In between poking a bit of fun at each other, we chat with David Freer (aka D-Frazzle), Josh Peter (aka J-Peetz,) and Jonny Mowat (just Jonny) of O Street about working together across 3 different cities, how they each got their foot in the door, plus they explain their client calculator.
Where did you study and what were some of your first jobs?
DF: Glasgow School of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, packing frozen Turkeys in Iceland one Christmas, designing toilet signs for Jamie Oliver's restaurants and a job at Saatchi & Saatchi.
JP: I got my undergrad at Northern Illinois University, near-ish Chicago, and my postgrad at Edinburgh College of Art. I foolishly turned down an offer from Glasgow School Art but I don't regret it cause the course director came across wanky in the interview. First job? bartending. And some freelance, with a diverse client base ranging from Nike to my mother-in-law.
JM: I started at Glasgow University, doing maths, but then 2 years in I bailed on that and changed to Product Design Engineering, so I could attend Glasgow School of Art without having to interview with wanky people. My first jobs were doing a paper round, washing dishes and mowing lawns. Mowat Mows-It.
Give us the elevator pitch on what you do.
DF: At O Street we make graphic design that both generates value for our clients and looks fucking beautiful.
JP: We make design. Specifically, we make thoughtfully different design that effectively tells our clients’ stories and makes realising their goals possible.
JM: On a day to day basis, we work on a variety of design projects like branding and packaging and illustration and a fair bit of motion, as well as some photography for case studies, and general studio admin / maintenance. A bit of everything which is definitely my bag.
What do you look for in a great client?
DF: We have a client calculator we use at the start of a job and the three variables we score on are: Creativity (we like to be able to push the creative boundaries), Money (we all need to pay the bills) and Time (do the fees match up the the length of time it will take to get the work approved and delivered).
JP: In a client, we look for someone we genuinely get on with. Of course there’s a good deal of classic concerns—budgets, a healthy respect and understanding for what we do, good communication—but the fact is, nurturing those things falls on us. What we really want is to build relationships with good folk who want to be around us.
JM: I haven’t had too much client interaction, compared to these lads, but its going to be hard to top when a beer client sent me a list of nearly 50 breweries and taprooms to check out for a trip I was taking to California. 50! I only managed to hit 5 of them. Shameful.
Who’s on the team, what are their roles and why do you love them?
DF: Our main base is in Glasgow, where co-founder & designer Neil Wallace works with the extremely talented designer & illustrator Jonny Mowat, conscientious & highly organised designer Tessa Simpson and the design speed ninja Anna Dunn. Our satellite office in England is run by co-founder & designer David Freer and our new studio in Denver is run by the amazingly well read and experimental designer Josh Peter. We love them cause…
JP: Who's on the team? Well, there's six of us full time. We're all designers, with unique superpowers on the side. Why do I love them? Can this interview go over five hundred million words?
JM: Well we got Nelly Welly, D-Frazzle, J-Peetz, The Two Annas, T-Money and me. And I love them all because they are genuinely enjoyable to see 5 days out of 7, which is a hard thing to find.
What career advice would you give your 16yr old self?
DF: “Buy bitcoins.”
JP: "Hey there, little Josh. You're in a small pond right now. Don't be cocky; you aren't nothin’. But don't give up, either."
JM: “Graphic design is a thing and you should do it.” Would save myself years of occupation demotivation.
Whats on the cards professionally and personally in the next 12 months?
DF: In a couple of weeks we have our annual fishing trip to Loch Fyne (frozen swimming and mackerel sushi) then the development and growth of our operation in Denver is a priority for us.
JP: Professionally, I’m growing O Street’s client-base in the USA (LIMITED OFFERS ON GRAPHIC DESIGN, CALL NOW), and continuing my creative practice of making something every day. Personally, I’m focussed on being a good dad, a passable judoka, a bad Zen Buddhist, and am hiking up mountains. Colorado is golden for all of these things. God bless OSA.
JM: Just trying to learn from the wise bunch that is at O Street, and get deeper into the nitty gritty of running a design business. And probably a fun side project or two to keep the juices flowing.
