18 questions!

He has a wealth of experience, a brilliant sense of what's what, and he is the Hairy Canary personified. Artisan welcomes its newest account manager extraordinaire, Dean.

1. What sort of education and training have you had?
I completed a Bachelor of Design (Graphic Design) at RMIT in 1997 and a Master of Design (by Research) in 2003.

2. Who did you want to work for when you first entered the industry?
I honestly didn't know looking back now. I probably would have worked anywhere, however I was lucky to be surrounded by a group of very talented and like-minded peers at university and ended up starting my own studio (Studio Anybody) with 4 of them about six months after graduating, which was the best best thing that ever happened to me from a career point of view.

3. Tell us about your first project and what do you feel about it now?
One of our first project at Studio Anybody was developing the logo for a new bar/restaurant in the city at the time called Hairy Canary. It became quite an iconic bar of the late 90's and I'm still very proud of that (and it's still there ten years later!)

4. What is your preferred software to work with and what has been the greatest advancement in technology over the past 5 years?
Well not being a designer anymore, having moved across to account management about 7 years ago, I don't necessarily work with much software these days, but when I do it's generally Adobe Illustrator – I've always rather set type and images in this because of the control over everything you have. I think the greatest advancement in technology over the last 5 years has probably been the improvement of PDF technology to the point of being the standard for print files these days.

5. Is digital technology going to eliminate the need for print?
No I don't think so, well at least maybe not in our lifetimes. People will always like to hold something tactile in my opinion.

6. Whose work do you really admire and why?
I've always been a huge fan of Tomato. Their book 'Process' was a huge influence on my way of thinking and my understanding of what design is and can be.

7. Who has been the greatest person that you’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and what have they taught you?
My fellow Studio Anybody members will always probably be the greatest people that I have worked with - Lisa Grocott (Now Associate Dean at Parsons School of Design in NYC), Dave Smith (now at Qualia Creative), Stuart Geddes (founder of Is Not Magazine, and now running Chase and Galley) and Jason Evans (now at Lloyd & Co. in NYC). Lisa especially taught me so much about creative process, and how to push my ideas as far as possible and to think about my work in an international context.

8. How would you describe your work?
As an account manager with a design background, I like to work very closely and strategically with my clients, and very closely and collaboratively with my design teams. I'm all about ideas first, and form second, although form is just as important!

9. What are your plans for the future?
I'd like to keep building on my experience working as a senior account manager, eventually becoming a partner somewhere maybe in another 5 years. That seems to be the path I'm thinking about at the moment!

10. What sort of company would you like to work with next?
Having just recently finished at Lemonade, I'm looking forward to working somewhere of a similar calibre, full of amazingly creative people with a lot of respect for one another. If there's one thing that I have learned working within a creative industry for the last ten years, it's that respect within a studio is the most important thing. Without it, things fall apart pretty quickly.

11. What is your opinion of Australian design?
Australian design is great, but one thing that I think holds us back sometimes is that we think too narrowly. Nowadays more than ever, especially with how connected everyone is thanks to the internet, Australian designers should be benchmarking themselves against the rest of the world and thinking big.

12. What is the best/worst thing about being a designer in Australia?
The size of the design community in Australia is probably the best and worst thing. It's such a fantastically tight knit community, but I can understand how some people feel they might have run out of opportunities and want to try their luck overseas.

13. In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge the Australian design industry has to face in the near future?
I think the world economy is going to be the greatest challenge to every industry in the near future.

14. What is your creative outlet outside of design?
It's always been music for me. I have been DJing and running dance parties around Melbourne for almost the last 10 years. I currently co-run and play at a night called Pretty Simple, at inner city club Ffour every Saturday night.

15. What is the best designed bar in Melbourne?
Hmmm, that's a tough one. I'll always have a soft spot for Croft Institute, but it's getting a little tired and due for a bit of a refresh now perhaps. I'll always love Supper Club for its timeless feel.

16. What are your top 5 websites at the moment?
1. http://www.residentadvisor.net
2. http://www.monocle.com
3. http://www.thefuturelaboratory.com
4. http://www.flipflopflyin.com
5. http://www.nytimes.com

17. What CD are you currently listening to and is it any good?
I'm actually back listening to the Virgin Suicides soundtrack this week, which is an absolute classic. For something a little newer, Heartthrob's "Dear Painter, Paint Me" is probably the best electronic album that I have heard recently.

18. If I was a font, I’d be...?
I would love to be Helvetica. Clean, beautiful, well proportioned, effortless and timeless. Not sure if I am though... yet ;)

Do you need an A-List Artisan like Dean in your studio? Would you like to know more? Contact Debbie NOW.