Father and Son, Fall, 2004. photo: draplin.com
This is part two of my interview with Aaron Draplin. Here we have, I think, the nitty-gritty. The nuts and bolts. As I warned yesterday, Aaron sometimes has a bit of a potty-mouth. Though I have no problem with his vernacular, some might. If you are one of those people, please avert your eyes, I wouldn't want you to have to washh them out with soap, don't you know?
KF - Where do you get your inspiration and ideas?
AD - Oh man, I could go on and on. Here's some of the place that I frequent: Junk stores, estate sales, yard sales, old factories in states of ruin and disrepair, old books, ghost signs, decayed signage, grillions of websites both slick and beautifully naive, old libraries, the open road, auctions, going-out-of-business sales...
It might just be a shred of paper...and on that paper, an old font, or icon, or color story. I save ALL this stuff and keep them in loose piles around the office. It's funny how some little corner snippet I found on the train tracks will inform a design, or, carry a design. You just gotta keep yer eyes open, and, most importantly, remember to go looking through the piles when you are kickstarting a design.
KF - A lot of the logos and identities you've created are closely tied to snowboarding and skateboarding. What do you think about the progression of these sports and their subsequent cultures becoming very high-end and spendy? I'm not going to name names but I did recently come across some skater-oriented $45 baseball caps which seems a bit extreme to me.
AD - Like anything, once it hits the shopping malls of America it goes to shit. Debatable, right? When I started skateboarding, it was a dangerous path to choose. Rogue, actually. There were jocks hunting you down at school, and cops hassling you when you got out of class. Nowadays, it's just another "activity" a kid can pick. It wasn't that way in 1988. It was was sketchy. That's where I cut my teeth.
But I won't bag on where it's gone. I mean, when you get down to it, the proliferation of action sports into mainstream culture is exactly the reason why I get to do what I do with the brands I work on. It's afforded me many opportunities. And about hats that cost 45 bucks, well, it's not my thing, but hey, if some kid digs the thing enough to drop that kinda loot on it, well, cool. As long as they enjoy it. Sooner or later, he'll learn the lessons of making frivolous purchases. (Please see "DDC van" from a couple weeks back....ha!)
KF - Many companies work hard at maintaining a particular image or facade. DDC certainly touts its blue-collar roots. How important is it to you to stay closely tied those roots?
AD - Blue collar? More like "no collar."
I just identify with "no bullshit" things like: shaking hands firmly, hitting a deadline, a hard day's work, having pride in what you do, putting yer money where yer mouth is, making a client/boss/friend happy as hell, etc.
You can apply those sorts of values to the most hi-falutin' of gigs. Me, I apply it to graphic arts.
Here's the thing: It ain't about collars, it's about how that collar does their job. Unfortunately, the suits out there f*cked things up for themselves with their greed and frivolity, and more and more, it's the guys in the back of the shop that are the golden ones. The guys who are sweating it out, overlook and underappreciated. Those are the heroes, if you ask me.
I meet enough designers who are cool as hell, and will tell you just that. Yawn. It's the guys who don't have to tell you, or, don't have the opportunity to say it. Those are the heroes. The guys up front who sign the checks...they'll get it together soon enough.
Draplin Design Co. Merch photo: Kenneth Fish
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