Becky Simpson

Becky Simpson is an Austin-based designer, illustrator, and writer, and she is blowing up right now. She just had another book, The Roommate Book, come out to rave reviews, and her design and illustrations are being sought after by many.

In 2015-2016, Mrs. Simpson was one of the first two Adobe Creative Residents. During this time she founded Chipper Things, a lifestyle product line and online store stocked full of her playful illustrations. She wrote and illustrated a book called I’d Rather Be Short when she was still at her first job. It’s 100 reasons why it’s awesome to be of small stature, and it jump started her freelance career in a big way. She has since worked with vast and varied clients such as Kianga Project, Baylor University, Spearhead Properties, GCG Marketing, and many more.

Becky is a prime example of how one can turn art and design into business. She is inspired by people, experiences and what she liked drawing as a kid. She also has a lovely smile. It was so much fun to ask her very dumb questions.

Q. One thing the perfect roommate could do to turn you against them?

The Roommate Book by Becky SimpsonSpend all the rent money on a souped-up Vespa.

Q. SXSW or Austin City Limits?

South by Southwest. It is always more of a mystery. On every corner there is so much going on. There’s parties everywhere, anything can happen. It’s really fun and the whole city is alive, which people in Austin tend to hate at the same time because it’s so packed. There’s a music week or the interactive week. Of course, you can do both, but I do the interactive. I had a badge this year, and it’s like there are no ends. There is no limit to how much you can explore. Everyone is there like Michelle Obama, Ira Glass, the Broad City girls, and the bands and things.

Q. If you could collaborate with any dead writer, who would it be and why?

The first one that came to mind was JD Salinger, but I think he would probably hate collaborating. I think I just want to have my name on his book. Even though it’s like totally not at all what I write. Just sit and write and chat with him. He would tell me to be quiet. This is not us, this is me, he’d say. I’m like this is us, us. And then he’s like just stop it.

Q. When’s the last time you said NO?

I think it was yesterday that I said no to something that was substantial. I mean that’s a relative term. A college student wanted to possibly intern for me, and I kind of do want an intern, but I don’t think I’m ready for that right now. It’s not good timing. I’m like it’s not you it’s me and that was my no, because I’m kind of in transitional time with my business, with freelancing, and Chipper Things. So I’m kind of just trying to get the system set up at this time, before I get ahead of myself.

Q. Do you own any domain names you don’t use?

Becky Simpson IllustrationYes definitely. My little brother used to work at GoDaddy and he taught me about domains for things. A few Christmases ago I researched some stuff. I probably don’t own these though. I probably let them expire, but it was like Iowa health practices that I thought would pay me the bucks, they didn’t. Yeah, I still have like a handful of domains just hanging out.

Q. What is your current go-to karaoke song?

Well, what I do is I honestly take control of my list when I go. I do like Ms. Jackson (by Outkast) a lot because I think rap is hard to pull off in karaoke, but I learned all the lyrics to Ms. Jackson in 8th grade. And ever since then every time I sing along with it at a party or a bar, I feel just as cool as I did when I was 14. So if I’m in a private karaoke room and it comes on, I’m like oh who did that and it’s really fun. Also, I would really like to do “Are You That Somebody” (by Aaliyah) right now. Like if my office turned into a new karaoke room I would probably do Aaliyah first.

Q. You have very nice teeth, have you ever had braces?

Becky Simpson Pizza Illustration Flow chartOh my gosh. Thank you first of all. Okay, so I had braces late in high school, senior year, and I had them for only like 6 months. When I first got them or was going to get them, it was because I had kind of fang teeth, and I had like this really dumb smile so I tried to hide it. My dad was like maybe you should just wait, maybe you should just finish high school, and you can start college with them. I was like no dad, that’s a horrible idea. I had them for like 6 months and I told my orthodontist, I was like these have to be off before homecoming. So that’s where my priorities were when I was a senior in high school. I wear my retainer every now and then, so I appreciate you saying that because people don’t know my plight with these teeth.

