Timeouts are lightning-quick interviews, five questions to help you get to know the players holding court at Dribbble. Thanks to Jay for being today’s interviewee.
Who are you? Let us know where you hail from and what you do.
My name’s Jay Fletcher and I’m a graphic designer/illustrator in Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve been here for roughly 12 years, freelancing for most of them, and went full-time on my own about five years ago. The bulk of my work is in the identity design realm — logos, supporting elements, collateral, etc. — though I do a little bit of everything from time to time.
What are you working on?
I feel like I’m in a sweet spot at the moment, working mostly on projects that are all close to my heart in some way. Lifestyle brands, a creamery, a chocolate company, a handful of restaurants, a local craftsman, a new beer brand, and a bicycle company being some of the highlights. Very fun stuff right now for some really great people.
Choose a favorite shot of yours. Why is it a favorite?
This is tough, but I suppose I’d have to go with this New York shot. I don’t necessarily consider it my best or most functional work, but it took on a life of its own. I posted the shot and pretty soon rebounds began trickling in from across the country, then around the world, of designers’ cities executed in the same style. Which was extremely flattering, needless to say.
All the participation inspired me to put together some Charleston iconography of notable landmarks just for the heck of it. At first there wasn’t really a goal in mind, but I ended up assembling them all into a print that seems to have resonated with people who have a connection to Charleston. They quickly sold out and I’ve since gotten hundreds (literally) of e-mails from people asking if I’ll reprint them.
So that original New York shot is my favorite, simply because of how it’s spun off into all these other things.
Tell us about your setup. What tools did you use to create the shot (e.g. hardware, software, pens, paper, blowtorch)?
I usually think and execute very geometrically so I typically don’t sketch much, as blasphemous as that probably sounds to some people. I can almost always get my ideas down more quickly in Illustrator. I’d referenced photos of NYC buildings to make sure I wasn’t misrepresenting anything, but for the most part I knew what I wanted from the get-go and it was just a matter of assembling some curves and lines in AI to make it happen.
Choose a favorite shot from another Player. Why do you dig it?
Oh lord. I don’t even know how to begin responding to this challenge. Can I break the rules and pick several Dribbblers’ entire portfolios instead? So many people are doing awesome stuff on a daily basis.
For some reason this shot (Blood Brothers) from Dan Christofferson has always stuck in my mind. I have trouble with hands, and I remember seeing this and thinking “holy s***, those hands are so elegant.” All that guy’s stuff is incredible. Truly creative.
Find Jay at Dribbble, on Twitter, and at J Fletcher Design.
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