A refresher on Dumb Questions for Smart Designers and the continued love for our darling “anti-interview” series.
We do a lot of research. Not to size up our competition, not to tout our skill sets…but because we are genuinely obsessed with the world of design and digging into what makes designers (and viewers) tick. A few years ago, our team dove into the online archives of design interviews and realized that the same questions were being asked over and over again. Wanting more, our answer to this questioning conundrum was to fire back with a collection of interviews, done our way. With enough research to give us some quirky insights into their background, we spitball our questions. Anything too smart gets cut. Anything too dumb is asked.
An Unconventional System for Design Inquiry
Since we started, we have interviewed over 70 industry luminaries – people who we never ever expected to even get back to us – wanting to do it. It is something about the sheer randomness of the questions and the complete lack of pressure that makes people say, “yes.” We challenge these noteworthy, inventive heavy hitters of design to contemplate the mundane with us and perhaps divulge bits of their personality that they wouldn’t otherwise. Dumb questions. Smart designers. Wise work.
Where To Start?
Read our latest interview with graphic designer Tyler Spangler or browse through some of our favorites over the years: