Remember paper, books? Yeah. There’s a great article well no, interview of Peter Mendelsund at Design:Related. Very inspiring. Lots of interesting things this guy is saying, regardless of whether you’re working with design for web, or print.
How often do you end up with a finished product that you don’t want your name attached to?
PM: Almost every day. One of the things that I find most people misunderstand about cover design on “the outside” is that so much of what happens is determined editorially, or in a marketing meeting. You try your best, but at the end of the day, most things are not going to turn out the way you liked. That’s why it behooves one to do a high volume of work. The law of averages suggests that you’ll end up with something to be proud of amongst the dreck at the end of the day.
Talk a little bit about your work process. Do you start with a pencil and paper, or do you go straight to the mouse?
PM: Every project is completely different. Today for instance, I just pencil sketched one project, (I just had a clear vision of it). On another, I futzed around on my computer till something emerged. There’s one project I’m working on now where the process seems to be: stare at the ceiling, cruise the web till I get carpal tunnel syndrome, bother every coworker I can find, bang my forehead on my monitor, then walk home dejectedly.
