QBN Sessions, Extended Review

Tuesday September 11, 2007 - 11 months ago

Posted by Matt Owens / Filed under Speaking Engagements

I just got back from speaking at the QBN Sessions in Los Angeles and wanted to give you my blow by blow…

I have to hand it to Jason Kristofer, Founder and Director of QBN, for setting up an amazing event. In the same vein as Semi-Permanent, OFFF and IdN conferences, QBN Sessions featured a great lineup of design-related speakers. The Getty Center is an amazing venue and I would recommend you check it out if you are in LA. The view was killer.

We got there a day early and did a technical test for our presentation. Everyone at the Getty and QBN waited on us hand and foot and were really on top of things. That evening we went to the Media Temple sponsored speakers’ dinner at the Angelino hotel and met up with Joshua Davis and the Phunk Studio guys. While Joshua pounded red bulls and recounted his early 90’s experiences as a club kid in NYC, the Phunk Studio guys were fighting off some mad jet lag, having flown in from Singapore. Everyone was super stoked to be there and the food was excellent. We met Patrick Riley, the CEO & President of QBN who put together the event with Jason. We learned that Patrick had been the guitarist in the band the Ataris for a few years.

The next morning we got to the Getty bright and early. As we walked up we saw J Ellis of Athletics munching on a rice crispy block and sipping a coffee. We also ran into Bob Borden and Duane King of BBDK who were in from Santa Fe. Mark and I ran through our presentation one more time and took our seats up front to check out the speakers.

One item that was interesting was that Jason and Patrick chose not to MC the event themselves and got an aspiring actress to do introductions. While cheerful and pleasant, you could tell she was not entirely aware of who she was actually introducing.

Phunk Studio

I have met Melvin, Jackson, William and Alvin a few times and they are always easy going. At the speakers’ dinner we chatted a bit about design collectives and why we think they are a good idea. Because the Phunk guys are all friends and have been working together for over 10 years, you get a sense that they have let their individual egos take a back seat to the bigger idea of the studio. Their speech re-capped their entire body of work and it was great to see some of the older pieces in contrast to current work.

Jackson talked about being inspired by Emigre and Raygun back in the day and how they have spent many years reinterpreting their own design practice by looking at western graphic design as well as anime, manga and other eastern influences. It is this fusion of western influence and eastern perspective that makes Phunk really unique. You can see a level of ease and care-free nature in the work—you know that the Phunk guys, while extremely talented, do not take themselves too seriously.

As the Phunk guys are now in their 30’s, I am curious to see how their work changes/matures in the coming years. A recurring theme throughout their presentation was how they initially saw themselves more like a band, and less like a studio. Getting girls and going to parties was the justification for doing “cool” work. As far as I know the Phunk guys have been to plenty of cool parties and it looks like their best years are still ahead of them.

Michael Muller

Michael Muller is a 37-year-old photographer that has a wife, three girls and has lived in Los Angeles for many years. Before his photo career, Michael was a tri-athlete during his teens and early 20’s, but gave it up to be a photographer. Overall, it was apparent that he has been able to translate his competitive spirit to the camera, and has taken some of the jockishness along with it.

Some of Michael’s more notable work includes the promo images for X Men – The Last Stand and Spider Man 3. Michael has also done a lot of band photography (Red Hot Chili Peppers in particular, and more recently, a shoot for the Shins and Modest Mouse) and a ton of under-water photo work for the likes of Speedo as well as personal projects. His shot of a Batman look-alike doing crack in an alley was pretty amazing.

Michael had a great blend of personal and professional work and was not afraid to show work where he piggybacked a personal project on a client shoot. He came off as having a bit of an ego and it was obvious that doing work for celebs in Hollywood was a large part of his agenda. Nonetheless, Michael showed his true skill behind the lens and was not afraid to tell you that a bit of hustle, hard work and some of luck can take you a long way.

Michael C. Place

Mr. Place is a design legend in my book, having done some of the best work the Designers Republic ever put out into the world. He is also a very quiet, mellow guy that just plain loves design. His studio, Build, consists of himself, his wife and their hairless cats. There is an iterative nature to Michael’s work where you can see that he just keeps going and going. My favorite piece that Michael showed was his work on the D&AD Global Awards. It was amazing how many things he was able to interpret out of the hexagon mark. For those that are really into typography, I think Michael really showed how much gesture and fun can be had with type.

For me, Michael’s quintessentially English perspective on design was a breath of fresh air. My only regret is that we did not get to have a pint together.

