Draplin Design Co.

Pretty Much Everything

Aaron James Draplin

• Publisher: Abrams
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781419720178
• eBook ISBN:
  9781613129968
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Design General

Tall Tales From a Large Man

“We’ll go wherever they’ll have us.”

A

Tall Tales from a Large Man World Tour

Let me lock this one in forever. I’m writing these words right this second, some thirty-five thousand feet over the Pacific Ocean, on my way to Australia for three shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be going as far as I have on the graphic design speaking circuit. And now to Australia? The coolest.

This whole “speaking fiasco” thing started in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Andrew Campo, an old Snowboarder magazine buddy, invited me to come and sit on a panel and talk about design. I was a little scared to get up in front of people, but there were six of us and a scant crowd. No big thing. Then I got an invite to come tell my story at AIGA Minnesota’s Design Camp up in Nisswa. I lived in Minnesota for two years and remember people talking up Design Camp. I couldn’t go. Couldn’t afford that stuff on my nonexistent MCAD budget.

On the flight back to Minnesota, I put together my first presentation. It’s basically the same thing I do these days. Where I’m from, my trajectory west, going back to school, first jobs, getting free, working on my own and then some of the weird stuff that has gone down. I remember going up on the stage in front of that four-hundred-strong Design Camp crowd. I totally seized up, gripped by fear, or just out of my element. All those eyes. All those people wondering what the hell just walked up to the podium. It was pretty surreal. I got my bearing, let the PDF guide me and gave my first real talk.

The kids loved it. I had dragged a mountain of merch to the camp with me, selling posters, T-shirts, Field Notes and DDC trinkets. I sold through EVERYTHING. Rich, I summoned my rotgut buddy Ryno up from The Cities and took him out for a night on the town. I treated him to the finest walleye dinner Nisswa offered. A magical night, so freaked out, just blown away I was even allowed into the conference.

I went to all the lectures at MCAD. If I remember correctly, they were taking attendance. I remember being thankful for so many cool chances to hear people tell us their stories. But a couple of them were turds. One group from London, man, they were pretty high on themselves. Terse answers, fidgeting, monotone delivery, snarky challenges from snarky professors. Just a bit too adversarial for my liking. I mean, shit, it was graphic design they were talking about. Not human rights. Or geopolitical policy. Posters and typefaces and shit. Simple show-and-tell, more or less. I remember thinking, Shit, do you even like your job? Sure doesn’t sound like it. If you do, tell us why. So much hot air, and yet very little substance.

Shepard Fairey came to the Walker Art Center in 1999. I paid a good ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Welcome
• Growing Up
• Leaving The Nest
• Gainful Employment
• Independence
• Risky Business
• DDC Merch
• Field Notes
• Rock-n-Roll Efforts
• Logos, Logos, Logos
• The Open Road
• Rescue Efforts
• Multiple Impressions
• Sharing The Mess
• Thick Lines
• DDC Factory Floor
• Tall Tales World Tour
• Dad
• Mom
• Appreciation
• Copyright Page