Cap Watkins

Cap Watkins is a product designer and a manager of creativity. He is currently the VP of Design at BuzzFeed, where he manages managers, a product design team that covers the site, their apps, internal tooling, data analysis, and ad sales. He also manages the consumer branding team, which works on logos, the style guide, and swag. If you ever see someone with a BuzzFeed T-shirt on, chances are high that Cap had strong influence over it.

He believes in the spirit of collaboration, as well as thoughtful, holistic design solutions that get out of the way and empower people to accomplish much more. His big ideas and ceaseless drive have led him to some of today’s biggest tech companies. His past work includes Formspring, Zoosk, Etsy and hush-hush stuff at Amazon.

Cap is a prolific blogger, conference speaker, an avid fan of startups and technology, and his favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. So, for this DQSD interview we carved out (pun intended) something a little different. Towards the end, we asked Cap a series of rapid fire questions about his overall affinity for Turkey Day, and his answers are delicious. (more…)

Man grooming, yes or no?

Danielle Evans

Danielle Evans is one of a kind. She literally invented a new type of design. Food Typography, as she calls it, is the art of turning food and food products into intricately elaborate messaging, dimensional design, stop-motion film, installation and social campaigns, but she is more than just the crumbs on the counter.

She is a crafter and maker of calculated messes, constantly striving to elevate commonplace items to elegant forms of art, typography and communication. She has done extraordinary work for clients such as Conde Nast, Cadillac, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Target, just to name a delicious few.

Danielle has successfully combined her love of lettering, design, photography, and snacking to create cheesy yet clever work that is internationally regarded as both mouth-watering and ground-breaking. She has inspired new trends in design and advertising, and we were excited to ask her some dumb, yet not-so-obvious questions. (more…)

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

Darren Booth

Darren Booth is a Canadian illustrator & lettering artist. He uses a unique mixed-media approach that includes paint and intricate collage work. It all comes together in wonderfully ornate imagery and typography.

His hand-crafted and expressive, yet succinct style has enabled him to collaborate with clients such as Google, Coca-Cola, Sony, Pinterest, Universal Music, Target, McDonald’s, Delta and Disney. He has also created distinctive work for high-profile personalities including Steve Martin and Willie Nelson.

Darren is a proud husband and zerbert-giving father of two. When he is not working hard in a hammock in his studio, you can find him on Twitter and Instagram sharing photos of his cat. (more…)

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

Lauren Hom

Lauren Hom is a California-born designer and letterer, who got her start lettering for lunch around New York City, and who’s currently traveling the world. Known for her bright color palettes and playful letterforms, Lauren has created work for clients like Starbucks, Sam Adams, Microsoft, Google, AT&T, YouTube and TIME Magazine.

Her work has been recognized by Communication Arts, the Art Directors Club, the Type Directors Club, and the Webby Awards. Lauren is also the author of the popular blog turned book, Daily Dishonesty, about the little lies we tell ourselves everyday.

She finds that she’s happiest when creating; so, when she’s not working, you can find her baking yummy things, selling your ex-boyfriend’s tears, or constantly sprucing up her studio, Hom Sweet Hom, in more ways than ten. Lauren’s motto is, and will always be, “Work hard, snack often.” (more…)

What is your favorite flea market find?

Mikey Burton

Mikey Burton is a designer and an illustrator. He is a blue collar designy illustrator. He is also a super nice guy with an adorable laugh that has been working professionally for over 12 years.

He’s done a lot of work in that time for clients such as Converse, ESPN, Target, The New York Times, Time Magazine, Out of Print Clothing, Playboy and Esquire, among others. In 2011, he created a passion project with a purpose, a line of products around the notion that “Freelance Ain’t Free.”

Mikey spent his formative years and earned a master’s degree from Kent State University in Ohio. He now works and lives in Brooklyn, where he pays vacation prices for coffee. (more…)

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

Gavin Strange

Gavin Strange is a multi-disciplinary designer, illustrator and photographer with an awesome name and over 15 years experience. His renaissance career includes everything from branding to web design, animation, film, photography, product design, illustration, sculpture, and anything else that catches his fancy.

He is the senior designer at award-winning UK-based animation studio, Aardman Animations, which created Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, and many many many more. In 2001, Gavin established his funky side-project studio, JamFactory, designing everything from toys to skateboard graphics, posters to short films.

His book, Do Fly, about doing work you love, was released on May 5, 2016. Recently, he and his wife, Jane (and their beloved pet greyhound, Arnie) started Strange, a creative online shop specializing in homeware products, jewelry, stationery and other whimsical things made by them, as well as other artists and designers. From across the pond, these are his fun answers to our Dumb Questions.
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What was more painful, taking a bad skate slam or designing your website?

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. (more…)

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

Craig Frazier

Craig Frazier is a designer, an illustrator, and a storyteller. Craig Frazier is a legend. He started making his name as a graphic designer in 1978, and in 1996, he decided to shift his entire focus to illustration.

Craig is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Time Magazine, Fortune, Forbes, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, and Atlantic Monthly. The man is a constant, commissioned by design firms, advertising agencies, companies and publications all over the world.

Craig has published several children’s books including the Stanley series, Trucks Roll, Hank Finds Inspiration, Lots of Dots, and Bee & Bird, as well as a 176-page monograph titled The Illustrated Voice. He has also designed several stamps for the US Postal Service, including the 2006 Love Stamp.

His work is iconic and intricate, yet playful, and it always tells a searching story of existence. The man himself is the same way. He is smart and funny and open. He remembers his 8th car! This interview was a true honor. (more…)

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

Mackey Saturday

Mackey Saturday is a prolific, enigmatic designer, and when it comes to his work, he never settles.

Mackey is a principal designer at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, a firm specializing in the development of trademarks, print, web and motion graphics, exhibitions and art in architecture.

Mackey now lives with his wife in Brooklyn. He is responsible for some of today’s most exciting identities, including Instagram, Oculus, and Luxe, just to name a few major players. He has spoken at AIGA events, creative conferences, as well as taught at universities and design schools all over the country.

Ever since he was a kid, drawing fish at the kitchen table, he has trained his mind and his hands to work together, honing a skill that has designed his life and work. (more…)

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

Sara Blake

Sara Blake draws from the heart. Her inspiration starts from her eyes, then moves down her arms and goes to her hands, which she uses to illustrate and design intricate and immaculate images that seem to defy conventional thinking.

Sara Blake is a designer and illustrator with an immense amount of skill in her front pocket. A creative director by day and an illustrator by night, she runs and bikes and never stops trying. She has worked with a lot of great clients such as Nike, Ford, Hurley, IBM, Wired Magazine, VICE Media, Warner Bros Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment, Scotch & Soda, and TEDx Labs.

It took a lot of time and persistence to get her to answer our Dumb Questions, but it was well worth it because it was a fun, fantastic honor to ask an artistic visionary some seriously Dumb Questions.

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