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Matteo Astolfi
www.teoasto.it
Born in the fabulous 70s,
after a happy childhood
in Santarcangelo di
Romagna, he moved to
the grey and ugly Milan
to study Industrial
Design at the Politecnico,
giving up a probable
career in professional
baseball. After some
funny-hard-crazy years
full of
negroni
in the city
of design, he received
his degree and started
working as a visual
designer for Domus
Academy, then for
Leftloft and as teaching
assistant. Meanwhile,
Matteo kept interest
alive with freelance and
self-initiated projects.
During these years
he discovered the
world of infographics
for newspapers and
magazines developing
a healthy interest in
this field. Nevertheless,
during all this time
photography grew
preponderant in his
interests and made him
relocate to Barcelona
to move his first steps
as a professional.
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571 WEAR A CAP. A cap has a catalyzing
power; it makes your brain warm and
doesn’t let the ideas fl y away through
your hair! Use it to catch all that passes
through your mind. In less metaphorical
terms: don’t throw away anything and try
to connect things even if they belong to
different fi elds. A cap helps to think, and
keeps you concentrated on the brief. When
you’re ready, take it off and try to reduce
and concretize into your project all the
abstractions your brain produced.
572 T
AKE A REST. Sometimes we need
to rest to let our brain reorganize all the
material we put in the cap (see previous
tip!). So, take a siesta, sleep half an hour,
or if you can’t do it take a walk on the beach
or in an open space where your eyes can
follow the line of horizon. You’ll see how it’s
healthy and productive in the long run.
573 T
URN IT OFF! Never start a project in
front of a computer screen! No way. Turn it
off and just start “analogically” thinking.
574 D
ON’T GO FOR ORIGINALITY AT ALL COSTS.
As Jim Jarmush says: “Nothing is original.”
Steal from anywhere that resonates with
inspiration or fuels your imagination.
Devour old fi lms, new fi lms, music, books,
paintings, photographs, poems, dreams,
random conversations, architecture,
bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies
of water, light, and shadows. Select only
things to steal from that speak directly to
your soul. If you do this, your work (and
theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is
invaluable; originality is non-existent. And
don’t bother concealing your thievery—
celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case,
always remember what Jean-Luc Godard
said: “It’s not where you take things from—
it’s where you take them to.”
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580
T
HINK IN SUBTRACTION. Most of the time
designers add things on things,
visually and conceptually—even
when they have concepts. My
opinion is that we should proceed
in a different (opposite) way:
subtracting. Simplify and try to
focus on the message, but that
doesn’t mean being explicit—try
to communicate directly in a
symbolic way.
575 BE BRAVE. Listening to advice or
other’s opinions is always a good habit, but
remember that you are the only master of
your work and if you want it to be authentic
and coherent you have to make your own
decisions. Otherwise you will feel like it
doesn’t belong to your sensibility and style.
576 E
VERYBODY IS A VISUAL DESIGNER.
Compromises with clients are the daily
grind; everybody feels that they can do our
job and tell us which color or font to use.
So, defend your professionalism! If you’re
weak on these aspects, go take a course in
dialectics in Athens or get a Doberman!
577 C
OHERENCE/INCOHERENCE. Being
coherent is important.. but incoherence also
plays a role. Disaccording elements can at
times give life to a project.
578 L
ESS AESTHETICS, MORE ETHICS
*
. Don’t
be boring and self-indulgent. Graphic design
is important, it’s everywhere. So use it well,
do it well.
*
This was the claim of the 2000 Venice
Architecture Biennale.
579 T
ABULA RASA. If you take a way and
then notice, after some work, it isn’t the
right one, don’t keep going on with it. Don’t
be stubborn. Throw your sketch into the
trash and start with a new blank one ready
to be fi lled with good ideas.
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194 1,000 Ideas by 100 Graphic Designers
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581
Have the big picture clear. In the
words of King Solomon, “There’s
nothing new under the sun.”
Designers have the challenge of
expressing the same age-old ideas
or products in a new and exciting
way. There will always be fads, but
they evolve into something new. A
style may be re-visited, but it’s going
to have a twist on it the second time
around. One thing that will never die
out is good typography; from the
Book
of Kells
to
GQ
, elegant and expressive
type will always be prevalent.
582 DON’T FORCE YOURSELF TO DESIGN.
Generally listen to music and drive
around, usually ending up sitting in
the aisle of a bookstore with a stack
of design books. If I feel too forced to
design, I get a mental block.
583 K
EYWORDS + SKETCHES. I always
start with a list of keywords and
branch it off as far as I can, then I
begin to sketch things out.
584 Y
OU HAVE TO RESEARCH! You
can’t expect to create smart design
if you don’t fully understand the
topic. Knowing a product’s origins,
defi nitions, and history gives you a
whole new set of keywords to play
off of. For instance, with my Smart
Design posters, I came to learn that
SCAD (the acronym for the college)
means a large quantity of something,
as well as a type of fi sh. It was
through that bit of information that
the whole series was developed.
585 C
OLD CALL. The key is to keep
the phone call under a minute—just
be nice and ask if you can send along
an e-mail with more information. The
hard part is not pushing too hard. If
you’re friendly, they’ll say yes out of
courtesy at least, then may end up
calling you back after all!
586 D
ON’T EVER SELL YOURSELF
SHORT, AND PLEASE DON’T DO SPEC WORK!
Try to work with people who don’t
underestimate the power of good
design. If you have to convince a
client that a logo cannot be made
for under $250, then you’re going to
have a very tough relationship. We’re
providing them with a visual voice,
which is crucial for the survival of
their business. We’re designers, not
items for bid on eBay.
587 A
LWAYS BE FRIENDLY. Design is
about connecting with people on an
emotional level. If you can’t do that in
everyday life, how can you expect to
do that in your design?
588 E
SCAPE IN MUSIC AND FILM. I fi nd
music to be vital to my creativity. I like
to listen to things that go along with
the feeling of the project I’m working
on so I listen to a little of everything.
I also love “escaping” in movies—it
puts me in the mind of someone else
and always seems to spark an idea
for me.
589 G
O OLD SCHOOL. I use pencil
and paper—it works fi ne for me!
590 F
OLLOW AND PRINT. Always
follow your project. If my name is
affi xed to it, I have to make certain
that everything is as it was intended.
I’ve always enjoyed working with
Brunner Printing in Memphis,
Tennessee.
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