One of my goals for 2012 is to connect with more creatives. As a freelance graphic designer this not only helps me stay fresh and inspired, but also builds my network of creative friendships. So without further adieu, I’d like to launch my ‘Interview A Creative’ series with Pamela Farrington, Owner of Velvet Design Studio in Seattle. Ever wondered WHO does those amazing Starbucks illustrations? Now you do! Pamela not only created some amazing work for Starbucks, but has been the designer behind many other acclaimed clients. Take a seat, grab a cup of Starbucks coffee (ha!) and read on…
(interviewed by: Mili Suleman, Owner/Lead Designer, Schnauz Design).
1. Tell us what makes Pamela tick? What do you do when you are not working on a project?
I procrastinate. Sad, but true. I work well under pressure so when I have down time I get stir crazy. When I’m not procrastinating I enjoy creating custom shrines. They are incredibly personal and take a lot of time so I need to be in a good headspace to work on them. One of my goals this year is to make a website or blog of my shrine work. As far as what I do for play, I bike. I commute to my office, I sign up for about every bike ride in the Washington area. Every year my girlfriend and I pick a week long camping and bike ride. This year it’s in Oregon.
2. What’s a typical day like for you?
If I’m really busy with freelance work, I get up, throw on my bike gear, risk my life commuting to my office, grab coffee, head to my super awesome kick ass studio and design, design, design. If I need a little inspiration I take a walk at lunch. Since my office is in the International District there is always something amazing to see….and eat! If I don’t have a ton of meetings or presentations scheduled, I’ll wake up, have coffee at home, hang out with the stray cat we adopted then ride to my office after rush hour. The latter is my favorite kind of day.
3. How did you get into illustration and design? Tell us about your career path and what enticed you about this field?
When I entered the University, Graphic Design wasn’t exactly the sought after career choice as it is today. It was extremely specialized and very male dominated. I feel fortunate that I’m part of the X gens. Our class was the first class that went 100% digital from beginning to end. Teaching us “the old way” didn’t make sense, however,
certain professors just couldn’t let go of the past and I was fortunate to have a little of both. At my University you couldn’t choose Graphic Design as a major only as your emphasis. I was much more interested in photography and painting. It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year that I decided to keep graphic design as my emphasis. The best advice I received was from a College professor. He said to keep graphic design as something to fall back on. I’m glad I did. I graduated and did everything I could to avoid a design job. My true passion was fine art, graphic
design was just “a way to pay the bills”. I landed a modest job designing a newsletter for a bookstore, then I interviewed for a design/production job at the #1 firm in Albuquerque, NM. I was hired as a production artist…something I knew little about . There were many, many moments of staring at my screen thinking, “holy shit,
I have no idea how to construct a pop-up book by scratch”. I had a lot of help from the senior production guys. We made all our dielines, did all our color correcting, mock ups; we did every aspect of the job a printer would normally do. In 6.5 years I learned a great deal about production, design and project management. Looking back,
I’m so glad I have a working knowledge of every aspect of my profession.
4. How did you get introduced to the Starbucks design team?
In the spring of 2002, during one of the worst economic slumps, I packed my car and headed towards Seattle in search of something different. My previous production manager in Albuquerque lived in Seattle for about 7 years after he graduated college. He belonged to a fortunate group of people who became some of the design heavy hitters in Seattle. He emailed his friend working for Starbucks and told him I was coming to town. His friend at Starbucks agreed to meet with me and asked to bring my sketchbook. I panicked. I went to Walgreens and bought a cheap sketchbook and sketched all night. The last time I had a sketchbook was in college. At that time Starbucks had a very handcrafted and illustrative look. If you had an illustration background you had a better chance of getting in the door. Luckily for me they were super busy and needed some freelance help. I worked for about 8 months then freelanced all over Seattle. I returned to Starbucks as a full time designer for 3 years. I quit in 2007 to start my own business. I still work with Starbucks on a freelance basis. I love returning to the studio; it’s like seeing old friends again.
5. To the outsider, working on the design team for Starbucks is like a dream. Can you share some experiences and what have you learned from working with a name like Starbucks.
