Meet Eight Hour Day, a creative studio that loves to learn, collaborate and create.
Nathan Strandberg and Katie Kirk, two individuals with a passion for creativity — started Eight Hour Day. They believe in the transformative power of illustration and design and their ability to simplify communications, elevate experiences, engage and inspire people everywhere. Good design and good relationships come from collaboration. EHD has had the opportunity to work on projects with brands like: Target, Facebook, The New York Times, Williams Sonoma, Real Simple Magazine, Random House and Wired. We talk to Katie about her background, how they got started, and what they’re working on.
Sandip: Let’s start from the beginning, how’d you two meet?
Katie: I’m from central Wisconsin and Nate grew up here in Minneapolis. I came to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis for college and we were in the same design program. That’s where we met!
Sandip: Growing up, would your parents say your current career choice was pretty obvious given your hobbies or what you were good at?
Katie: Yes, I think so. We were both creative, each in our own ways. I don’t think it was any surprise we ended up in a creative industry/career.
Sandip: Do you recall what your first jobs in “design” were?
Katie: Yes! We both had design internships and jobs out of college. We also worked together in college at the daily newspaper, “The Daily”, in their advertising department. I think in those first years you start to understand the business behind design, timelines, clients, etc. It’s obviously different from school. It’s not a bad thing but I think it can be jarring.
Sandip: How do you both handle the duties that are running a design studio? Are you both involved on the business side of things? How do you both take on new projects?
Katie: Great question. We both share administrative responsibilities (emails, invoices, estimates, etc), which take up about half the day. We’re also both involved in project inquiries and new business for Eight Hour Day too.
Sandip: What are some things you believe have helped EHD in the success of staying in business and growing? How have you weathered the ups and downs that come with running a business? Ever any low points that made you question what you were doing?
Katie: I like to think/hope that we are good people, and good people in the community. I think we try to continue to better and challenge ourselves, both stylistically and from a business standpoint. We try to put our work out there and have good relationships with our clients.
Ups and downs are just a part of business I guess. We’ve been hit by the economy like everyone else. That said, we are pretty small and flexible — we just keep slowly moving forward like the tortoise. What’s the Churchill quote — if you’re going through Hell keep going?
We question it all the time. There are days you love it and days you hate it. It is a job after all, haha!
Sandip: You’ve both worked on a range of projects, both big and small. Have you spotted any common themes that you believe make any project more successful?
Katie: My favorite projects are the ones where the client trusts you enough to do what you do — yet still there is a collaboration with the client, through ideas and questions. It’s tough when projects get overly art directed.
Sandip: How have you managed to get the work that’s come your way?
Katie: Oh that’s hard. We wish we knew! Luck and hard work I guess. I think meeting with people, putting work out there, and being nice have all helped.
“If you’re going through Hell keep going.”
Sandip: Kindness wins, right? You both have experience working at agencies, in-house and running your own studio. Do you ever miss anything about working at an agency or in-house?
Katie: I think we miss colleagues and co-workers the most sometimes. We recently rented out desk space in our studio and have some awesome desk mates to chatter with — we’ve made some great friends. Best thing we’ve done in a while.
Sandip: What’s the hardest part of running your own studio?
EHD: That’s easy. It’s the constant hustle.
Sandip: And on the flip side, what’s the best part of running your own studio?
Katie: Again, easy. The flexibility.
Sandip: Walk us through the process of starting a new project at EHD. What’s that look like?
Katie: We actually will both concept individually at the start of a project, talking back and forth during the process, making sure we are hitting what we want to hit, both visually and conceptually. Then whoever “wins” the project (the chosen concept) is usually the person who becomes the lead for that job. It sounds kind of separated but in reality it is a lot of back and forth, checking in, ideas, etc.
Sandip: I love that approach. Do you personally have any favorite projects that come to mind?
Katie: I’m not sure it’s my favorite per se, but one that always tickles me are the glyphs I did for Manifest. They somehow have taken on a life of their own online — mostly in the tattoo community. But it brings up a lot of questions around language, and glyph systems — I find it fascinating.
Sandip: What do you think is the hardest part of what you do?
Katie: Not thinking about it ALL. THE. TIME. It’s constantly around you — it can be hard to put it away.
Sandip: What advice would you give your 20 year old selves?
Katie: Believe in yourself and work harder.
Sandip: Do you have a person, place or thing that inspires you? For instance, if you’re in a creative rut, something that helps pull you out?
Katie: I stop for awhile and try to get outside and take a walk.
Sandip: You’re based in Minneapolis, MN, what do you love most about living in Minneapolis? Do you have a list of must-do, must-see, must-eat places?
Katie: What I love most are the people, the seasons and the culture.
A few spots you should check out are: Bar LaGrassa, The Walker, Spoon & Stable, go for a bike ride around the lakes, Marvel Bar, Sea Salt, and the State Fair.
Sandip: Favorite books or podcasts (or both)?
Katie: I love “How I built This” on NPR, “Reply All” and “StartUp” on Gimlet.
Sandip: Do you have any daily routines?
Katie: We have a 3 year old, so our life is quite routined around meal times, school and bedtime :)
Sandip: I know that all too well! What are you both listening to? Got a favorite artist or band?
Katie: Oh gosh, I’m all over the map right now. I feel like Nate kind of is too.
Thanks so much for reading! Each week our team will be publishing an interview with designers, illustrators, filmmakers, animators and artists that inspire us. A big thank you to Katie from Eight Hour Day for taking the time to chat with us! You can see more of their work over on EHD or Dribbble. You can also follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
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