UPSTNY Member Interview | Sara Tack

SVP of Image & Identity for Wanderlust and Principal Artist for Smith & Jones

What prompted you to start your own design studio?
The decision to start my own studio was fairly fortuitous—the result of a turn of events over a four year period, paths put in front of me by happenstance, and the choices I made at any of those given moments in time. I wish I could say that I planned it all, but it was really a matter of just going with the flow. If you have the time here is the brief history:

After graduating from Purchase College I landed a job as design assistant to Swiss designer, Fred Troller, in Rye, NY. (google Fred—he was part of a group of national and international designers in the 70’s who shaped corporate America.) I never applied for this job. I was recommended for it by the head of the design department at Purchase. A portfolio review was scheduled and I started work the Monday after graduation.

My decision to leave Fred’s studio was a result of my housemates moving to NYC and my boyfriend leaving for Albany to go to law school. Rather than moving with any of them, finding another place to live or getting new roommates, I took off for Europe for eight months. I was 23 and pretty impetuous. When I got back from Europe I chose the guy over NYC and moved ‘Upstate’. The 80’s recession was in full force. Jobs were scarce. (Sound familiar?) Not knowing the Albany market I was again recommended for a job. This time it came through a family friend who knew the owner of one of many, now defunct, studios in Schenectady, that had grown out of GE’s incessant need for visual communication materials. I had left Fred Troller’s with work for IBM in my portfolio. I hate to say it, but when I showed my book, that name brand opened up a lot of doors for me and got me jobs. During my one year tenure in Schenectady I honed my production skills, broke up with my boyfriend and met many of my art and design friends. Through their introductions and recommendations I got so much freelance work that I left my job. Some of my clients included the NYS Health Department, Metroland Magazine, and the Hamm-Brickman Gallery.

Within the year, I received a call from a man named Mark Shipley, a freelance advertising copywriter, who had just moved to Albany from NYC. He was looking for a designer to work with and had gotten my name from his roommate - an artist friend of mine. Mark, being more of a salesperson than I, actively went out and sought clients. We worked on a ton of business together, each out of our own apartments, for about six months. One day he called me up and said he thought we should combine our clients, get some office space and start an advertising agency. The rest is history. On April 1, 2010, Smith & Jones will celebrate its 25th anniversary. And recently within the past two years, with much planning and development, we started a second agency, Wanderlust, which specializes in marketing for travel and destination brands.

What inspires you?
That’s a big question. Here are my top three in no particular order.

1. My next design challenge. As long as I keep moving the finish line I’ll be inspired.
2. My students. Not only do they keep me fresh and up-to-date, but mentoring and inspiring someone else is pretty inspirational.
3. Here was my comment on inspiration from an AIGA Upstate NY blog post. View Post>>

What challenges do you feel female designers face in this field? As a designer, how do you address these challenges?
I am a feminist at heart, so I don’t believe female designers should shy away from opening their own firms or going for the top creative jobs. We are still competing with the old-boy network. A 2009 survey, found that 82 out of 101 art directors were male and 19 were female. View Presentation>>

Many women are forced to place their design career in competition with raising children. You could say this about any career I suppose. But design is a deadline driven business, not known for its 9-5 punch the clock hours. We work long days and late into the evening to make deadlines. It’s not easy to nurse a baby for six months to a year and work 10-12 hour days, no matter how supportive our partners are. Art directing a three day photoshoot, on location out of town, might be impossible for a young mother. We make decisions about taking on clients or projects hoping that the workload or deadline won’t interfere with our child’s school play or soccer tournament.

As a female designer, I address these challenges by giving back and supporting organizations that support women of all ages, races and economic backgrounds. For many years I’ve offered my design services to Planned Parenthood and most recently to GirlCare, either gratis or at reduced rates.

What would your top piece of advice be for a designer who is just getting started in the industry?
There are seven words you need to remove from your vocabulary:

just | simple | basic | like | you know | made

I spend a lot of time teaching my students how to present. Too often I hear the following statements:

“This is a ‘just’ a ‘simple’ brochure”. Well if it’s ‘just’ then why should I care? If it is ‘simple’ then why did I pay you so much to design it?

“This is a ‘basic’ logo”. If it is ‘basic’ then I’m not going to believe it is great.

“I ‘made’ this piece ‘like’ ‘you know’ one of those brochures you see in ‘like’ a rack.” Why use the word made when you can use the word design. Are you a maker or are you a designer? If you need to substitute a word for ‘design’ use ‘create’. It is the root for creativity.

‘Like you know’ - no I don’t know and what does ‘like you know’ mean? ‘Like a rack’ implies that it is something else other than a rack.
Listening to someone speak who inserts the word ‘like’ after every other word is grating. The presentation would sound more intelligent and convincing if your response was, “I chose to design the size of this brochure so it would fit into a standardized rack.”

Write one paragraph about your design rationale before you present. Writing will help you omit the seven deadly sin words from the presentation.

In what way does being a part of AIGA enhance your career being a designer?
While I love living ‘Upstate’, I’m too caught up in my own daily bubble and 18 minute commute. Getting any farther south than Poughkeepsie is a rarity. AIGA helps keep me informed and feeling connected to the design community at large, while providing a forum to connect with designers on the local level. It’s one of our best, all inclusive resources for design education, history, current debates and relevant issues surrounding our profession.

Posted by newyorkupstate in Member Interview | April 5, 2010