Q. Chocolate chips or potato chips?

Definitely potato chips. I like chocolate but it’s usually too sweet. I don’t love brownies and stuff like that. I’ll be salty.

Q. Belt or no belt?

I think that might be my favorite question. It’s so simple. I’ve recently gotten back into the belt for a specific pair of shorts, for utilitarian purposes. But I’m not in the business of belts for fashion as a way.

Q. What were your drawings like as a kid (share one)?

Becky Simpson Childhood DrawingI liked to draw people. There’s this one portrait that I have of myself from second grade, and it’s like I was really trying really hard. I think there might have been shading. It’s very delicately done. Then my brother Ryan, he’s a couple years older than me, drew these snot lines coming from my nose on this self-portrait. You know kids sometimes they write really hard, and he wrote it so hard that even after I erased it, it’s still there. That’s one of my favorite pictures, my brother ruining my art, and how mad I was. It was a lot of doodles. Do you know the book Amelia’s Notebook? It was this sort of doodled diary by someone who was maybe 10. I was at that age and I loved it, so I did my own. From an early age I like to sort of do this writing, doodling, like personifying people, with arrows explaining, like, this is what Lindsay really actually looks like. When she was mean, and I was mad at her. It was a lot of inspiration from my environment.

Q. Do you save birthday cards?

I just love these questions so much. I started to throw them away more now, but if there’s like a very special note I’ll keep it. So I do save some.

Q. Define girls gone mild?

Becky Simpson Girls Gone Mild PinOkay, oh wow, wow, wow. Let’s see, I’m trying to think of a really clever spunky answer here. For me, a girl gone mild is like, it’s 4:30pm and I’m going to drink some wine because I have wine in my house. It’s not wild. Like a girl who is pretty straight-laced, sometimes needs to get a little crazy, but is still like pretty PG. Yeah, I am going to eat pie for breakfast.

Q. Do you still have to pay for Adobe products?

Not the software. I feel very, very grateful for that. They have been really great. I think the world of that company. Once you are in it, they all sincerely care about your success along the way. The energy they gave me and continue to give me, it still feels like I’m part of the family. They treat people really well.

But wait, there's more....
The Complete Series of Interviews

Marty Neumeier

Tarentino or Scorcese?
Chad Makerson Michael

Chad Michael

What cologne did you wear when you were younger?

Chalk & Brush

How do you feel about cargo pants?

Reyna Noriega

Q: Would you travel to Mars?

Tyler Spangler

Beavis or Butthead?
Debbie Millman

Debbie Millman

If you were in a font family, what style would you be?

Kevin Cantrell

Boomerang: The app or the tool?

Ariel Wilson

Q. Who’s Your Favorite Dad Bod?

Lauren Peters-Collaer

Q. What gives you goosebumps?

Luke Tonge

How are your nunchuck skills?

Mari Andrew

What noise does your spirit animal make?

Matt Curtis

If you were in a heist movie, who would be your assembled team?

Robert Fisher

What can you see from your window right now?

Beat Baudenbacher

What’s the last thing you apologized for?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Paul Woods

Paul Woods

What is the best board game to flip over in anger?
Designer and Illustrator James Olstein

James Olstein

Would you rather drown in coffee grounds or cat hair?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Victor Melendez

Victor Melendez

Where’s the strangest place you’ve peed?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Courtney Macca

Courtney Macca

What’s your uncle’s name?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Anna Laytham

Anna Laytham

How do you feel about sandwiches made with the ends of loaves of bread?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Johnnie Cluney

Johnnie Cluney

Have you ever eaten something in a bathroom?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Julieta Felix

Julieta Felix

How many bugs do you think you’ve killed in your life, whether by accident or on purpose?

Brian Van Gogh

What’s the last thing you licked?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Randy J Hunt

Randy J. Hunt

If you started a cult, what would you make people wear?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Jennifer Heuer

Jennifer Heuer

Do you think a world with adorable puppies on every corner would get annoying after a while?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Syd Weiler

Syd Weiler

If animals could talk, which do you think would be the rudest?

