ON & BEYOND

I’ve been working closely with Dylan on a project for the passed couple of weeks. He’s truly an inspiring person to work around and converse with. His passion for what he does really shines through his commitment and dedication in completing a project from A to Z. I just felt it was necessary to present him to my readers. Give this a read, it was definitely one of the better Q&A’s I’ve had the privilege to concoct.

01. Ok, let’s start this off with a brief introduction: who you are, what you do, what brought you to do what you do?

My name is Dylan Adair and I was born, raised and currently live in Montreal, Canada. I’m a freelance graphic designer and my work deals primarily with logo design and brand identity development.

02. When exactly, did you know you wanted to go into design?

My mom is a painter and there was always art, photography and music around the house. At the end of the day, when it came time to decide what to do, it was pretty clear that I would end up in a creative field of some kind. I ended up in Fine Arts at Dawson and I knew right away that it was for me. I settled on graphic design while I was completing my Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Michigan and I haven’t looked back since.

03. Why did you come back to Montreal? why not stay in the States, in a bigger city like NY or LA where there is a stronger market for designers, especially forward thinking ones like yourself.

Good question, I often wonder the same thing. Let’s chalk it up to a combination of timing, logistics, politics and money. The three years I spent in Los Angeles were important ones and I had a blast while I was there. It was in LA that I got into the apparel industry and that ended up being my career path for the better part of 10 years. I think I followed the work because I felt that I had more to learn and it subsequently led me back here. I often wonder what would have happened had I stayed in LA; I guess second guessing is sometimes second nature. I think my friend Kris has the right philosophy: “Rip out the rearview mirror. What’s behind you is behind you and the road is up front”. He’s in finance though, so don’t trust him.

04. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like graphic design doesn’t even have steady a place in our quickly maturing industry, it’s like if anyone can be a designer by just putting a serif typeface and a few lines here & there…how does someone who’s been doing it for years like yourself, cope with the current situation?

Wow. I think there’s a greater cultural issue here than simply who can do what and how well they can do it. In college they didn’t let us near the computers for the first two years. We were still key-lining and drafting and drawing letters by hand. They wanted us to understand the mechanics behind the art form before we laid ourselves prostrate before the kingdom of Adobe. However, even given how valuable that experience was and despite my formal design education, I have still met people who are phenomenally talented who are 100% self-taught. I think the internet and massive advancements in design software have helped make that an easier thing to do, but I also don’t think that following the hottest 10 design blogs in your RSS feed constitutes an education in design. The bottom line is that we are still a good 200 years behind Europe in our aesthetics and our attitude toward good design and we need to catch up. The argument can be made that every person trying to make our lives better and more beautiful through design is helping move us forward. What doesn’t help is having the potential “value” of hiring a designer questioned by the guy whose nephew knows his way around Illustrator (and will do the work for free). I’m holding out for the possibility that every person that looks a little harder or takes a second longer to appreciate the time taken to make something better and more beautiful will benefit us all in the end.

05. What is SOMETIMES?

Sometimes™ is an ongoing project that I’m working on with Paul Labonté. It’s a vehicle to make things that we feel strongly about that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day. Imagine having the ability to purge and then produce a great idea within days of it coming to you as opposed to relegating it to the back pages of a Moleskine for months or – worse – forgetting it altogether. It’s incredibly liberating and a lot of fun.

06. I know you might be sick of talking about the Joy Division Nike‘s & NB‘s, but I’m still gonna ask; did you work directly with them or was it a personal project? What did they think and were there any plans of actually producing a minimum?

It’s amazing to think that it’s been 5 years since I made those fucking shoes. The (Nike) Blazers were a custom thing that I did for Sneaker Pimps when the show came through Montreal in 2005. It was purely an art project and an exercise in making a theme/tribute shoe. I love Joy Division, and I love those shoes. They are starting to yellow and discolour but I still love them. The New Balance versions were allegedly going to release in England through RAN UK who have a number of stores in the north. It would have been extremely limited I am sure, but honestly I have no clue why the project fell through. There could have been a hundred reasons at the time to not do it. I’m just sad New Order broke up.

07. Let’s talk a bit about menswear, I like to think you’re a pretty fashion forward guy. I myself am in love with 2 very specific things: outerwear & layers. What are your fall & winter jackets of CHOICE?

I love jackets. My go-to’s for Fall/Winter are a Barbour Beaufort in OD green and a grey wool Aquascutum Duffle for colder weather. I’m also trying to find a replacement for my vintage Swedish naval peacoat that I bought at a surplus store 7 years ago; It’s starting to look pretty thin in spots.

08. A brand that’s killing it right now? and why.

WP Lavori Group and their work in creating the Woolen Mills and John Rich & Bros ranges for Woolrich. I’m very happy about the return to heritage brands that is at the fore of menswear right now, but few are doing it as well as Woolrich. Although I think Daiki Suzuki did amazing things from jump, I am really excited about the potential that Mark Mcnairy could bring to the Woolrich experience. Hopefully the price points will be digestible enough for someone to bring it to the Montreal menswear market.

Honorable mention (and I stress the honour) goes to Benny Gold. I’m personally past the tee and fitted look at this point, but watching what BG has done in the past two years with his own brand is both exciting and inspirational. Young designers would do well to look long and hard at the way Benny works, starting with the humility and gratitude that proceeds his talent. The guy goes out of his way to thank the people that give him opportunities as well as the people that rock his gear. I think that’s classy as hell and – sadly – increasingly rare in this business.