When I was hired full time at Starbucks, it was a dream come true. During the time I was there, we had one of the best design teams I’ve ever worked with. It was a great mix of seasoned designers and new talent. The Starbucks Brand was still very handcrafted and loose. Surprisingly, Starbucks didn’t have a Brand team or any kind
of Brand guidelines. It was an exciting time to be there, the atmosphere was electric and creative. We were encouraged to experiment, we ran around taking photos, silkscreening, painting, cutting, pasting, gluing, constructing…you name it. One of the rules the new Art Director proclaimed was: NO CLIENTS IN THE STUDIO. The
studio was our creative zone. For a while it was like a bunch of wild kids. Everyone took turns DJing on the turntables. For one campaign we designed coasters for the stores. Those coasters became weapons in the studio. We had a 2 year long coaster war. The boys were the worst, flinging them at high speeds bonking everyone on the
head. I ended up building a fort to keep the flying saucers at bay.
What I enjoyed most was working with The Starbucks Card team. If I landed a Card, Hear Music CD or Coffee Packaging job, I felt pretty lucky. Those gigs were the most fun with the greatest amount of creativity. One of the best moments came from designing a Valentine’s Day Starbucks Card. I was sheepishly asking to illustrate more and more of my jobs instead of farming it out to the other illustrators in the studio. I felt intimidated for a long time until a friend said, “Dude, you gotta elbow your way in there if you want it”. The card turned out great, I think we ended
up using 8 colors for that job, it was very vibrant and a big seller. A woman from Arizona contacted the main call center asking who designed the flower card. Our operator helped her find me. She emailed a photo of her new tattoo…my flower illustration! I am incredibly flattered, that was my favorite moment at Starbucks.
6. So I take it you freelance now? Or are you working for someone?
I am 100% freelance and love it.
7. What keeps you fresh as a designer and illustrator?
I used to scour the internet for any kind of unique blog or design site. I have a bazillion sites saved. Certain design firms would hire me to do trend research and inspirational boards. I spend less time on the web now and more time outside. I like visiting bookstores, estate sales, thrift shops, local boutiques, museums, etc. I guess you can say I’ve gone analog again.
8. How long have you had Velvet design studio? What tips can you give other freelancers in the creative business field?
I’ve had Velvet Design Studio for about 6 years. It takes a while to build up a clientele. The first thing I did when I went freelance is sign up with every creative placement agency. I met a lot of people and worked with many places I didn’t know existed. It helps you decide whether you want to “date” or “marry” companies. If you do sign up with the creative placement agencies, make sure you list out design firms or companies that you have connections with so they won’t contact them. If they contact them, you are bound under their contract. The best tips are ones we already know, get out there and network. Do it online, in person, at events, call up a studio you admire and ask for a tour, ask your friends who work at design firms to introduce you around and tag along to their Christmas parties,
anniversary parties, etc. Old fashioned networking is still the best way to get your name out there.
9. You mentioned you took a one month sabbatical from designing in cabin country. What made you decide to take a hiatus? For other creatives who want to take a sabbatical, what tips can you offer…
In October 2010 I signed a year long contract. It was presented as a part time job so I could still manage my existing clients. I quickly discovered it was full time plus job! It was a very very different position for me. My official title was Brand Manager but my responsibilities included Project Manager, Art Director and Quality
Assurance Manager. It was a huge learning experience. The biggest lesson I learned was GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. When you sign a contract make sure your “jobs and responsibilities” are clearly spelled out, this can potentially protect you from someone else’s mismanagement. This doesn’t mean you can’t go above and beyond the scope of work, on the contrary, we should always strive to be an invaluable asset to anyone’s team by providing that special somethin’ somethin’…however, when you start to feel the job derailing from the initial outline, it’s time to reevaluate. Long story short, I was mentally and physically exhausted after my contract ended. I needed to find my love for art again. I was tired of being glued to my phone and computer. I STRONGLY recommend finding a cabin in a teeny tiny town somewhere and just be. No internet, no TV, no Facebook, no emails. I rediscovered my love for art,
writing and music. This also led me to delete my Facebook account. I didn’t find Facebook inspiring anymore, just annoying.
10. How much social media and blogging are you using for your personal brand and business?
This is on my radar for 2012. I quit Facebook and LinkedIin (LinkedIn did a little security faux pas which pissed me off) and unfortunately for me, most of the people I know advertise and get the word out on these two sites. I signed up with Google+ but I’ve been less and less impressed. I’ll fumble around a bit more and see what pops up.
11. So, what’s on your plate now and what are your 2012 goals?
I’m getting back to basics. I’m trying to work less and play more. I want to concentrate on a few key clients this year and use the rest of my time building my portfolio online, creating my shrines and maybe starting a blog… oh, and finishing my tattoo.
