Meet Aaron James Draplin. Thick line maker at DDC and creator of Field Notes.
Esquire. Ford Motors. Burton Snowboards. The Obama Administration. While all of these brands are vastly different, they share at least one thing in common: a teeny, little bit of Aaron James Draplin. Draplin is one of the new school of influential graphic designers who combine the power of design, social media, entrepreneurship, and DIY aesthetic to create a successful business and way of life. Draplin is a long time friend of the team at Cage (we even got to help him meet the Flaming Lips, their management, and show him some sites while he was in OKC a while back).
We chat with Aaron about his background and where he grew up, logos, the process behind projects like Field Notes and what kind of music he’s listening to.
Sandip: Let’s start from the beginning, where are you from? Tell us a bit about yourself (growing up, family, school, etc).
Draplin: Born in Detroit, but raised in Northern Michigan in a small town called Central Lake. Moved to Traverse City, Michigan when I was thirteen, until I split out to Oregon to be a snowboarder with my animal buddies in 1993.
Sandip: Sounds fun! Growing up, would your parents say your current career choice was pretty obvious given your hobbies or what you were good at?
Draplin: Yeah. I grew up drawing and painting and making things. Adventure People, Legos, Star Wars, baseball, football and riding bikes. Basic Midwestern American childhood stuff, but with an eye for the strangely modern quality of a set of Legos.
Sandip: What was your first job in “design”?
Draplin: I built advertisements at a little Nickel Ads paper in Central Oregon. Ads for rancher’s trailers and car lots. Learned Pagemaker! That was 1995 for a couple months.
“Staying frugal, working hard and being accommodating to clients. Those are the basics! Time-tested!”
Sandip: You design, illustrate, write, run a studio, help with Field Notes, and travel the US for talks. How do you do it all?
Draplin: I work my ass off. And don’t get mired down in excuses and all that. It’s up to me to pull it off, and that takes hard work. And I put in the time.
Sandip: If you had to pick, what would you say you’re the best at?
Draplin: When I think about it, I guess taking a client’s feedback and quickly implementing it, to show them what they were asking for, and, some new twists. Basically, giving them a tiny little taste of how infinite this stuff can be, and how down I am to work hard for them.
Sandip: What would you say you enjoy the most?
Draplin: Cashing checks sure is fun! But I’d say, having some tunes on and working on a logo. That’s the good stuff. Can’t get enough of it.
Sandip: What would you say you enjoy the least?
Draplin: Doing taxes at tax time. The worst. I have to drag myself to it each year. Excruciating, and equally terrifying.
Sandip: You’ve been in business for over 13 years, that’s impressive! What are some things you believe have helped in the success of staying in business and growing? How have you weathered the ups and downs that come with running a business?
Draplin: Staying frugal, working hard and being accommodating to clients. Those are the basics! Time-tested!
“I was ready for anything. And man, I hustled. That’s how I got ahead!”
Sandip: You’ve worked on all sorts of projects and for big clients and small. What would you say are some common threads for all of those projects to be successful?
Draplin: Being a good listener, over-exceeding expectations and keeping things fun. Just like in life.
Sandip: You’ve got experience working at agencies and running your own studio. What was the hardest thing about making the switch? Do you have a preference?
Draplin: Getting work, of course. But before I made the leap, I made sure I had money in the bank. Around $10,000. And, budding clients who were starting little brands. But most importantly, the ability to take on any client and do what it took to do a good job. I was ready for anything. And man, I hustled. That’s how I got ahead!
Sandip: Do you miss anything about working at an agency?
Draplin: Maybe having an account manager? But then again, maybe not. I didn’t like pretending. In meetings or whatever. Felt fake, just to get a paycheck, and it ate at me.
Sandip: What’s the hardest part of running your own studio?
Draplin: Tax bullshit. Completely heartbreaking stuff. But I do it each year and take it on the chin, trying to remain proud and thankful.
Sandip: What’s the best part of running your own studio?
Draplin: Not being around people you hate.
Sandip: Field Notes. Love em, everyone uses them. What made you create them? Tell us the whole story.
Draplin: Thanks man! I just couldn’t find ones I liked in the world, so I made my own. This in about 2004 or 2005. And then I started to give those to friends, then Jim Coudal in Chicago, and then it exploded when he started building it into a real brand. I owe a big debt to Jim Coudal for taking me on (thanks, buddy)! We’ve been shipping for ten years and still going strong!
Sandip: When new editions of Field Notes become available, what was the process of making those? How do they come to fruition?
Draplin: Between the two headquarters in Chicago and Portland, we just share ideas. If someone hits something big, then cool, we go with it. We collaborate on files and writing and colors. Sometimes I’m way too involved and other times they’ll blow my mind with something I never saw coming. I love how it works and am so thankful for the process we share. And of course, thankful to the folks who buy them!
“We’ve been shipping for ten years and still going strong!”
Sandip: Have any mentors that helped you along the way?
Draplin: Chuck Anderson from CSA Design Minneapolis. Andy Cruz from House Industries. Chip Kidd.
Sandip: What’s been your favorite project to date? Why?
Draplin: Working on the ARRA logo
Sandip: People might not know this about you, but you’re kind of a big deal on the speaker circuit. How did that all start? Do you recall your first talk? Were you nervous?
Draplin: I did my first talk in DesignCamp in upstate Minnesota in 2009, and it was a bit terrifying. I just sort of went for it. Once I got past the “choking” part, it got fun. And that was just that first time. Seven years and some 330 shows later, we’re still at it. Getting ready to do another 20-plus shows on our upcoming fall tour!
Sandip: For all the people at home, explain what “junking” is and why it’s so important to you?
