Designer Interview 2- Gray Joyce

Gray Joyce has been working in design for approximately 10 years. He has held a variety of positions from Art Director to freelance designer to Creative Lead at an internationally-recognized design firm.

His bio is as follows:

Gray Joyce holds a BFA in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, as well as a Masters of Graphic Design from North Carolina State University, College of Design. Gray has 10 years experience working in a variety of creative environments, ranging from small boutique design firms, to multi-national agencies, creating solutions for identity and brand development, print, broadcast, retail and interactive mediums. His clients include the following :

AMTRAK
Barilla Pasta
Burger King
California Pizza Kitchen
Chase Bank
Circuit City
Contract Design Assoc. Inc.
Cook County Forest Preserve
Craftsman Tools
DesignCorps
DiGiorno Pizza
Discover Financial
EFFEN Vodka
GoodYear
The Home Depot
Hyatt Hotels
IC Bus
International Truck & Engine Corp.
The Joyce Design Group, Inc.
Kraft Foods
Loyola University Museum of Art
LUND International
Moosehead Furniture Manufacturers, Inc.
NASCAR
Nabisco 100 Cal
NAVISTAR INTERNATIONAL
NC State University
North Carolina Solar Center
Office Depot
Potbelly Sandwich Co.
Riniker Hand Therapy, Inc.
Rock For Kids
Sears
SONY Electronics
SONY VAIO
Summer's Eve
valspar
Wasa Flatbreads
Xbox 360



1. What disciplines do you find yourself working with most often? How much collaboration is there between disciplines?

most often i work in identity/brand developmeent, print, environmental, and digital disciplines. i have always tried to position both my process and my solutions beyond that of what a client may ask for. address the problem and the audience holistically, and with out limiting the design/experience to a single medium.

in the past, this has lead to fully boundless solutions that included product design, mobile, microsites, print and television adverts, collateral materials such as t-shirts and misc. branded items, even event/space planning and design.

With many current firms, there is an area of specialization that they focus their work on. creating and executing for a client in these disciplines they specialize in becomes default. it is paramount that a young designer challenge the status quo and the precedents where they work. this breathes new blood into both the firm and allows the young designer to continue learning while bringing their individuality to the table. you become a cornerstone of the whole, rather than just a drone that executes what your boss requests.


2. What do you enjoy most about designing for the web? What do you enjoy the least?
it is truly a limitless medium. i try to keep a book of every idea i've had, regardless of whether it was used, successful or even possible. many times, i've found that an idea i've dreamt up doesn't work... but 2 yrs later the tech is available to execute the idea.

the other thing i love about web is that you are not limited by time. you can create a temporal experience. it allows you to have some influence over the story and the voice of what you create. you don't have to communicate everything at once. you can tease ideas and let them grow. a well designed experience, on the web especially, is sticky and your audience will spend time with it, come back to it, reference it, and spread the word to their peers


3. Interaction is a relatively new field, how did you become a designer? An interactive designer? What was your path? Why did you decide to work as an interactive designer?
i began working in interactive media while in graduate school. i was learning a new medium at the same time it was gaining traction in the world... and it was one of the major reasons i wanted to go to graduate school — to give me the chance and space to play in this medium while i learned it. to test what was possible. the idea of the web acting as a space and becoming an enveloping experience has always appealed to me, and stems from a love of architectural and natural spaces in the physical world. each person walks through a gothic church or a glade of aspen trees, or a cliff overlooking the ocean — and they each take something common and something incredible personal away from it. it becomes an intrinsic drive for them to experience more... that is, it creates and feeds a drive that gives purpose to the space itself.




4. How have you seen the field change? Where do you see it going? Where do you look for inspiration?

we are in the middle of a changing of the guard. the old approaches, practices and even practitioners are discovering that they must adapt to the new class of young creatives. technology is shifting again, and with it, the way we as an industry must move... becoming more versatile and nimble, both in our approaches and in execution. to limit yourself or your studio to a single discipline is a nail in the proverbial coffin. while you may be a pace setter now, you will be old and irrelevant in 5 yrs.

i find inspiration everywhere. and yes... that is a cliché and canned answer... but it is an honest one. walking down the street. listening to music. a book. a painting. an emotion. a simple product, like the curve of a blade on a kitchen knife. all of these are the things that feed our minds, and make our lives interesting. it is that emotive reaction that i strive to recreate in my audiences... design should engage and captivate you and your audience, regardless of how briefly it does so... it should always evoke some thought; some emotion; some reaction.

