№ 5 · Aaron Draplin
‘Celebrate the things that get you excited.’
At the backyard of Haus der Kulturen der Welt, where TYPO Berlin 2018 took place, I talked with the Portland-based graphic design juggernaut Aaron Draplin. Being known for his work for Nike, Ford, Barack Obama, I particularly like his huge number of self-commissioned projects like the Space Shuttle poster series and the Field Notes, as well as his speaking fiascos.
Just like his famous talks, we covered many topics: his book, finding energy, what makes for a great presentation, working as a full-time employee vs working on your own, paying taxes, slowing down, supporting friends, the Space Shuttle and Sojus rockets, his design approach, his relationship to the Futura typeface, handling too many emails, self-publishing your book, and much more. We also introduce Umlaut the dog.
The interview was recorded on May 19th, 2018.
Shownotes
- Aaron Draplins’ website
- Pretty Much Everything, his book
- Field Notes, his successful notebook brand
- DDC Merch, including the Space Shuttle poster series
- DDC Hardware typeface
- ‘Things that don’t have a thing to do with graphic design’, video of his talk at this year’s TYPO Berlin conference – I recommend watching it!
Examples of his work
Thank You Minnesota poster
Field Notes – Special ‘Coastal’ Edition
Field Notes – Zippered pencil case
Field Notes – Desk kit