(upbeat music)
- [Bonnie] When I was really young,
the things that I was obsessed with,
like hotel amenities, made me
look at the world differently.
I think it was the idea
of something so simple,
that represented so much.
That the color palette could
have so much influence,
or the typography, these details.
I just loved that, it tickled my brain.
In the olden days, things were on TV once.
So if there was an opening
sequence for TV show I loved,
I just had to be there
at that exact moment,
and watch the whole thing through
and just like soak it up
and hold onto it in my head.
I didn't know it was
graphic design at the time,
but this is where I had to go.
(upbeat music)
I think good design is
almost impossible to define,
because breaking the rules,
like the way things should be,
often makes the best design.
But, it shouldn't be that
the first thing you notice
is the design.
Like, nobody should really
be aware of the design,
but just have it do its job.
And then, if it does it
well, and compels people,
or makes them smile, or engages them,
or makes them feel something,
then it's done a good job.
(bouncy techno music)
I found out that there was
thing called graphic design
somehow, and then I got
a job out of college,
at a very small design studio.
Where I quickly realized
that I loved TV too much,
and lucky for me MTV
had just been founded.
I graduated in 1985 and
MTV was founded in 81.
So I just called MTV and
said, I want to work for you.
- I want my MTV.
(heavy drum music)
- [Announcer] MTV Music Television!
Video music 24 hours a day.
(tire squeals)
In stereo.
♫ I love rock and roll ♫
- [Bonnie] Before MTV, really all
the graphic design was done by the people
who knew how to use the machines.
So, MTV was radical in
that it hired designers,
and it wasn't about being an engineer,
it was about being a designer
and bringing that to TV.
(heavy drum music)
I think knowing about all
aspects of design is crucial.
And then you can learn
from all aspects of design.
A book is not that dissimilar from motion.
I mean, in motion, you
are completely in control of the order
with which someone sees something.
So I do love that.
And in a book, someone could flip around.
But ideally, the book is designed to
have a beginning, a middle and an end,
and there's an arc to it,
just like with a motion piece.
So, I don't think it depends on the media
that it ends up in in any way.
I think it's all graphic design.
It's all about problem solving.
It's all about communication.
So whether it's on TV, or in a book,
or on a website, I think
it's the same skill set,
which is the ability to come up with
good ideas and execute them.
(fast music)
While I was at VH1, my
future partner and I
were doing freelance at night.
So we both had full-time jobs,
and then worked all night doing freelance,
and then we just decided it was time.
So when we were 30, we started Number 17.
(upbeat music)
A lot of people we knew from MTV Networks
went on to other networks, so it just
happened really naturally.
We worked with ad agencies on commercials.
And we started working
for Saturday Night Live
and Lorne Michaels, which we
did for 20-some-odd years.
Doing opening sequences,
working on parody commercials.
(light music)
I think, looking back, we
had no idea how naive we were
about owning a business
and starting a business.
It was more like, hey, let's
put on a show in the barn.
Like, let's just do this thing.
We never thought like,
about the risks or anything.
I mean we were very
fortunate that it worked out.
But I know people have a
lot of concern and worry
about starting a studio,
when is the right time.
We didn't even debate it, we just did it.
We started in my apartment.
My bedroom was our
conference room. (laugh)
It was very funny.
(light piano music)
The business of graphic design is oddly
something that is never taught in school.
And it's hugely important.
I mean, we're not fine artists doing work
for ourselves and our own pleasure,
so it's energizing I think
to go down that path.
I love contracts.
I do, I love the whole thing.
I enjoy reading contracts.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I do.
In 2004, this company was created called
Air America Radio, sort of
sponsored by this one guy,
who had all this money.
It was an election year, and we were such
kindred spirits with
everyone who worked there,
and it was just like a dream job
and we wanted to do it, and
they accepted our proposal.
And everything seemed
great, until the time
when he refused to sign our contract.
And he actually got quite belligerent
and said we were having a hissy fit,
by asking him to sign the contract.
And that we were being such girls.
So, we said we wouldn't deliver
the mechanicals unless he signed.
And about a month later, after
we had our contract signed,
it turned out that this
man was actually lying.
And he didn't have the
funding for Air America.
And about six months
later, when everything
went through the courts,
we got paid in full,
because we had a contract.
And the other vendors, who I
guess didn't have hissy fits,
didn't get paid because
they didn't insist on it.
So, his intimidation tactic clearly
worked with a lot of
people, but as I said,
the most valuable lesson
is if someone doesn't want
to sign a contract, it's
like a Bat Signal saying,
something's wrong. (laugh)
And so, in the end, it worked out,
except that we lost the election.
(upbeat music)
Each individual has to
pave their own path.
