Many thanks to Donovan Beery for having me:
Justin Kemerling stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his new book, In the Middle of Everything. Written 10 years after opening Justin Kemerling Design Co., the book does a great job of capturing a design career in, well, the middle. We also talk design for politics and activism, making your night job into your day job, and more. Thanks goes out to Adam Behm for co-hosting.
Hosted by one of my favorite people Stuart Chittenden, Lives is a radio talk show about conversation, community, and people. I was recently a guest. We talked graphic design, activism, punk rock, collaboration, the Clash, going to Catholic school, truck driving, clients, limitations, knocking doors, and other rad stuff. Check it:
What am I passionate about exactly? According to my interview with three design students from Seattle, it goes like this:
He loves design as a tool for making things happen, especially for the things he believes in, which means supporting his community and actively engaging in aggressive politics. Even better is the fact he gets to go through it all with his lovely wife.
From my discussion on the Voices Creating Change podcast with Amanda Stevenson, here are some of the things we covered in our 54 minutes:
You like podcasts, right? Of course you do. Voices Creating Change is a new podcast by Amanda Stevenson that seeks to be a force for change, a vehicle of expression, and a community for all social change initiatives through the arts. I just so happen to be Amanda’s guest on the 2nd episode. Check it out, give a listen.
We talk about punk rock, graphic design, Omaha, nonprofits, #MeToo, #NoKXL, Barack Obama, and a few of my favorite artists. There’s even some discussion about growing up in a small town, semi-trucks, and Weezer’s amazing first album. It’s good stuff.
— Originally published Nov 7, 2009 by Design Feast —
Coming up with something new, something moving, something relevant. And in the mix of it all, there is the big question: is this authentic? In a world of faked, contrived, staged, hyperbolic, and outright lies, it’s something designers have to continually be asking. It’s not the most glamorous, and it’s hard to do completely, but without that check on yourself, there’s a good chance you’re just creating garbage for the media (and physical) wasteland of the trite and the useless.
Adaptable, daring, imaginative, dedicated, determined and good with your hands. From there, a designer has to connect the dots, see the larger picture, and put it all together in a simplified, compelling way that is honest and true.
I was recently interviewed by The Creative Chair for the 50 States project. Talkin’ design, activism, collaboration, and reincarnation.
The great state of Nebraska is in the middle of flyover country America. Not a place known for high-quality design, booming creative industries, or interesting cultural forces. Which is what makes trying to build a very focused design practice so interesting.
