Kit Hinrichs Event

I attended the Kit Hinrichs speech through Society of Design at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Kit is not very relevant to my major but I actually learned a lot. He almost made me want to be a graphic designer. I was so inspired by Kit that I ended up taking 4 pages of notes in my sketchbook. Kit began talking about his background in the graphic design field. He said that the most exciting thing in his life is his 50 year career. Kit also judged several competitions and won the 2004 Graphic Design AIG Medal. Kit spoke about getting here from there. He left art school and joined the Marine Corps. He eventually ended up in New York where he started Studio Hinrichs which was also located in San Francisco. He showed pictures of his office which was an old basketball court with extremely high ceilings. It looked like a pretty fun place to work. The main thing that stuck out to me the most was his lessons in which were:

Lesson one: Be bold and unexpected. He emphasized the use of scale and contrast. He also said to embrace cliché’s because they communicate well. He said to “change expectations.” He then showed us a book with a 10 foot pullout as an example. He also emphasized using words as images and images and words. Images with type create a story more clear and easily understood.

Lesson two: Keep them entertained. He emphasized knowing typography “intimately.” He stresses to break the rules and look at things differently. He loves to entertain as he educates. He advised linking things to history so that it makes it relevant.

Lesson three: Pique their curiosity. Kit emphasized the power of shapes, brand letters, mascots, emoticons, and corporate pets. In one of my prints, I use the image of a tree to represent a family bond. So this tip especially rings true to my work.

Lesson four: Change their POV. Kit likes to make the complex simple. He shows us his logo design for Sur La Table which is an all-white cover with a strawberry attached to a fondue stick; it’s simple but enough.

Lesson five: Say it with style. Kit emphasized on letting the content define the solution. Use colors that connect to your image. For example, a wine logo; use the colors in the Napa Valley.

Lesson six: Never underestimate the power of your passions. This particular lesson strikes a familiarity with me and how much passion I have for everything I do. He said to integrate your passion with your work. My brother and art is my passion, therefore, I use him in a lot of what I do. Something that also struck me in this lesson was when he was talking about the release of his “100 American Flags” book and “The Pentagon Papers.” These books were published a few weeks before 9/11, in which when the terrorist attack occurred, his books sold through the roof. He said that he found it very difficult to be proud of that. Therefore, he donated a portion of the money to the Red cross.

Lesson seven and eight: Take the long view and if possible make it move and put it to music. One thing that I did not like was that his visual aid (overhead presentation) was not visual to everyone. Overall, I had a great time a learned a lot from his work.