Interview – 01.06.2022
M.Giesser
M.Giesser is a communication design practice based in Melbourne focussed primarily on visual identity. He’s been working with creative organisations and individuals for the last 20 years across Canada, The Netherlands and Australia, both independently and with a number of highly regarded design studios.
PM—Hi Mike, how are you doing?
MG—I’m very well thank you! A bit peckish and mildly hungover but these qualities are to be expected on a Saturday morning...
PM—I want to start by saying your IG stories are very entertaining. Have you gone bush mate?
MG—Thank you! I try, I mean, I know it sounds horrendously cheesy but is there any greater pleasure in life than putting a smile on someone’s face? Haha, yes, v bush… I left Melbourne last September and moved to a small coastal town on the Mornington Peninsula... I feel like it’s the best of both worlds here with a bit of bush and a bit of beach, both in super close proximity. Across the road from my house is an estuary/nature reserve which has about 5km of walking tracks so I spend a lot of time there. The downside is taking public transport to Melbourne, which takes about 2.5hrs 😖
PM—Cool, I might need to go for a hike with you at some point. How did your design studio come about?
MG—I’d been working in various studios for 15 years and felt that I’d probably done all that I could in that scenario… Things were also getting to a burnout point where I couldn’t manage both the studio workload and the freelance workload so I had to choose… I felt the time was right to do my own thing and there seemed to be enough work so I took the leap…
What would you rather own: A pet pig with better typographic skills than yourself or a South American parrot who can help with your mixtapes?
MG—Haha... The typesetting pig for sure... Frankly, I’d chew off my left arm for a typesetting pig that liked to have a drink and didn’t mind a bit of admin...
PM—What’s your studio’s purpose?
MG—Well, now it’s to find a typesetting pig... Previously it was more about creating simple and honest work with small-to-medium sized clients in the creative services sector. I’ve always believed strongly in the idea of an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Because it’s just me and I work from home in a very unglamorous studio, I have very little overhead. That means I can offer the same level of quality and service that larger studios can, for a lot less. It’s not about undercutting anyone or trying to stuff up the industry, I just charge what I consider to be fair and reasonable rates that are commensurate with the task at hand. There’s no bullshit here, there are no layers of “client management” I do everything, so as a client, you’re stuck with me. I try to work with clients who operate in a similar manner so I’m engaging directly with the owner/director/decision-maker. All of this is about enabling smaller clients to get the kind of outcomes they normally wouldn’t be able to afford.
PM—Do you have a particular style you like to incorporate into your work?
MG—I try and avoid styles as such but I definitely have a consistent approach to design. I guess from a formal perspective my work is pretty refined and generally reductive, but I don’t think I’m a minimalist, I just try not to overwork things too much. I think there’s a sweet spot between slick and clumsy that I gravitate towards, which is probably an apt reflection of my mentality. Ultimately I never want anything to feel too designed. Considered, yes, but it has to maintain a sense of honesty, warmth and humanity. That sensibility can sometimes come from things like colour, type choice or scale, other times it’s more about language and tone of voice, occasionally it’s imagery that accomplishes this. Personally, I’m always more drawn to brands that feel unbranded and that possibly comes through in my work as well…
PM—You can tell a lot about someone's personality through their taste in music. What tunes have you got on rotation at the moment? Any playlists you can recommend for all the designers out there?
MG—Absolutely agree... Well, I’m a bit all over the place musically and also tend to work in silence most of the time... I thought about this other day and realised that I could only have this luxury of working in silence because there was nobody else around me. No ringing phones (half the time I’m not even sure where my mobile is), there are no wingeing staff members or catty whispers in a corner, no account managers on the phone with clients, no creative director devouring an apple two feet away from my ear... The biggest distraction I have are the magpies that frequently walk in and scream at me for some nuts…
When I do put music on in the studio it’s reflective of me being a child of the 80s and 90s who grew up listening to hip hop, new wave, alt rock, post punk and who spent a lot of time at raves, chewing his face off… My record collection is pretty diverse but predominantly comprised of 90s hip hop, funk, soul and jazz along with a lot of downtempo electronica. Occasionally I put on classical music but I can only get through about 5 minutes before I’m overcome with feeling like a dickhead who’s trying to be something that he’s not...
