Interview: Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co.

About Today’s Subject:
Aaron Draplin

Creator of: Draplin Design Co.
Day Job: Designer
Location: Portland, OR
Website: Draplin Design Co.
Twitter: @draplin

Doing Whatever It Takes to Do What You Love

If you know Aaron Draplin, then you might know he was once a carnie.  He spent years washing dishes, working on his craft on the side.  He didn’t have a computer, but he didn’t let that stop him.  As a carnie, he’d use paper plates as his canvas and make portraits of other carnies to give to them as gifts.  It seems pretty clear that life experiences like these have made him an even better designer with a deeper understanding of the human condition – where we’ve been, where we’re heading, what we care about, and what keeps us up at night.   Isn’t design, afterall, really all about people and understanding what connects with us? What I love about Aaron is that he’s a shining example of one of my all-time favorite quotes:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-Theodore Roosevelt

From hanging out with Aaron at the 2011 Weapons of Mass Creation Fest, I kind of got the feeling that he’s a modern day folk hero of sorts.  He has his own unique style.  His vision seems to come from his love for Americana, nostalgia, and simplicity, and it produces great work (just see the Ohio print below).  In my interview with him, we talked about The Flaming Lips and how he loves that even if they hadn’t made it, they’d still be making music.  I get the same feeling with Aaron.  It seems he’s known for a long time what he wanted to do, and he’d be doing the same thing now whether he was massively successful at it or just getting by.  Yes, he’s done work for Nike, Wired, Target, Patagonia, Esquire, The New York Times, and even the Obama Administration.  All nice to have in a portfolio.  But he’s also done a tremendous amount of passion projects for stuff he believes in or just to lend a helping hand for this or that.  He’s clearly in this for the love of the game.

“Let’s save America. And ourselves.”
-Aaron Draplin

You can see his vision shine through in this Ohio print he created, which I discovered at WMCFest.  Aaron creates trinkets for the states he visits in his travels.  These “trinkets” celebrate what stands out to him about each state, things that we’re losing, or just beautiful things.  It’s a nostalgic tapestry of logos, icons, heroes, catch phrases, pop culture, and history.  Aaron clearly puts a lot of love, care, and attention to detail in these pieces.  (While Chicago is now my home, I’ll always be an Ohioan, and I fell in love with this print when I first saw it.  I bought one, and I’m very happy to have it hanging in my office to glance up at as I write this.) If you’d like your very own Ohio poster, just click here.

A Few Insights from Our Conversation

In thinking more about our conversation (see the video below), these are a few of the ideas that really stood out and connected with me:

1. Be willing to do the hard work. Aaron spent 4-5 years washing dishes.  He saved money to go to school and get a computer.  I know a lot of people who want a lot out of life and get disappointed when they aren’t overnight successes.  You have to be able to see what others don’t yet see.  If you have a vision, but others don’t yet understand it, that’s okay.  Stick with it.
2. Do what you love, even if you can only do it on the side. For years it seems like Aaron could only do his design work on the side.  Sure he had plans and a vision.  But he easily could have gone home after a hard day’s work and just sat in front a TV.  I realize for many people, when you finally make it home from work, it takes some serious motivation to keep plowing forward on your side projects.   But you’ve got to do it, even if it’s just on the side.  Make time for whatever it is that matters.
3. What you love and how you make a living may be two different things. This might just be a different way of saying what I’ve already said above.  But it’s possible for the near-future or even in the long-term that what you love and what you do for a living are two different, separate things.  That’s okay.  Sure, it’s great if you can fuse the two together.  But don’t give up on what you love just because you aren’t making a living at it yet.