This past fall I headed to New York City to see an artist talk with Kate Bingaman-Burt and Mike Perry at the Jen Bekman Gallery. I had arranged to spend some time with them and filmed our conversation.

Michael Perry runs a small design studio in Brooklyn, New York. Working with clients like MTV, Brooklyn Industries, Dwell Magazine, New York Times Magazine and so many more. Perry just finished his first book titled “Hand Job” published by Princeton Architectural Press. Doodling away night and day, Perry creates new typefaces and sundry graphics that inevitably evolve into his new work, exercising the great belief that the generating of piles is the sincerest form of creative process. He has shown his work around the world, from the booming metropolis of London to Minneapolis to the homegrown expanses of Kansas.

Kate Bingaman-Burt started Obsessive Consumption in 2002 when she decided to photograph all of her purchases and in turn create a brand out of the process to package and promote. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Lowdown Magazine, Money, Print, HOW Design, Craft, Adorn, GOOD, and many others. Her work is featured in the upcoming books Handjob! A Catalog of Type by Mike Perry and Becoming a Digital Designer by Steven Heller and David Womack. She received her MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2004 and is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Mississippi State University.

It was great to finally get to meet them. Both Kate and Mike have contributed work to my book, Grab Bag Book (HOW Books). Thanks to both of them for the time they spent talking with me and their inspiration.

These typography blocks seem pretty amazing and can act as some nice decoration for your work or living space. You can even start teaching you children about typography at an early age. They are hand painted and produced by Post Typography.

Wolff Olins has introduced a brilliant new project. It is a model for the brand of the future called Brand Next. They are introducing this concept through a show entitled The Store for Tomorrow.

Taking an aspect of the Brand Next thinking, The Store for Tomorrow explores the idea of brands as platforms for action, helping people do more and do better.

Held in London and New York, the show highlights ten platform brands that invite people to take part, to give as well as get. And the more people who join in, the better it becomes for everybody.

I think that this model as one that everybody should keep an eye on. In the near future, I hope that we see more brands embrace this way of thinking.

As part of a scholarship for college I had write an essay on an artist that I would like to spend an afternoon with.

One of the most well known and respected graphic designers in history was Paul Rand. He was not only a graphic designer but was an educator as well who taught at Yale University. He is responsible for creating many wide spread corporate logos, including UPS, ABC, IBM, Next, Westinghouse and more.

I chose Paul Rand because of the several stories I have heard about him and for the inspiration and education he has provided to many great designers who came after him. He is one of the people I regret not having the opportunity to meet.

If I was to spend an afternoon with Paul Rand we would visit his house. We would sit there, drinking tea that he made for us. His house would be simple but the furniture would be arranged perfectly. The home would be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Naturally we would have discussed graphic design and he might have gone on about form and typography. I would inquire about how he started his career and would be looking for stories about the amazing past that he had. He would stray away from the topic of graphic design quickly and there would be nothing I could do. He would talk about culture, ideas, and books. I would add my thoughts and we would debate about a couple things here and there. He would suggest books for me to read and new ideas to wrap my mind around.

From Paul Rand I would learn simple lessons that are important in life. I would not be educated in specific graphic design techniques or concepts, but rather I would learn about the larger picture of life. He would tell me how design impacts others, what not to miss as I went through life, and how to see the world.