Kendrick Kidd

What kind of toilet paper do you use?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Lola Landekic

Lola Landekic

How many tabs do you have open on your desktop right now and what are they?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Shogo Ota

Shogo Ota

What is one thing Idaho and Japan have in common?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Jordan Scott

Jordan Scott

Would you allow Jeff Goldblum to tattoo you?
Andy J Miller of Creative Pep Talk answers Dumb Questions for Smart Designers

Andy J. Miller

When was the last time you kissed someone on the hand?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers with Josh Higgins

Josh Higgins

Q. Do you have any pet names for Mark Zuckerberg?

Amy Nicole Schwartz

If you were two kids in a trenchcoat, would you want to be the head or the body?
Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan Sagmeister

Would you rather ride in Air Force One with Trump or in a tank with Putin?

Christopher Ayres

How good are you at giving driving directions in California?

Chris Costello

Do you ever hold your pee too long while drawing?
Dumb Questions with Joshuan Taylor

Joshua Taylor

What Disney princess would you want to be?
Dumb Questions for Smart Designers - Jared Erondu

Jared Erondu

Someone you just met has food stuck in their teeth, do you tell them?

Zac Petit

At what age did you get to second base? And where did it occur?
Nicole Jacek Dumb Questions for Smart Designers

Nicole Jacek

Whose hair would win in a fight, yours or Donald Trump’s?
Dan Cassaro Dumb Questions for Smart Designers

Dan Cassaro

What was your mom’s last Tweet?

Cap Watkins

Man grooming, yes or no?
DanielleEvansHeadshot

Danielle Evans

If you had to make a slogan with raw oysters, what would it say?
Darren Booth Designer

Darren Booth

Who would you rather have escort your wife to a party, Ryan Adams or Ryan Reynolds?
Lauren Hom

Lauren Hom

What is your favorite flea market find?

Mikey Burton

What would it take for you to move back in with your parents now?

Gavin Strange

What was more painful, taking a bad skate slam or designing your website?

Becky Simpson

Do you own any domain names you don’t use?

Craig Frazier

Would you rather wake up for a day as Daniel Craig or Frasier Crane?

Mackey Saturday

What is the strangest rewards program you are a member of?

Sara Blake

Are you of the old school mindset, do you hand sketch everything first?

Jess Boonstra

Harry Potter or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or The Da Vinci Code?

Jeff Rogers

Tell us a personal story about glow sticks or hot sauce.

Chip Kidd

Who would run the country better, Donald Trump or The Joker?

The Heads of State

What do you think of the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot? Be honest.

Scott Allen Hill

What was the most inopportune time you broke, lost or forgot your glasses?

Timothy Goodman

If Donald Trump asked you to draw something on his Mexico border wall, what would you draw?

James Victore

Can you invent a clever bumper sticker slogan? We may or may not steal it.

Veerle Pieters

Since you never have had a boss before, would you rather have David Brent (The Office) or Gordon Ramsey (Chef) as your boss?

Gui Borchert

What do they write on your cup at Starbucks when you tell them your name is Gui?

Don Clark

What is your favorite show to watch with your kids on a Saturday morning?

Harvey Shepard

Would you rather shovel snow or go to a Nickelback concert?

Tad Carpenter

What’s your favorite children’s book?

James Flames

Who would you love to have design the poster for your 40th birthday party?

Jessica Hische

Can you give us an example of one thing you wouldn’t want your Momager to handle?

Steven Heller

You’ve interviewed a ton of people. Is there one person in particular that you haven’t that you’d want to interview?

Sara Blakely

What would your first thoughts be if you were asked to write Grease 3?

Josh Brewer

Elton John or Phil Collins?

Ashleigh Axios

If you’re going on a road trip with President Obama, what kind of car would you drive?

Matthew Manos

How do you feel about the term Millennials? Be honest.

Jean Jullien

If you had to get trapped for a month in one city’s subway system which would you prefer, NYC or London?

Bradford Shellhammer

Since your name sounds like that of a superhero, what would be the name of your arch nemesis?

Jon Contino

Would you rather be the brand manager or general manager for the Yankees?