Matt and Mark Owens

Hey that’s me. Mark and I made a considered effort to break up our talk and show a lot of different things. The fact that Mark does design, teaching, curating and critical writing on design revealed that design practice can involve a lot more than just the work. What I enjoyed most is Mark had the chance to show some of the work he has done for Commonwealth Stacks and Generic Costume. I have found that sometimes folks do not get due credit for the work they do for clients, so it was cool to show people what he designed for them.

I also thought showing the work of Athletics as a collective studio was good for everyone to see. Most large-scale projects involve several people, and the collaborative effort really shapes the end product.

If we had more time, I would have liked to talk about the “business” of design. Very seldom do people talk about how they actually work and bill jobs.

Lastly, I enjoyed showing The Free Library and the True Believers shows back to back. Mark really “designed” the Free Library show, with the look of the spaces being integral to the show’s concept. The True Believers show was less of a designed space and more of a meeting of designers from varied backgrounds.

I was the only speaker to give away free stuff. Folks seemed to be into it because all of the stickers and booklets were snatched up. Feel free to email me and let me know what you thought of my part of the lecture.

Shepard Fairey

Backstage I had the opportunity to chat a bit with Shepard Fairey and his wife Amanda. Amanda and I chatted about the challenges of running a gallery, studio and doing personal work. I am in the same boat but definitely not on their level. Amanda seems to have the business side locked down. They are in the process of buying a building in Echo Park where all facets of the business will be under one roof. They are also expecting their second child. Congrats!

Shepard is a nice guy and you get a real sense that he has not planned where he is today. The Obey phenomenon is definitely a result of his hard work over the years and a commitment to street art. Of all the speakers, Shepard was the star. A lot of folks were stoked to hear him speak.

Shepard showed some of the pages from his book and gave us a brief re-cap of how Obey came to be. The second half of his presentation was more of a Q&A situation, with the MC joining him on stage, asking him questions. I found it interesting that he chose to have the aspiring-actress-MC-lady ask him questions as opposed to questions from the audience. I did get the sense that there may be a good deal of criticism/backlash that he may be trying to avoid.

Shepard is very talented and he has been able to take his inspirations from Barbara Krueger, Russian Constructivists and Communist Chinese propaganda and really make it his own. I think the street art aspect of his work does rub a little bit counter to the huge licensing deal he has made with the Obey brand, and the fact that Obey shirts are everywhere. But on the flip side, if any of us worked hard and developed a cultural sensation like Obey, we would be fools not to capitalize on it and open the doors to other pursuits (art, gallery, magazine, etc.).

I actually liked the artwork he did in Hawaii the best—really beautiful and understated.

The Mill

Alistair Thompson and Pat Joseph spent a good bit of time talking about the difference between English and American advertising. The Honda ‘Impossible Dream’ commercial they showed was my favorite. And the Skittles ‘Touch’ commercial was amazing.

With a post house like The Mill, it is hard to know where to know where their work begins and ends. On all the pieces they showed, it’s most likely that an ad agency creative came up with the idea. That said, The Mill have a great skill at bringing an idea to life through technology. Alistair and Pat spent a good amount of time walking through the intense 3D they did for the Johnnie Walker ‘Android’ ad.

Overall, the Mill are super-tech and if I had 500K to do some insane CG I would certainly send them the brief.

Joshua Davis

I met JD almost 10 years ago when he was living 3 blocks away from me in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. One lovely wife, one lovely child and international design stardom later, Joshua is a well-oiled conference-speaking machine. Joshua focused on his program development, and the iterative, comprehensive process required to generate highly complex abstract imagery.

I was hoping that Joshua would go “under the hood” and show some of the code. Athletics’ J Ellis was particularly bummed to see this aspect of Joshua’s work omitted. I was also curious how he is able to do a postscript rip from Flash to Illustrator. Give up the goods Joshua! (Update: go here for instructions). Joshua did not show any client work and I am curious how his experimental work translates into the commercial realm.

Overall, Joshua is a big personality and he has his personal vision pretty well locked down. For this I admire him. With regard to his work, I would love to see Joshua extend his method of art making and try new things—perhaps using bitmap/raster graphics rather than the vector style he’s known for, or programmatic motion pieces.

The After-party

After the conference was over we went to the after party in the Getty courtyard. Rather than a party exclusive to the conference, we joined a larger party—“Friday on the 405” is a regular summertime event at the Getty. Unfortunately, the result was a diluted conference population and long lines for drinks. I would have preferred something a bit more intimate.

Overall, I like the one-day super event as opposed to a 2 or 3 day thing. Also, some folks balked at the price. $250 is steep, but as a design professional, it’s a good tax deduction. And if you’re running a company, it’s worth it to expose your designers to good work. Again, I was stoked to be a part of the first QBN Sessions and I look forward to many more.

—Matt