Public Library

We chat with Marshall Rake and Ramon Coronado from LA studio Public Library, about trying everything once, obsessing over the details and how to start your own studio. Some slick work and great pointers, thanks guys!

What was your plan for graduating and what actually happened?

We both knew we wanted to have our own studios but we also knew this couldn’t happen without understanding the business and practice of design. We set out to learn as much as we could from everyone we could. Embracing the good and bad experiences. Learning digital design, advertising, traditional graphic design, any opportunity we could get. We got to see how internal meetings are structure, how clients are handled and cared for. How different studios organize their folders and servers. All those details that really make up how to run a studio. That’s the great thing about freelance and offering yourself mobility as a young designer. You could be somewhere for an afternoon, somewhere for a few months, three places in a week. We just said “yes” and tried to see what we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we didn’t even know existed.

Whats your take on internships?

Internships are important. Seeing how things are actually made and the process that it takes to get an idea fully realized can’t be replicated in school. Learning the pace and speed, the short time lines, what presentations feel like, what good clients are like, what bad clients are like, all of those lessons are so important to how you handle yourself in your career.

 

Design work by Public Library The Design Kids interviews Public Library work-2

What do you look for in a great portfolio?

Versatility, thoughtfulness, and fearlessness. Most design students given lengthy time periods can produce polished looking, quality work. Things in portfolios tend to look good, that’s why they are in a portfolio. It’s the details of the piece that shows the true talent. Typography, spatial relationships, hierarchy, those are the things we obsess over.

What qualities and skills to you look for in a graduate?

Personality is so important. It’s important to be talented and a skilled designer, but who you, your work ethic, are the most irreplaceable qualities you posses.

  

Design work by Public Library The Design Kids interviews Public Library work-4
Design work by Public Library The Design Kids interviews Public Library work-4

Ask every question. You are young, you aren’t supposed to know anything, don’t be afraid to look dumb. Talk to people you admire and inspire you.

What role does digital design play in your studio in 2015, and how to you apply traditional graphic design skills in a digital age?

Digital design has to be a part of everything. You don’t have to be a specialist designing websites and apps, or creating digital content, but you do have to understand it and be able to speak to it. Things you design and create will have to be translated to those platforms. Everything you make and do needs to echo out into a digital space.

What career advice would you give your 16yr old self?

Ask every question. You are young, you aren’t supposed to know anything, don’t be afraid to look dumb. Talk to people you admire and inspire you.

Website: public-library.org
Twitter: Broadcasted Live
Instagram: Process & Projects
LinkedIn: Professional Slant
Vimeo: Moving Imagery

Design work by Public Library The Design Kids interviews Public Library work-6
Design work by Public Library The Design Kids interviews Public Library work-6

Where to find Public Library online.

  

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