I haven’t really gotten into Spotify (I’m assuming that’s where I’d find playlists?) or the whole online streaming situation… I work offline for as long as possible during the day… I’m also somewhat weary of “the cloud”… Not sure why? Probably because I’m old and the idea of not having something on my hard-drive freaks me out…
PM—I’ve heard your Soundcloud mixes. How did this come about?
MG—I’ve been DJ’ing and making mixes since I was about 16 so it’s long been a part of my life... How big of a part is constantly in flux and changes according to how much time I have... These days it’s not much but I still download music every day and I try to make a mix every month or two. I see the mixes as timestamps more than anything, they’re literally just what I like the most out of the thousand or so tracks I’ve downloaded in that particular period of time. I walk a lot, at least an hour every day so the mixes are my soundtrack… I like something that has enough tempo to keep my walking pace up, while being atmospheric enough to let my mind wander… When I listen to older mixes I’m always taken back to the different places where they were recorded, the seasons in which they were made and originally listened to heavily. I’m not really a sentimental person, but I do like using these mixes as a way to recall certain periods of my life.
PM—Your cover art designs are so fresh. Is this an excuse to experiment with new design techniques?
MG—Thank you! Yeah, kinda... I mean, I never put much thought or energy into them so it’s very much just what takes my fancy at the moment. I always flip back and forth with wanting to “template” them but then I get bored of it and do something else.
PM—How do you find running the studio solo, and would you recommend it?
MG—It’s a challenge, but, I reckon it’s a far greater challenge to run a studio with more than four people. Simply due to the human factor, you have all the different personalities and egos to manage, not to mention the more mouths you have to feed, the more work you have to take on. This can become a self-perpetuating problem where eventually you lose intimacy with your own practice and you’re also having to take on work that you never imagined you’d take on, just to pay the bills and salaries. So to me, being a sole practitioner seems much easier.
My biggest challenge has always been time management. You have to be insanely organised and disciplined, often I have to plan every hour of my day to make sure I can get through it all. Sometimes that sucks when you’re in “the zone” with a project and you need to move on to something else that’s just as urgent but it’s just how it is. I try and avoid those scenarios as much as possible but it’s inevitable. Things are far more manageable now, I understand how many projects I can take on at once, and I’m much better at knowing how long things will take so it’s not as stressful as it was during the first few years. That said, I still work 12-hour days, six days a week, so I think you need to be prepared to work.
As for recommending it – yes, indeed! It’s obviously not for everyone, I reckon most of the designers I know, they really value working as part of a team. I’ve just never been one of those, I mean, the teams I enjoy the most are the ones I form with my clients.
“FRANKLY, I’D CHEW OFF MY LEFT ARM FOR A TYPESETTING PIG THAT LIKED TO HAVE A DRINK AND DIDN’T MIND A BIT OF ADMIN...”
PM—Well said… let’s talk about studio culture. You’ve worked for hugely respected studios, so how would you define a great studio culture?
MG—That’s a tough one. In many ways I think if I had ever found one that truly sustained great culture then I’d probably still be there. To be honest, unless you’re working with a small, tight-knit group of people that you’re already mates with, I feel the idea is probably somewhat unattainable, particularly in larger studios. Many studios might look great from the outside but when you start to poke and prod a bit, it doesn’t take long before the cracks start to surface.
Having people from different backgrounds who have different beliefs and perspectives and a different set of life experiences can 100% make for more interesting output and place to work but I think the critically important thing is to have alignment in values and be on the same page with your colleagues and the directors, at least in terms of the studio vision. You kinda all have to be working towards the same objectives and the larger the studio, the more impossible this is. I think many designers do see themselves ultimately running their own studio/practice eventually so all these experiences leading up to that point are merely stepping stones. In my mind it’s hard to sustain a great culture when the people that are there, are essentially just passing through.
I think the key to great studio culture is that you have to understand it doesn’t just happen, I mean, it might, for a period of time, but you have to work hard to maintain it. It requires more than occasionally treating your staff to something special to show your appreciation and/or to make up for the fact that you’ve possibly thrown them under the bus far too many times in the last month. It’s about finding practical ways to do that every single day. Less free lunches, booze, waterslides or music blasting through the office, more respect, more truly putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and thinking about how your actions make people feel. Ultimately everyone in the studio contributes to the culture but it is something that starts at the top, and the people steering the studio are fundamentally in control of.
PM—I tend to agree mate. Any cringe stories to share? Any unique experiences working from studio to studio?
