From Hobby to Career: Interview with Designer Michael Moodie #1 DOTW

Editor’s notes:
This first interview marks the beginning of a new series of interviews on WDL. We want to keep you, our audience, as engaged as possible with the news in the web design field but also give back by featuring our favorite designers in a weekly article.

We’ll feature a new designer every week (hence the name; Designer Of The Week or DOTW) and we want to give you the possiblity to be featured as well. If you think you have something to say to our audience, drop me an email and we can chat some more (andrei.tiburca@gmail.com)

Enjoy.

Interview with Michael Moodie

Michael Moodie is a Canadian designer living in Seattle. His passion for design and lettering has its roots back in the early years of childhood when Michael was writing graffiti and skateboarding. I first encountered him on Instagram where his painstaking work has a consistent fan base. The designer and lettering artist spent the last 7 years working in-house at creative agencies, startups and now at Amazon Video. On his blog, Michael welcomes his visitors with the unconventional “Don’t steal my work, Thanks” and justly he does.

Hereinafter, we invite you to get to know the talented artist and his beautiful work better. Also, do not hesitate to follow Michael on Instagram, Dribble, Behance, and LinkedIn.

Michael, where does your inspiration come from? 

I gather a lot of inspiration from what my friends are getting up to and how they are making an impact, also from places I visit and how graphic design influences their culture. When I’m not designing I enjoy mixing drinks, creeping around gallery spaces looking for inspiration and spending time with my good mates.

How would you describe the world of graphic design in your country?

With the emerging industry of User Experience design, Graphic Design has changed to be more of a data-driven process opposed to a subject matter experts (the designers) opinion. Through my experience, Data informed graphic design has given designers the opportunity to take their craft to the next level and lead projects from the customer back to the experience. We are starting to see design led fortune 100 companies to perform at 200%+, and more ownership given to design teams and individual creatives.

What is your favorite piece of work and why?

I change my favorite piece of work every day, I create a lot of my work to be sarcastic and relatable. I generally create all the work I love by hand using pencil, ink, and paper.

What do you think are the most important 3 skills for a designer?

Critical thinking, Humility, and a genuine love for the craft.

How do you stay updated with what is new in the design world?

Design conferences, meetups, online classes such as Skillshare, Reddit/medium, friends.

Have you worked with any major brands?

I have worked with brands such as Warner Brothers, Starbucks, Mattel, McDonald’s, Microsoft, etc. My experience working with large corporations is that the design process is very slow paced with many revisions and restrictions. For me, it is most important to spend most of my time in the planning phases to get a strong understanding from all stakeholders on the artifact we are delivering or collaborating on. In my experience, these brands aren’t big on “surprises”. Document your process and bring your client along for the journey.

Who are your favorite 3 designers?

I couldn’t chop my favorite down to 3, I have many inspirations across many mediums.

What is something new that you have learned as a designer in your past experience (jobs & internships)?

I’ve learned that not everything needs to be perfect, there is a very human element to imperfections and errors that should not be fixed.

What kind of people do you love to work with? 

I love to work with big idea thinkers, a visionary per say. A person who sees things that I don’t and understands the lifecycle of the design work we are doing. I love to work with people with purpose, who leave their own flavor on the work.

How do you handle stress and pressure?

I work my best under stress and pressure. I start to feel very competitive with myself and push harder to excel.

Michael, thank you for being so receptive and kind to have answered our questions. 

Thanks so much for the opportunity!