What is a day like for you? What usually keeps you busy?
At the moment I still have a full time job as graphic designer at a small graphic design agency over here in The Netherlands. So my day mostly starts with the alarm going off at 7 am and finding myself in the train to work at 07.50 am. About 9 am I get to my work and really start the day, with a cup of coffee. I take care of the mails that I got and start working on whatever project there is that day or week.
I always carry a little black Moleskine notebook with me, so when I end my day at work and head back home in the train, little things that occur to me I write down or draw. You never know when those spontaneous ideas could be useful... Most of the time, the best ideas occur to you when you least expect it, so you better be well prepared!
I must say that you have an amazing array of typography work. Where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration is everywhere and around you in my opinion. We live in an era that is dictated by images, so our brains are working overtime!
I can not tell specifically where I find it. It can be in a phrase I read, a song I heard, in the pattern of the pavement, or in a line drawn on the street. For example, I recently saw the speech that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University. The phrase 'Stay Foolish, stay hungry' inspired me in a creative way.
But most of the time I find it in the details or the way something is composed. Since I have been a member of Behance, an enormous world of great designs opened to me. So of course, they can be of inspiration too. On the web there are various sites that are inspiring, like ffffound.com, ibelieveinadv.com, typographicposters.com, welovetypography.com, designyoutrust.com and of course many others.
What do you love about typography?
I believe typography is the engine of graphic design. My first years at the Academy of Arts, I didn't understand why the importance of type was so stressed. That was probably also the reason why I found it so difficult. Since typography is everywhere around us, we tend to forget that someone has thought about the way the type reaches you.
Without type, a graphic designer can hardly communicate, I guess. It is an essential part of design. At least, for me it is. I love the way type can be become an image on its own, a playful composition. Details of isolated letters can be grateful shapes to experiment with. But I also find it very interesting the way single shapes combined together can become a typeface character. My last project, the Illustrato typeface is an example of that search.
How do you start a design? What is your work process?
(Since all the work shown is personal work, I will answer it for that matter.)
That depends. Sometimes I have something in my mind for quite a long time. Then I start right away in programmes like Illustrator or Photoshop. But it can also be some sketches that provide the start of my working process. That's where my little moleskine notebook comes in handy! And when the process of designing has begun, it can always be influenced by new ideas which you come across while designing.
What do you consider as your big break as a designer?
Haha, I haven't had my big break yet!! So it's still to come I guess. I think it will come when I start off for myself. Although I must say that since my last project 'Illustrato typeface' was featured on the Behance Gallery, all the great response gave me a huge boost! But I still have some difficulties convincing myself to start my career as a freelancer, since it's a difficult time to find projects. But maybe one day a week will be a good start. The new year has only recently started, so who knows what it has in store for me!
Are there any medium you love to work with? Why?
At the moment most of my work is produced in a digital way. Lately I've been working a lot in Illustrator. Before that there was a time I experimented with Photoshop. Sometimes a design starts of with a sketch in my little black book. But there are also times that I already have caught an idea or image in my thoughts that will be transferred to the screen immediately and continue to develop in front of me.
Lately I feel like I have to start drawing more to get reconnected with the 'wondering child' in me. At the moment, my home (which I'm sharing with my girlfriend) doesn't give me the space to experiment with a lot of materials, but that's certainly something I would like to do more. It would make my work more authentic.
Do you have a signature style? How did you develop it?
I don't think a have a specific signature style, although people around me say I do :-)
I believe in order to say anything about that part, you should understand how it develops. Inspiration plays a big role in the birth of a signature style. Inspiration is something that intrigues you and finds her way into the depth of your brain. Because of the enormous amount of inspirational things around you, your style will firstly be an eclectic one, of combined inspirations backed up in your mind and recalled at a certain moment in your own way. From that on it develops in a style that's more your own.
So I think, because inspiration is always in the 'developing mode', my signature style will develop in a parallel way. Each year, I grow as a person and I learn to appreciate things I couldn't when I was younger and lacked life experience. But of course, there will always be a certain way you interpret the things around you, and so my designs will breathe a certain atmosphere that is often 'engaged to' typography. But a signature develops in the way you develop.
Can you tell us about your entries for the IFEX poster competition? What was your experience in creating posters for this event?
I came across this competition when I visited a site on which graphic design competitions are displayed. I love to design in my spare time, because then I can create whatever I like. The feeling of that freedom can be really nice, since there's not always space for that in my daytime job.
Because I'm also very interested in social causes, this poster competition seemed like a really nice opportunity. The brief was to design a poster for the 'International day to end impunity'. The story is that in the last ten years, more than 500 journalists have been killed and in 9 out of 10 cases, the murderers have run free.
The idea was to design a series of posters that were linked through a black frame, the use of colour, the typography and the style of illustration. The first one shows a rope that centers in the pencil. I felt the image was strong, simple, but confronting. Confronting enough to make you interested in knowing more about it. The second one was a single illustration of a raising fist, inspired by the Russian propaganda posters. The last one, the one with the pencil and the crosses, was to stress the amount of murders. All the single crosses joined together become a dramatic awareness.
Only the one with all the red crosses and the pencil (there are actually more than 500 crosses!) was selected for the final 40. The pre-selection was made because of the enormous amount of contenders, I believe it were over 350.
The best 10 posters were to be chosen by the amount of likes on Facebook. This was the part that disappointed me a little, but was to be understood from the opinion of the organization. Their aim was, of course, to gain as much public awareness as possible, and through Facebook, they could reach a big audience. However in my opinion, the 'likes' voting system will not necessarily provide the best 10 poster designs. The ones who are able to mobilize most Facebook 'friends', will get the most votes. It's a question of numbers, not of quality. But those were the rules to play by, so I could calculate on the outcome.
Besides that, It was just really fun to participate in a really nice initiative. That's what is most important. And it was a nice opportunity to share my designs.
Any message or word of advice for our readers?
Keep absorbing all the beautiful stuff around you and try to think about what it is that makes it so beautiful. It eventually makes you see differently and turns you into a better designer.
Jorrit van Rijt is an amazing graphic designer from Utrecht, the Netherlands. His inspirations come to life in the form of typography, posters and digital art – all infused in wonderful colors and form. This interview highlights the story and passion behind his every work. Read on and be inspired by this talented designer!
