Scott is Creative Director at Studio Aad and based in Dublin. As they say themselves: ‘We work with clients of all sizes and from a wide range of different areas, using design to solve problems and build tools that help them explain, engage and communicate. Design for us is always about human interaction whatever the subject matter, scale or audience.’ Their output includes identities, printed and digital materials, environments and products.
Scott first visited Limerick School of Art and Design as part a ‘SweetTalk’ event in November 2005. Since then he had made regular visits to the college as both a visiting lecture working with students on college projects and a guest lecturer through some great one-off workshops and talks.
We asked Scott what inspires him:
Lou Dorfsman: / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Dorfsman
Not as well known as his peers Paul Rand, Saul Bass or his best friend Herb Lubalin but to my mind every bit as important. The fact that he spent most of his life working at the same company – CBS – may have something to do with him flying under the radar. He spent 41 years there shaping every aspect of it’s design and advertising and helping the company become a world-class brand.
IBM
Something that consistently gets overlooked is the paramount role of the client in the making of great design. Good clients are central to the making of great work and the fact that so much outstanding work has been done for IBM over the years speaks of a company that values design. From it’s identity and communications with Paul Rand, it’s exhibitions, research and film work with the Eames’s through to the work they produce now such as their smarter planet or 100 years of IBM campaigns, all great stuff.
Saul Steinberg / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Steinberg
Amazing illustrator who did a lot of New Yorker covers. Illustrative single frame storytelling at it’s best.
But Does It Float / http://butdoesitfloat.com/
So many ‘creative’ or design blogs leave me cold, or even make me sad. It’s the superficial nature of them, stripped of content, context or back story they become a palette of styles ripe for ripping off. But Does It Float always presents work that is interesting, unexpected and they present a body of work rather than random images. It always fills me up whereas ffffound always drains me…
Graphic Thought Facility / http://www.graphicthoughtfacility.com/
If I could work anywhere it’d be here. I love the way they think and make. Always excited to see what they’ve been up to as it’s always unexpected.
Walker Arts Centre – Architecture / Design Channel / www.walkerartcentre.org/
The best, most interesting design minds working today give insight into the way they think and work.
New York City
What’s not to be inspired by?
Swedish design studios:
Dunno what they have in the water over there but I want some of it. Pretty much every design studio i’ve obsessed about over the last few years have been swedish (and also some spanish). Here’s my favourites:
http://www.tjaneski.com/
http://www.lundgrenlindqvist.se/
http://www.danielcarlsten.com/
http://www.happy.fb.se/
http://www.bvd.se/
http://www.stockholmdesignlab.se
http://www.acne.se/
http://www.rbg6.se/
http://www.25ah.se/
http://www.albinholmqvist.com/#
Spanish design studios:
http://www.grafica-design.com/
http://www.mucho.ws/
http://www.astridstavro.com/
Great TV:
I guess if there was a theme with what inspires me it’s when simple everyday things are made into something majestic. Made into something that makes us understand things in a new way. The Wire, 30 Rock, Outnumbered, Bored To Death, Mad Men. Great TV.
for more info
Web_ www.studioaad.com/
Email_ hello(at)studioaad.com
Phone_ +353 1 677 5020