Interview: Kendrick Kidd

Kendrick Kidd is the great graphic designer who created amazing logos and illustrations full of details. I love to look at his logos and really enjoy his typographic taste!
http://kendrickkidd.com 
https://twitter.com/kendrickkidd

First of all I would like to thank you for the opportunity to interview you.
Thank you for the interest. Sorry it’s taken me so long to send this back to you.

Let’s start with the usual, how did you get into design? Could you say there was a something that defined your birth as a designer?

I’ve always been attracted to design/illustration, even before I knew what it was. I took a lot of art classes growing up, and remember my teachers telling me to “be looser” when I was working on projects. My tendencies were to try & render sketches like they were stylized graphics… pretty sure it drove them nuts. Everything clicked when I was a junior in high school, Kim Koslosky (my art teacher) brought in a college recruiter who talked about design as career path. I think that’s when the decision firmed up in my head…haven’t looked back since.

Tell us about your work process. How do you find the ideas? Is it hard to generate a good idea?

Process varies greatly depending on the project, but here’s my favorite:

If there’s time, I like to try & concept outside the office… usually while I’m doing other non design related tasks. When I feel like a have a few potential solutions, I’ll sit down with a sketch pad (and a Yuengling) to see how the thoughts translate to a visual. Once I have something I like, it’s off to the computer for rendering.

It’s only hard to find good ideas if you’re trying.

Have you ever had a creative block? If yes, what do you do?

Yes, all the time. I try & do something else; run, surf, mow the lawn. Too much focus can be a burden. When I give my head enough room to wonder is when the best ideas come out. Working within deadlines makes that challenging sometimes, but it’s unavoidable.

Apart from the profits, what type of satisfaction do you get from your work?

Profits? People pay for this?

Can you show us your workplace?

This is my home spot. Love having the compy next to the window.

From where do you draw your inspiration? Recommend 5 favourite websites.

Way too many places to list, but here’s a few:

http://jessicahische.is/awesome/
http://youngjerks.com/
http://grainedit.com/
http://www.invisiblecreature.com/
http://twoarmsinc.com/
http://www.aestheticapparatus.com/

I know, that’s six, but I’ve never been good with math, so it’s oaky.

What font is your favorite?

hmm, that’s a tough one. I kinda go through periods where I use one font family until I’ve completely run it into the ground. I’m currently over-using Public Gothic. Oh, and anything from the House Industries collection.

Tell us about your recent project? What was the biggest challenge in the project?

I’ve been working on more packaging projects lately… designing for dimensional pieces, and considering different substrates/printing techniques than I’m use to has been challenging. That said, it’s also really rewarding to push outside my comfort zone and figure out how to make the designs/production work the way I’d like them to. The variety definitely keeps things fresh.

If you were not a designer, what other things would you have done?

Professional eating, definitely. Watch your back, Kobayashi.

What everyday thing you cannot live without?

Can’t live without my Swiss Army backpack… I tote around way too much crap to be without it.

Once again, thank you very much for the interview.

Thanks for the interest!

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