Draplin: Junking is going to antique malls, flea markets, yard sales and auctions. Basically, "places where dead people's stuff" might show up. Ghosts and all. And I love the randomness of it, and the wealth of typography, form and color. Basically, it's all for the taking, and in an Internet world that has turned us into fidgety lemmings, there's just something incredible about being surprised by some of the shit you'll see out there. Crucial stuff.
Sandip: The official DDC book. It’s massive and well done (also has a tiny mention of us in the back, thanks for that), what was the process of writing that like?
Draplin: It was fun as hell. I mean, it’s one thing to do it on a blog simply for the love of it. To do it with a goal in mind? It was awesome. Plus, it was this juicy walk down memory lane. That was fun as hell and surreal.
Sandip: What made you want to do a book?
Draplin: My first reaction was to recoil. Remember, they approached me. Making a book wasn’t on my list of “things to accomplish”…I was more concerned with “feeling free” and “enjoying the work” as pursuits. When they offered it to me, it was scary. I was so honored. So, I just sort of went for it. So proud I did. I love it and we’ve sold a SHITWHACK of the things! Somewhere around 38,000 to date!!!
Sandip: Amazing. How long has this all been in the making?
Draplin: I got the call in November of 2014, signed the contract in the Spring of 2015, started writing and designing it in June of 2015, handed it off in October of 2015 and it came out on May 17, 2016. So, a good year or so. But really, about three months of hammering on the writing and design. Harrowing shit!
Sandip: You have a self-professed love of thick lines, clean type, logos that stand the test of time. What are some of your favorite brands and some of your favorite designers (can be new or old)?
Draplin: Brands: Heller, Kartell, Dansk, Crayonne. Danish furniture. Favorite Designers: Saul Bass, Paul Rand, Massimo Vignelli, Herb Lubalin, Eliot Noyes, Milton Glaser, Lester Beall, Josef Müller-Brockman and Otl Aicher.
Sandip: Do you have a person, place or thing that inspires you? If you’re feeling in a creative rut, what’s something you do to help pull you out?
Draplin: It shifts. Might be Cornell West or Neil Degrasse Tyson or Geoff McFetridge or Barack Obama or Amy Schumer or Jay Farrar or John Hodgman or Wayne Coyne or whoever’s on my radar. I like seeing people doing cool things and on their own terms. There’s magic to be had there.
Sandip: You’re in Portland, Oregon, what do you love most about living in Portlandia?
Draplin: The like-minded quality of its residents. People like to slam it and call it “living in a Liberal bubble.” And for the life of me, what’s bad about that? You aren’t gonna find people here voting for that piece of shit, Trump. Fuck that guy.
Sandip: Do you have a favorite book or podcast (or both)?
Draplin: My favorite book is “Papillon” by Henri Charriere. And for a podcast, it’s Marc Maron’s “What The Fuck.”
Sandip: What are you listening to? Do you have a favorite artist or band?
Draplin: I always have records on. Here’s my latest list, more or less:
01. John Moreland — Big Bad Luv
02. The Posies — The Best of The Posies
03. Afghan Whigs — In Spades
04. Craig Finn — We All Want The Same Things
05. Japandroids — Celebration Rock
06. Yes — Fragile
07. Matthew Sweet — Girlfriend
08. Anvil — Metal On Metal
09. Mastodon — Emperor of Sand
10. Peter Sarstedt — The Lost Album
11. Windhand — Grief’s Infernal Flower
12. Ryan Adams — Prisoner
13. The Del-Vetts — The Del-Vetts
14. Holy Sons — In The Garden
15. Son Volt — Notes of Blue
16. Richmond Fontaine — You Can’t Go Back If There’s Nothing To Go Back To
17. Belle Adair — Tuscumbia
18. Bash & Pop — Anything Could Happen
19. Flaming Lips — Oczy Mlody
20. Beach Slang — A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
21. Beach Slang — Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? — EP
22. Beach Slang — Cheap Thrills On a Dead End Street — EP
23. Beach Slang — The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
24. Heatmiser — Cop and Speeder
25. Düngen — Häxan
26. Car Seat Headrest — Teens Of Denial
27. Mount Eerie — Clear Moon
28. Mount Eerie — Wind’s Poem
29. Lambchop — FLOTUS
30. Dinosaur Jr — Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
31. Red Fang — Only Ghosts
32. Wilco — Schmilco
33. Bon Iver — 22, A Million
34. The Buckinghams — Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (A Collection)
35. Drive-By Truckers — American Band
36. Crosby, Stills & Nash — CSN
37. Morgan Delt — Phase Zero
38. Phones — Echo In Time
39. Black Sabbath — Sabotage
40. Black Sabbath — Never Say Die!
41. Shins — Heartworms
42. Temples — Volcano
Sandip: Holy smokes…that’s quite the list buddy! Do you have any daily morning or evening routines? Something you do almost daily?
Draplin: Drive down to work. Play guitar. Take a spin through Reddit weirdness. Clean up the shop. Watch a little tube.
Sandip: The very last question. Do you ever think about your legacy? What sort of dent do you hope to make in the universe when this is all said and done?
Draplin: Deep buddy! Hopefully people dig the sensibility of my work. Simple or complex, both done with confidence and a little bit of swagger. Legacy? I need to keep my bills paid and am so proud to have done that so far with a life in design. Plus, I hope people thought I was a good person along the way. Sure, I’m an animal, but I try to be a nice guy to all the people I meet, roll up my sleeves for or hang out with. Trying!
Thanks 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 Aaron Draplin for taking the time to chat with us (and hanging with us while he was recently in OKC)! You can see more of his work over at the DDC. You can also follow Aaron on Twitter and Instagram.
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