As I progress in my design experience I’ve started to learn to trust the design process and not worry so much about achieving a predetermined solution. There can be a lot of self-imposed pressure when you first start your design course. If I had to give myself a piece of advice back then it would be: don’t worry so much at the onset about the final product and instead dive deep into the design process.
I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio with no formal design training at all. Given that, all my design experience came from making flyers or logos for school organizations, sports teams, or youth groups. As I started to apply to universities, I began to realize that design could actually translate into a profession. I sent an application to almost every design university in New York and hoped for the best.
Thinking about my relationship to design now, I’m very interested in design discourse and design criticism. I think it’s important to think about design in historical as well as societal terms and I think framing it in that way actually makes you into a better designer. Specifically, I’m interested in developing a conversation around Jewish design, a field that is relatively new to design criticism. Speculation and exploration surrounding Jewish design is something that runs as a theme throughout a lot of my work.
The biggest asset I’ve gained in my time at university has been the relationships I’ve built with my professors. I’ve been fortunate to have many exceptional teachers and most of them are truly there to watch you grow and find success. Seek them for advice, portfolio reviews, help to navigate the field, or even just for coffee. Quality advice is hard to find but I’ve found the best of it from my professors.
New York City is such an incredible place to be as a designer. It can be intimidating but it has so much to offer. The museum access is one of my favorite parts of living in the city; dozens of world-renowned museums at your fingertips. New York also has tons of bookstores and archives that house tons of top-quality design books.
OK-RM and Fraser Muggeridge Studio are two London-based studios whose work I really admire. OK-RM’s ability to combine classical typesetting with a contemporary outlook is really inspiring. Fraser Muggeridge Studio produces work that always feels different and new which I find to be quite refreshing amidst the sea of design work out there. Bureau Borsche is another studio that is always pushing the boundaries and that I’d love to work with.
I’d love to be working with artists and cultural institutions on design projects. And no matter the assignment, I’m interested in learning new skill sets wherever I can. There are also a few personal publishing projects I’d love to see come into fruition.
Can I please have a small coffee with milk and no sugar?
Instagram: @bentziong