For this month’s Center Stage article, we interviewed successful Designer/Art Director at Kendall Creative, and the Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Design at the University of Texas - Arlington, Ben Dolezal. With an exciting challenge that he pursues and posts about via Instagram, to design something new every day in 2018, Dolezal was an easy choice when deciding who we would feature for the month of March.
Please tell us a little about yourself, your background and your work.
From a very young age I was obsessed with art, drawing, and logos. As a child, I spent a lot of time drawing the Nike Swoosh and Jumpman logos (Michael Jordan was a personal hero of mine at the time). When all of my classmates were in band, I was in the classroom drawing. In high school, I took all of the available art classes until all that was left were independent studies. All of this happened during the dark ages of technology where personal computers were not commonly found in homes, and design software was in its infancy - just old school pencil and paper.
How did you come into this profession? What was your journey like?
In college, I bounced around from department to department - Art Education, Biology/Pre-Dental, Economics. It wasn’t until I completed a degree in Economics from Kansas State University that I realized that I wanted nothing to do with Economics for my career. Around this same time, I felt a pull towards making art and exercising my creative skills again. I returned to school and completed a design degree just a few years later. After graduation I took a job working for a fun little branding agency in Dallas, Texas called Kendall Creative. That opportunity allowed me to stretch and grow my foundational design and brand development skills. From 2008 to 2011 I worked full time and also completed a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. In 2012, I left Kendall Creative to pursue a full-time professor of design position at the University of Texas at Arlington… I have been there ever since.
We have followed the challenge that you have created for yourself via Instagram, a challenge you call “OKAYest LOGO.” Can you tell us what it’s about, why you are doing it, and how it has helped you grow as a designer?
OKAYest LOGO is a design challenge that I issued for myself at the start of 2018. Basically, I have challenged myself to make a custom logo design and post it to Instagram every day in 2018. The logo subjects range from letterforms, numbers, local companies that need logo design help, National Parks, U.S. States, and random pop culture references. The name “OKAYest LOGO” is an attempt at humor (or not humor) to describe my logo design skills. I’m not the greatest logo designer and I’m not the worst logo designer. I’m somewhere in the middle - the OKAYest. The challenge is the result of me feeling a creative slump and lack of growth in design abilities that was gradually creeping in over the past few years. In just 2 months of daily logo designs, I have already seen a boost in my creative energy and willingness to experiment with design aesthetics that might be outside of my comfort zone. My hope is that this challenge will lead me to new clients inspire creative individuals to connect with me, provide me feedback, and even spark something within them creatively.
How would you describe your design aesthetic? What makes your style stand out from other designers/design firms?
My design aesthetic typically leans towards bold, abstract, colorful, balanced, and overlapping geometric shapes (as evidenced by the alphabet I completed during the first 26 days of the challenge). I want viewers of my work to be able to read something clear immediately but be able to decipher a deeper meaning upon further inspection. I work to make logo designs that will be relevant today and 50 years from today. Logo trends are great, and I have explored a few of them in my daily logo design challenge this year. However, they tend to feel outdated sooner. It’s hard for me to say if my work stands out from other designers or not… but here I am being interviewed by LogoLounge, so I must be doing something right.
Could you describe to us your design process, in steps if you can?
My design process includes a series of steps that include research (book, magazines, online, in nature), sketches (quick but meaningful thumbnails), transfer of sketch to computer (generally done by taking a picture of my sketchbook with my phone and sending the file to my computer), vectorization (all Illustrator all the time!), and then finalization in Photoshop (prepping logos to go up on Instagram). I’ve been able to streamline this process in 2018 by making a logo every day. So far, I have spent an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes per logo (the longest being 2.5 hours and the shortest being 15 minutes). It’s possible to have great ideas and great logos happen quickly.
Which designers and/or creative minds were your biggest inspirations growing up? Who do you look up to now?
As I mentioned briefly before, as a child I was inspired by all things Nike. The creative team behind the Swoosh logo, the Jumpman logo, the apparel, the shoes, the advertising campaigns were a huge inspiration to me. I had dreams of someday working for Nike (hasn’t happened yet - call me Nike if you want to collaborate!). The first artists and designers I remember being inspired by while in college include Stefan Sagmeister, Shepard Fairey, Jessica Hische, and Frank Chimero. In recent years, I have been inspired by some of the Texas design powerhouses like Helms Workshop, Matchbox Studio, and Caliber Creative (all three are overflowing with talent). Lastly, I can’t leave off Aaron Draplin. He’s come through Texas twice in the last 4 years. I’m always inspired by his work, his passion, his enthusiasm, and his commitment to his craft.
What work or works are you most proud of and why?
Believe it or not, the work I am most proud of right now is the set of logos I’ve been cranking out each day for OKAYest LOGO. I believe this is some of the best work I’ve produced in my career. I’m stretching outside of my comfort zone and working in styles, colors, and forms that I haven’t used before. The lack of available during the day to spend on the logo forces me to make quick decisions, to try things I wouldn’t normally try, and to realize that it’s ok to not overthink things.
What or who would be a dream project or client for you?
After spending time working on logos for the National Parks for OKAYest LOGO, I can say that one dream project for me would be to have the National Park Service hire me to redesign the logos for all 58 parks. This project combines my love for the outdoors with my love for design. (Call me if you want to collaborate, US National Parks!)
How do you deal with “designer’s block”?
This is a great question, and one that I asked many designers when I was in graduate school. I spent an entire semester learning about designer’s block and how to overcome it. DISCLAIMER: this in no way makes me an expert on the subject. From what I’ve learned and experienced, designers block is best overcome by a change in the routine. This could be a change of process (how you work), a change of scenery (where you work), a change of schedule (how much time you devote to your work), or even a change of career (not always advisable but moving to a new work environment could be very healthy for dealing with designer’s block). If I can’t change any of those things, the least I can do is step away from my workspace and get some fresh air. It’s amazing what a little exercise and fresh air can do to revitalize the creative energy.
What lessons, either about life or your profession, do you wish you had known ten years ago?
A couple of things. First, don’t be afraid to try something new. We grow and improve when we try new things. Don’t wait to be invited. Just take the initiative and get outside of your comfort zone. Second, I would have started posting more of my work publicly on social media and online. As an educator, I was hesitant to post work publicly for fear that my students might judge me or think less of me as a designer. The funny thing is, my daily Instagram posts have actually helped me to connect more with my students. The students do judge me, and I get feedback from them in the form of Instagram comments and in discussions in class. I’ve found that showing my work and talking about it with them has helped me to gain additional confidence.
To see more of Dolezal’s work, you can view his LogoLounge uploads here. You can also see more by visiting his website here.
To follow OKAYest LOGO via Instagram, see here.And be sure to stay tuned next month,as we bring another design legend or radical up-and-comer to LogoLounge’s “Center Stage.” The next featured member could be YOU!