His Portolio
His Blog

The following statement may strike as being rather austere, but it is inexorably true: it’s good to surround yourself with people who can help you somewhere down the line. Which is fitting because, I was lucky to have great people around me ever since I walked into the room. Guys like Paul made me want to be a photographer, and others like Jeremy made me aspire to be a graphic designer. Both were essential figures in my professional upbringing, making my arsenal of creative assets more versatile and compliant; picking up a camera when I was 16 and learning about the adobe family when I was 17. Which leads me to the matter at hand: the two colluded their specific fortes on a book, and I’m flattered to be the designated photographer of the book and its illustrated content.

The Books are now available Here And Here

Book One – Ice-T Shot Me In The Face & Eleven Other Stories Rap Music.

Forget reading that four line blog post about Lil Wayne for a minute, and direct your attention to the first book from
Toronto based freelance music journalist Luke Fox. This is perhaps the furthest thing from the inane, regurgitated
micro-posting that music writing has become, with 12 feature length stories centered on some of raps finest,
complete with subtle illustrations by Jeremy Wirth. Fox narrates up close and personal encounters with Kool G
Rap, Ghostface Killah, Nas, Kanye West, Common and more, capturing their personalities with a well informed wit and style.

After spending 10 years as a staff writer and editor for Pound Magazine, Fox stockpiled a wealth of interviews with
emcees, producers, and DJs, experience that shows in his fluid and confident writing. Ice-T Shot me in the Face
& Eleven Other Stories About Rap Music is first and foremost written by a fan, offering a refreshingly hearty
helping of edutainment, and a welcome departure from the new world of fast food music journalism.

Book Two – Turfizm: The Selected works of Jean “Turf One” Labourdette

In this handheld photo-essay featuring some of the imaginative creations of Turf One, Paul 107 presents a brief
portrait of the artist in a collection of beautiful, full color photographs. Turfizm: The Selected works of Jean “Turf
One” Labourdette, focuses on some of the intricate so-called “pop surrealist” works that reflect Turf’s acute
attention to character detail, and an almost playful fascination with life and death. The Sun Shines In: A few
days in the studio with Jean Labourdette, is a study of his creative process, offering a quiet look into the studio
environment where most of these elaborate works are created over time.

Since moving to Montreal from Paris in 2001, Jean “Turf One” Labourdette has become a quietly revered,
internationally known talent, evolving from his grafitti-based roots into a skillful and dedicated multidisciplinary
artist, currently concentrating on painting. This book is one of the many collaborations between Turf and writer/
photgrapher Paul Labonte and/or Paul 107, steeped in mutual respect and real friendship.

INTERVIEW with Paul Labonté

1. What is SecondHand projects, can we call it your official occupation?

The SecondHand Projects is my full-time side project. Answering the phone is my full time occupation.

2. Did you always know you wanted to work in print media? What sparked the interest ?

I wanted to be a morning man on the radio, then I wanted to make movies. Then it occurred to me that I really just want to tell stories that how I fell into all this stuff.

3. How did or did writing books and creating a publishing house transcend your love for photography or career as a photographer? In other words, do you enjoy one media as much as the other?

All those things are kind of separate in my mind. Writing and taking pictures is kind of the only thing I do alone. Everything else has other folks involved that work with me. I’m not sure if i answered your question just now. I like making stuff. I have control issues I can’t make movies too many people too many moving parts. Books, magazines, packaging for a product, a hang tag, an Ad campaign those are all things I can do effortlessly that i like doing.

4. You’ve published two new books that are set to release this next week, can you give us a brief description of what we’re expecting?

The first book is called TURFIZM. The first half of it is a selection of Turf One paintings from the last 5 years. Turf is Jean Labourdette. He is  a painter from Paris who now lives in Montréal. He is part of what the critics call the “Pop Surrealist” movement. Anyways the second half of the books is a photo essay I did of him painting at his atelier. I got to witness the  process over a few days I also wrote a short piece about being in the studio with him.  So its a book about a painter.

The second book is by a journalist named Luke Fox. The book is called Ice-T shot me in the face & 11 other stories about rap music. It’s basically 10 years of his feature articles and interviews about rappers and there albums. It’s a look back at the music from like 1999 to now. It’s a trip down memory lane.Conor and I did the design and we got Jeremy Wirth to do pencil drawings of the artists for each story. I’m stoked it’s a pocket book size. Like put it in your coat and read it on the train and please dog ear the pages kind of book.

5. What are we expecting in 2010 aside from the 2 previously mentioned books?

More photo essays, more books. I’d like to put out The Cost of Living book out soon. But we’ll see about that.

6. You also have a project called Sometimes, can you enlighten those who aren’t completely aware?

Sometimes is another side project. Sometimes is an excuse to make more stuff and help other people make stuff. Things that aren’t books. I know it sounds vague. I’ve  been working with Dylan Adair on that. He did a tribute John Hughes in the fall and some T-shirts for Brakeless last summer. We also did some whiskey glasses. So it’s basically make things, help people make things, and help them get it out. Ohh yeah its also a webstore of sorts.

7. Last thing, when does OnandBeyond do something with Paul 107/SecondhandProjects?

I’m up for whatever/whenever.
Just has to be fun.

Came across a pretty dope blog concept today…It’s entitled React Create, basically: “It’s simple: I react to things I see. Things I like. Cool stuff. Things I feel strongly about… and not just design. Those are posted in the REACT column. The CREATE column is a forum for presenting creative responses or alternative reactions to the things that inspire me. Some direct, some indirect, others more nuanced…” -Dylan. For Montrealers, you might recognize some of his work, through Brakeless’ new t-shirt line with the creative minds behind Sometimes. And for the Beasts, you might remember the 1 off Joy Division Nike Blazer’s he did in 06. All white, custom Factory box, etched JD quotes on the swoosh, iconic Unknown Pleasure album design on the tongue label…