And their personality will
determine how they work,
how they sell something, how they present,
how they communicate.
(upbeat music)
After 18 and a half
years, a big design firm
asked us to join their firm.
It was a good idea for my partner,
it wasn't, I
have been my own boss
for 18 and a half years,
and I wanted to keep creating my,
you know designing my life.
So she went with this bigger design firm,
and I stayed independent,
and just changed the name
from Number 17 to 8 1/2.
And that's how it started, I mean.
It was just one day I was Number 17,
and the next day I was 8 1/2. (laugh)
(techno music)
All design adds value.
Even just designing a
logo, you're adding huge
communications and value and identifying
what the nature of the company is.
(fast techno music)
We would never present a logo
as part of a bigger presentation that
we didn't want them to choose,
because they'll choose that one.
So we just present as many
good ideas as we have.
And that first meeting with the logo ideas
is often the most important one.
You get to know them, you get
to know what they respond to.
Talking beforehand is very helpful,
and it sets you on your way, but
seeing them respond to actual
work changes everything.
The evolution is sort of
the most exciting part.
It's not just a logo, it's how
the logo lives in the world.
So, the best thing is when you can
really control the whole brand.
Brooklyn Public Library came to us to
redesign their identity.
Books are not what they used to be,
and it's really about access.
Access to information
of all different kinds.
And what I wanted to show
you was the presentation,
and the logos that they didn't choose,
as well as the identity
that they did choose.
This first one was called
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.
Our idea was that every
borough would have a tree
that was native to that neighborhood.
So we would always do
a different silhouette
and identify the branch below it.
The next one that we presented was called
Find Your Way, and we essentially based
the whole thing on a rose compass.
So we thought that a rose compass sort of
showed you, you can go in
any direction you want,
just find your direction.
And we always put it on a horizon line
in the collateral stuff we designed.
This one is called Where
the Wild Things Are,
in which, we hid an owl in the logo.
And essentially we were thinking
any time you saw that, you knew
it was related to Brooklyn Public Library.
The one that they ended up
going with was this one.
This is the postal
abbreviation for Brooklyn.
But it was also kind of like a shorthand
for how am I going to get this done?
Where can I go to do this?
Where can I learn this information?
(snap) I'm going to go to the library.
And it felt like text language.
Like, how can I write this faster?
How can I say it fast?
Again, appealing to young people who could
hang out in the library and
get a lot of stuff done.
But then the press came in. (laugh)
And it said, Brooklyn Public Library's
New Logo Misspells Brooklyn.
It was crazy how adamant people were
that we had misspelled it.
"This just makes me mad.
"A place to cultivate
language and learning,
"and by extension grammar and spelling,
"has lost all integrity."
Completely missing the reasons
why we did it like that.
And then there was even an article
which put I spelled Brooklyn wrong,
as though I slipped it
by the library people.
They loved the logo, it's still the logo.
It's so strong and powerful on everything
that they produce, we're
really, really proud of it.
This was definitely a case of
there's no such thing as bad publicity.
Because people who probably
hadn't been to the library in a long time
were all of the sudden
talking about the library.
What's going on there?
Why are they doing something like that?
(upbeat music)
So that worked out great,
and it is not spelled wrong.
I love how complex our roles are.
We not only have to, you know,
find good clients who we see
the world in similar ways,
but then work with them, understand them,
sell something to them.
So it's just another
version of graphic design,
to be able to communicate and convince
someone to go down a certain path.
(upbeat acoustic music)
One of the things that
having my own company
has allowed me to do is
move
outside of the city.
I now have my studio on my property,
so I get to be with my kids, really,
when they cum home from school.
And I feel really lucky that I got to
design my own situation
to suit my specific needs.
I'm just so happy here. (laugh)
(bouncy techno music)
Somehow it came to be that Prince
was going to write music for VH1 promos,
and I was creative director, so,
he sent the music to me, which he made.
He sang VH1 and all sorts of things.
And he sent it, along with a card,
that says play this and call me.
And then he signed it.
And I played it, and of course,
I thought it was amazing.
And I called him, and we had a nice
conversation.
And then I completely forgot about this,
until he passed away.
And I went digging through
my files and found it,
and it made me cry.
It's just, I couldn't believe it.
(upbeat techno music)
Work shouldn't be a chore,
especially if you're a designer.
We get to visit whole worlds,
and live there for a short period of time.
So if you're in a job
where you're not inspired,
where you're not exposed
to things that inspire you,
I would say run. (laugh)
Don't stay there.
Find the company that you
think is totally awesome,
your fantasy, dream job, and call them up,
and tell them that.
And then work there.
(upbeat music)
Being in touch with what you want
is the most important thing.
(swish)