5. Have you worked as anything other than an interactive designer in the past? Currently?

i do not refer to myself as anything more than a designer (sure my professional titles have been far more specific). i work in whatever medium the problem/solution requires. this is often in the interactive realm... but may include film, animation, music/sound design, architecture, sculpting, photography.

i enjoy crossing disciplines to create a richer experience. where lo-fi and high tech. what is it to utilize the skillset of previous generations within or in conjunction with modern technology.


6. How has social media changed your job?
its made it both easier and far more difficult at the same time. SoMe makes it far easier to spread an idea through the masses. your audience is no longer limited to a single URL or media buy. it allows a brand or an idea to take on a life of its own, gives it voice, gives it audience. SoMe is the legs, mouth and ears for new innovation. it has redefined how we as individuals interact with one another.

on the downside... it is the hot topic for clients now. the current buzz word. they often have trouble seeing beyond the hot-new-thing... and SoMe is no different. this requires both a great understanding of your designs' intent, audience, execution; and an open and trusting relationship with your client... one where you can educate them on what will make for the best solution and meet/exceed their goals.



7. How important is audience to interactive design? What sort of information/research methods do you use to learn about audience?
audience is the most important consideration in any design, not just interactive. you are making something to go out into the world. if you do not consider where in the world to put it, who will see it, and how they will act/react with it or to it or because of it... you've failed as a designer. it could be the most beautifully innovative piece ever created... but with out an audience to receive it... it is basically masturbation. this isn't to say there isn't place for making things just for yourself, or experimenting and playing. but if you are creating something for someone or a client, audience should always be your top concern.

larger firms will have strategists and planners that seek out info for you, presenting you with complex documents charting demographic and behaviors. however, and especially when working on your own or in a smaller environment, i find that common sense is king. your audience is all around you. you probably know someone that is in the target. so ask them. if you don't... find some one and ask them. the biggest asset you can give yourself is the courage to seek out your own answers. go explore and find out who your audience really is. how they act and react. who they are beyond their over-analized demographic.


8. What are the most important things you have learned in the industry that they did not teach you in school?
- how to gracefully fail. miserably so. then get up and wipe the board clear and start over. it is trial by fire, and your biggest strength will be the ability to learn from your mistakes and move on.

- pride and humility. there is a place for it, and you should always strive to create something you are proud of. but at the end of the day, what we create is never meant to be ours. it is our clients' or our audience's. and it will seldom turn out exactly how you wanted it. you can still make it great... often better than it would have been in your mind... but design has to be communal, both in process and in its end result. it has to function.

- self awareness and self assertion. rarely will anyone every stand up for you or just present you with better pay, benefits, promotions, or golden opportunities. it is important to begin asserting yourself (always professionally... never whiny bitching) early in your career. you see something you want or a project you have an idea for... go after it (again... be professional)


9. What are some of the challenges of working with clients in interactive design? How do you provide clients with the solutions they want, they think they want, and that they need? How do usability and accessibility factor into your solutions?
many clients are not tech savvy. especially the CMOs and Brand Managers that are mid-lifers. you have to do a lot of hand-holding and be very aware of client-as-audience when presenting ideas. sometimes it is simpler to sell in a slimmed down version of the idea, then execute the full idea once it is approved. don't try to sell in every detail. and be patient. earn your client's trust, and don't always dismiss their ideas or contributions to the idea... it is after all, their money. and they want to share in the glory or creating something amazing. keep your conversations with the client 2-way. an open trusting dialogue with clients will get you further than anything else in this industry... and helps keep that client coming back again and again... and after all is said and done... we provide a service. if no one wants to work with us because that service is lacking or one-sided... well ... you're out of business.


10. How often do issues of culture and language come into play while designing for the web?
every minute of every day. this goes back to knowing your audience as well as the intent of your design. there is a huge responsibility with giving anything a voice. to create something with out consideration of cultural and/or linguistic hurdles is to cancel out any validity or purpose in the design.