Home Office Tour: Andrew Byrom
At a Pecha Kucha event for the American Institute of Graphic Artists last year, graphic designer Andrew Byrom presented a series of takes on what a business card should – and shoudn’t – be. His son passed out a wooden card made literally from “The Desk of Andrew Byrom.” Andrew’s witty presentation softened his rigorous rethinking of the function of graphic design, and the involvement of his 9-year-old son made it a family event. Currently, the Eames exhibition that Andrew curated and designed with Deborah Sussman for Pacific Standard Time is at the A+D Museum. Here Byrom speaks about his work, how he works, and Ray and Charles Eames.
You established your firm in 1997. What led to that point? After graduating from The University of East London in 1996, I worked briefly in the design department of Routledge, a leading academic book publisher. In 1997, I opened my own design studio in London and worked for various clients including Penguin Books, The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, The Industrial Design Centre, Time-Out Online, and The Guardian newspaper. Around this time I also began teaching graphic design at The University of Luton and Central St. Martins.
I moved to the States in 2000 to teach at Northern Illinois University. In 2006, I moved to Long Beach, where I am a Professor at California State University. I divide my time between teaching, designing for various clients, and playing with my sons Auden, Louis, and Julian.
I have recently been commissioned to design typefaces and type treatments for The New York Times Magazine, UCLA Extension, and Sagmeister Inc.
Above: A quote from the Eames’ on Byrom’s dining room wall.