It’s easy to notice the charm, wit, and sly playfulness behind the work of Andrew Neyer — so it’s no surprise that his signature aesthetic should also make an appearance in his Cincinnati-based home office. Take a tour of the designer, art director, and illustrator’s bright, inspired space, a combination of clean lines, pops of color, attitude, and, quite fittingly, seating by Charles and Ray Eames. Read more
Make Noise Especially now, you need to make yourself heard. Hound editors, badger sources, broadcast your bright ideas and latest bylines to your networked minions. Gaze-averting humility is no longer an option.
Be Boring If you’re the most interesting one at the party, something’s definitely wrong. Strive instead to feel outclassed, outsmarted, depressingly dull. It means you’re in superlative company. Ask questions, take notes, skulk home with genius-grant-worthy story ideas.
Other People’s Money Pretend it doesn’t exist. Fixating on the fortunes of others — whether higher or lower — ultimately only has one effect: making you feel like a small-minded wretch. Writing what you love is a richer reward.
Write for the Apocalypse What if the ridiculous blog entry or Kardashian charticle you’re writing today ends up being the only surviving fragment of human culture? It could happen. Edit, sharpen, write like eternity depends on it.
Stay Calm In Thai culture, mai pen rai – “it’s nothing” — is more than an attitude. It’s a way of life. No worries, no dramas, let’s move on. No wonder the Thai economy is booming while the rest of the planet kvetches.
Form a Council Here’s an idea: Every other Monday evening, bring together the ten wisest people you know. Sit in a circle. Dim the lights. Pick a conversation prompt. Respect the person with the talking piece. Watch the transformation unfold. To learn more about the 30-year-old council movement, see www.ojaifoundation.org.
Shower Not only will you smell better than most freelancers, you’ll generate fresher ideas. The New York Times recently reported on the neurologic benefits of zoning out — like when you’re showering — for making the nonlinear connections essential for true creativity.
Spend to Earn I just returned from a month in Thailand. Now I have no choice. I have to write about the experience to pay for it. Make your Visa statement your writing coach.
Be Brief Some radical honesty: People care less than you think about your random musings on the college road trip you took to Florida. Take a hatchet to your draft before pressing send.
Mark Giglio is an Oakland based freelance graphic designer who has worked with 2k by Gingham, Apple, Nike and Dwell, to name a few. Currently, he is working on a series of products under his studio label Pen Pencil Stencil. It includes pillows, wallpapers, t-shirts, and even wooden figurines inspired by Japanese Kokeshi Dolls. Recently, I had the opportunity of seeing Mark’s collection in person and to speak with him about his workspace.
How long have you been working from home? 8 years now. Before that I had been working at some really amazing design firms that helped inform me of what a great working environment can be like. I think I’ve taken a lot of that with me and it’s influenced a lot of how my space is now.
What do you like most about your space? That it’s my place to experiment and think. Also all of my favorite objects, books and personal projects are there. So it is very comforting to be there and work. It’s really nice to be surrounded by those things that inspire you. I often freelance on projects away from my studio and when I return it is the best feeling. It can’t be beat because it is my personal space.
Is there anything you would change about your workspace? I’d add about 1,500 square feet on it so I could have a place to print and also a small wood shop. That would be perfect. I really enjoy my small workspace a lot but I think it would be great to have the space to spread out a bit more to accommodate the other things I like to do. Something like the Eames office where they were creating such a diverse mix of things under one roof would be amazing.
What are some of your favorite objects in your studio? My most favorite object of all is the La Fonda del Sol menu I have that was designed by Alexander Girard. It’s such a great design piece. When I was given it I just stared in awe at the suns on the cover. I couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hands. I never thought in a million years they still existed. Then it just got better as I opened it up. It’s hard to beat those color combinations, they are really amazing.
Do you feel that your working environment has any influence over your work? I think it does. It keeps me motivated and inspired to keep on making things. Being in my studio is my favorite place to be. It’s were I go to have fun everyday.