Since setting off on an independent journey over six years ago, I've had my hands in everything from international consulting to co-founding a design school. Truthfully I only ever feel like I'm fulfilling my purpose when I'm doing as many things as possible, or at least, working on projects where I can use as many of my skills as possible at once.
SKETCH
I consider sketching foundational to not just design, but creativity. It's not the perfection of the art that matters but the ability to empty the mind onto paper and communicate visually. For me it's always been a little more special than visualising a product destined for commercial reality. It's something I'm compelled to do daily, and more often than not it's just for myself. I prefer analogue, I don't use rulers or guides, and usually have no idea what I'm going to draw until I draw it (unless it's Batman).
PHOTO + VIDEO
I've loved taking photos for as long as I can remember, and after learning to shoot on 8mm film I found a love for moving images and the editing process as well. I've since made video production a core part of my work; shooting, editing, and creating inspirational mash-up videos for clients in lieu of static image boards. It's amazing what you can get across with 30 seconds of video vs. 20 pages in a PowerPoint.
WRITING
What to write about writing? Writing is something I thoroughly enjoy because it's a creative outlet that evokes mental imagery instead of placing a prescriptive image in front of you. Over the years I've written for blogs and online magazines with a lean towards design and the environment, but also about more personal journeys as well. Click through to see a few select articles, and continue reading them on my Medium page.
BRANDING
The interesting thing about a brand is that it can sometimes create a disconnection between the company and the people actually doing the work. But in its simplicity it can, for better or worse, stand for something greater than the sum of its parts. I've found that on any design project brand is always an important over-arching element that keeps everything together nicely.
MAGIC + MIGHT
I've been working closely with the small and mighty crew at Chicago's Magic + Might for several years now, on a broad range of projects for the automotive industry. This has allowed me to immerse in everything from lo-fi and mid-fi prototyping, video production and research, to interaction design, physical concept design and strategy for both pragmatic projects and future visions of mobility.
AUXILIARY DESIGN SCHOOL
In 2014 I co-founded AUXILIARY, an independent industrial design school based in Brisbane. Myself and my other 3 friends and colleagues came to realisation of a growing gap between education and the needs of industry. AUXILIARY was created to address this skill deficit by developing rigorous design courses that teach the foundations right through to connecting design students with real clients. It was part school, part design consultancy and more work than any of us could have possibly imagined!
“The work I did is the work I know, and the work I do is the work I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing. And it’s the not knowing that makes it interesting.”
© copyright 2020 Leon Fitzpatrick
