From the first moment I met today’s interviewee, I looked up to him (keep reading and you will know why). Since that time, besides being someone I look up to, Stefan has become someone I deeply respect. He is a teacher, author, great speaker, excellent kisser, creative shaman and a fellow cinephile. Spend a few minutes to get to know our friend and also check out his books if you need some creative kick starts (in the pants).

1: Where do you exist most of your day?
At the evil lair of Reign, my creative shop. We’re in Kansas City, MO on the 3rd floor of a hundred-year-old, 3-story brick building in the Crossroads Arts District. Our studio is directly above Bazillion Pictures, a killer animation studio. My office, in particular, is directly above the sound designer’s booth, so most of the day I get the thump. Helps me keep my groove.

2: Tell us about where you work?
Reign is technically an ad agency. I say “technically” because the core of what we do is campaign work and falls in the campfire of advertising but our particular brand of advertising has always been a bit twisted. We believe heavily in story, so much of what we do follows a particular narrative in one way or another. We create stories for the brands we serve, then we tell the bajesus out of it.

3: What is your favorite type of work to do?
I love the beginning of anything. I’m a serial starter, I love to begin any creative process. I enjoy the finish, too, but not nearly as much as the start. The start has all the great things packed into it; the ideation, the thinking, the possibility, the hope, the chance, the exploration, the finding, the searching, the discovery, the failure… It’s made up of the best of me.

But if you’re talking mediums, I’ll take long-form branded content 100 out of 100 times.

4: What is your actual height minus the shoes and afro?
I’m 6’3”, with the afro 6’9”… Oh, wait… That’s Fletch. No, I’m 6’8” all the time. The mark on the very top of my oversized melon would suggest I’m actually 6’8.25” tall, as most standard doorframes are 6’8” exactly. A fact I can defend painfully. Read the rest of the entry >

The next interview I’ve been excited about for some time now, even though it came with a fair amount of whining from our special guests (because it was 29 questions instead of five, and it wasn’t a video blog). I’m pleased to introduce to you my good friends and fellow designers, parents, wisecrackers, educators, authors and flat out smart and great peeps, Jenn and Ken Visocky O’Grady. I have been their inspired fan for many years and love their view on education. Their books (both of which I think you all should have in your library – read on for more) should be required reading for all designers. So take a few minutes to read a great interview and get to know an amazing couple.

1: Do you know your first names rhyme?
Jennifer and Kenneth rhyme?

2: How did you two meet?
KEN: When I was a Junior there were these two graduate students that would run crits an advanced class we all had to take. The class was hard. We would work on projects with a two week turn-around time and minimal feedback from the Professor. Then we’d all walk in, pin up our stuff, and get shredded to pieces by these two grad students. A few weeks in they started showing up drunk. The feedback was even less constructive. Students would cry. And then they disappeared. A few weeks after that Jenn was the new grad student running the crits. She still tore us to shreds but at least she was constructive and sober. Everyone would tell me after class that the grad student was checking me out. At the end of the semester I rolled out my best line in the hallway and said “Uh… Do you have any gum?” Yep. She married me.

JENN: I have plausible deniability on checking out Ken in class. He simply lit a project on fire (I kid you not, it involved flash paper—hot stuff), and that caught my attention. I can, however, confirm that his best line was “Do you have any gum.”

3: Where do each of you teach?
KEN: Kent State University
JENN: Cleveland State University

4: What are the strengths of each of your schools?
KEN: There are a few: Kent’s VCD program is huge — Over 400 majors. We have a considerable amount of full time faculty so students are often working with full-time faculty every semester as opposed to only adjuncts. We also have a great pool of graduate students assisting with and teaching classes. That makes for a lot of smart people, who know the program inside and out, there to help students find their way through. We’re also our own school and we’re in the College of Communication and Information instead of the being a part of the School of Art. I think that this is going to give us more opportunity as we grow to look at design from more than a form making perspective.

JENN: I see Cleveland State’s biggest strength in its diversity. Our design program is housed within the Department of Art, and is small–a concentration of a studio art major. But our classes are rich with differing student experience. I’d say in any given semester, in a class of 20, I have at least two or three students who weren’t born in the United States. If design is a both a reflection and shaper of popular culture, what happens when our cultural backgrounds aren’t homogenized? In any random semester, working on a group project, I might have a student from Azerbaijan, a student who matriculated through the Cleveland Public School system, and a person in their 50s who is switching careers. That diversity opens our eyes wider, and makes our imagining bigger. Read the rest of the entry >

Interview 20 is with creative pal Von Glitschka. I met Von a couple years ago at the Boston HOW Conference while having lunch with mutual buddy Scott Hull. We soon found lots of things in common and I have enjoyed getting to know Von, watching his work, and cracking up at his blog posts and tweets. I respect him as a person, treasure our friendship, and love that his work and illustration is inspiring. In fact, we are going on an adventure soon by working together on a documentary for Life In Abundance in the slums of Kenya, but that is a post for another day. Until then, enjoy getting to know The Vonster™.

1: Where are you Vonster?
Most often you can find me hovering some where in between slightly abnormal and creative lunacy. Most commonly referred to as Oregon geographically.

2: When did you know what an illustrator was?
I suppose I should clarify that I think of myself as a designer first and an illustrator second. The vast majority of what I do illustratively is in the greater context of a design oriented project. This is why I refer to myself as an “Illustrative Designer.” I leverage both skill sets in nearly every project I work on.

But my first inclination of what an illustrator was could loosely be pinpointed around the age of 9 when I first discovered MAD magazine. Understood it clearly when I went to art school in 1986. Never really officially considered myself fitting that category until around 1996. Read the rest of the entry >

Work environments have always been important to me. Not only the ones I work in, but also the ones I work with. When I met Don Jastrebski a few years ago he really helped me understand the importance of culture in regards to hiring, managing and working with clients. He literally changed the way I (and Rule29) look at business and how we work with people. Culture is definitely king. I will say without hesitation if you don’t understand culture you need to; it will change the way you operate. He has never been wrong when it comes to culture, which is why we affectionately call him Dr. Don, the culture king. Hopefully this interview will give you a little insight. His materials are currently being updated, but in the interim for more info go to the in3 site. Also if you have questions, comment below, Dr. Don will be happy to respond.

1. Don, in 29 words or less, what exactly to you do?
I help companies perform better by aligning their people component. People are a fixed cost. Optimal return on fixed & capital costs is realized by fitting people & programs to culture. Read the rest of the entry >

Several years ago I met Stefan at a How Conference, actually we were taking part in a design game show put on by Print Magazine modeled in the Iron Chef fashion – pics here. I enjoyed getting to know my design pal and, like most of you, enjoyed watching his monsters slowly develop over time – whether it was through his daily birthing of monsters, his great monster book (or other books), or just watching how they have became more and more a part of his work. My fellow Humble Pied amigo is always great to chat with and talk “shop”. Please enjoy this latest installment of 29 Questions.

1: Where do you hail from originally?

Hannover, Germany

2: If you had to work for someone or some organization, who would it be?

NASA

3: Other then design, what is your secret dream profession?

Bruce Springsteen Read the rest of the entry >