MG—A gentleman never cringes and tells!
PM—Fair enough 😆… what’s one lesson you've learnt running your design studio?
MG—“Work hard & be nice to people.” – Anthony Burrill
There will always be a better designer than you, but the reason why a client will choose to work with you again and/or recommend you comes down to the experience they had with you. It’s simple. If they enjoyed the process, love the outcome, were treated with respect, felt that you listened to them and that you really cared about their project, then that will always result in repeat business and referrals.
PM—If you could completely change your profession, what would it be?
MG—Archeology.
PM—A lot of designers ask me how to find branding projects. What have you found works for you?
MG—Just wake up everyday... Sorry, that sounds arrogant, but so far I’ve been very lucky, I’ve never had to look for work. That said, I have quite consciously focussed on working within certain sectors which naturally results in building competency in that area and eventually it becomes something you’re recognised for and then hopefully become top of mind for any client in that sector looking for a designer. The more schizophrenic your body of work is, the harder it is for a potential client to understand who you are, what you’re good at and what you’re passionate about.
ATM I reckon 75% of my projects either come from referrals or repeat business from a client I’ve worked with previously. The rest comes from my website (lol) and social media. Instagram has been something I started to take relatively seriously a few years ago… As a new business tool, it’s worth it, even if 90% of the enquiries amount to nothing, managing that stuff doesn’t take much time or energy.
PM—Do you have a design process when approaching a new project?
MG—Yes, well, there are a few different processes that depend on what the project is but 90% of the time with a full branding or brand refresh project it’s more or less as follows –
Stage 1 – This initial discovery stage is about gaining a clear understanding of the clients objectives in terms of their business and also with the brand. Together we uncover their purpose, vision, values and personality, as well as gain clarity around their 2 and 5 year goals. We take a look at the other businesses/individuals who make up their competitive landscape and also examine future aspirations in order to understand where their unique place is.
In a nutshell, I send the client a bunch of questions, they answer them, then we workshop the responses in greater detail, I record the conversation and then move to —
Stage 2 – This is about taking the information and insight gathered in stage 1 and turning that into a clients DNA. Once I have a clear understanding of their essence and aspirations then I can start distilling things into clear brand definitions. This stage results in a "brand DNA" document, as for me, this stage is less about “brand strategy” (since the term makes me cringe) in the conventional sense and more about creating a unique and informed blueprint for each client/project that lays the foundation for all the visual and verbal outcomes. So, after that document is approved we move into —
Stage 3 – This stage involves taking the approved brand DNA and exploring ways to translate and articulate this narrative into visual identity and communications. I usually develop two concepts that are ideally quite different while still appropriate and inline with the vision, values and personality traits. I tend to start each concept by breaking down (I’d say “unpacking” but that also makes me cringe) the conceptual and visual elements, presenting each item on its own, so things like the logo, colour palette, typography, imagery, graphic treatments, messaging/copywriting, etc and then I show how everything comes together across the required deliverables. Following the presentation the client chooses one conceptual direction (often we combine elements from both concepts) and they provide comments for me to refine the identity (Stage 4) for final approval.
Once everyone is happy with the design concepts, we finalise it all in —
Stage 5 – This is where I implement all of the required materials.
PM—Do you take on work that's not aligned with your purpose?
MG—I try and avoid it as much as possible and thankfully I don’t think I’ve had any in the last couple years that really kept me up at night. Either that or I’ve wiped them from my memory!
PM—What's the most extensive f@#k up you've made to date? What was the outcome?
MG—This is a juicy question... I reckon the worst was when I was at Studio Round – I had just sent a book off to print and during a round of minor text corrections that came in after we got the proofs back, something went awry with a couple of linked text boxes that I didn’t notice and instead of sending the small changes back to the client for approval (I was under the pump to get the revised artwork out the door) I just sent it back to the printer. In a nutshell, it was a big mistake, so much so that they actually had to manually cut out and tip in a new page to a couple thousand books. I can’t remember how much the whole debacle cost and who paid for it, but it definitely hammered home the importance of always having the client sign off on something, anything, everything. Mistakes happen all the time, you just can’t be the one paying for them.
“THE MORE SCHIZOPHRENIC YOUR BODY OF WORK IS, THE HARDER IT IS FOR A POTENTIAL CLIENT TO UNDERSTAND WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT AND WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT.”
