby, All Families Are Psychotic

Who has been the greatest person that you’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and what have they taught you? I’ve been fortunate enough to work with exceptional people fairly consistently and they’ve taught me to
• Always put forth my best effort
• Trust my gut; and
• When in doubt, ask.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?
In 2000, my group worked on and won a pitch for Nortel Networks that ended up being the largest piece of internal communications business ever put to tender in Canada - A$540000000 over five years. (In case you were curious, A$540000000 is enough to buy & staff a jet with enough left over to purchase the exclusive rights to 50% of Motown Records back catalogue.)

How would you describe your work?
Classic, but with it’s own personality hidden in the details – like a good suit.

What are your plans for the future?
The short term is really very simple; the long term is somewhat more complex. I like what I’m doing now, I like my work but I do see hanging up my boots in Margaritaville at some point. Nothing flash, just comfortable with a good hobby, while still consulting as I don’t believe in retirement.

What sort of company would you like to work with next?
I would like to work in an organisation that is professional, thoughtful, champions innovation and isn’t afraid to get their hands dirtied making a solid product. Ideally, they should understand that we’re building something together and culturally; organisation and individual affect each other. Also, a strong group dynamic is vital.

What is your opinion of Australian design?
I think that there’s something going on in Australian design, don’t you? There’s a real sense that something fresh is happening. It’s not the austerity that hallmarked European design of the late 20th century, or even the modernity in British design in the last decade but rather something really interesting an home-made. Either way, I’m a big fan.

What is the best/worst thing about being a designer in Australia?
That there are so bloody many of us! That’s the best and worst thing about being a designer in Australia.

In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge the Australian design industry has to face in the near future?
There’s a real disparity between upcoming environmental legislation and existing printing processes in Australia. Britain struggled with this as well a few years back as the mandated change to vegetable-based dyes came into effect – everything came out (regardless of cost/promised quality) looking like a 17-year-old Serb ran it off in a fly-by-night print shop behind a Mykonos disco.

What is your creative outlet outside of design?
I am a compulsive and voracious reader. I love current events, biographies and reviews. Were there a Foxtel package that only had the news services, Bio and the Travel Channel I’d never leave the lounge room.

What is the best designed bar in Melbourne?
I feel like I’m bucking the trend, but I prefer a bar that Isn’t designed. Theme bars tend to distract from the real theme of any bar: Drinking.

What are your top 5 websites at the moment?
www.facebook.com
twitter.com
news.bbc.co.uk
english.aljazeera.net
www.cbc.ca/news

What CD are you currently listening to and is it any good?
This changes too frequently so I’ll give you the enduring staples, my 12 desert island discs (they’re all good, if not exceptional):
1. Saint Etienne – Finnisterre
2. Swing Out Sister – Somewhere Deep In The night
3. Roxy Music – Siren
4. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
5. Mary Margaret O’Hara – Miss America
6. Laurie Anderson – Talk Normal
7. Kate Bush – The Sensual World
8. John Coltrane - Blue Train
9. Jane Siberry – Maria
10. Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball
11. Esthero - Breath From Another
12. Dave Brubeck - Time Further Out
(Ed note: 'Wrecking Ball' is a classic - great taste!)

If I was a font, I’d be...?
I’d be a sans serif font for sure. Most likely something like Thesis Sans Caps set at 108% wide: It’s approachable but retains a certain gravitas, which pleases me.


Do you need an A-List Artisan like Ryan in your studio? Would you like to know more? Contact Elke NOW!