“Today People Are Sharing Their Valuable Knowledge”
An Interview with American Designer Briar Levit
Such as any other artistic field, design is constantly evolving: there are always new trends, waves, etc. Nonetheless, the past is just as important and interesting as the present and the future. I sat down with designer Briar Levit to discuss her very first film entitled Graphic Means that takes us back to the era when desktop publishing hadn’t been existed yet.
To start with I’d like to ask you about the time when you decided on your future profession. How did you end up in the field of design?
I actually ended up in design because I love museums, to be more specific, I wanted to design exhibitions in museums. However, while working as an intern at the Smithsonian Office of Exhibits Central, I came to the conclusion that I preferred a little bit more intimate kind of design. This thought led me to work on books and publications.
Were you still studying when this particular change occurred in your life?
I’d say the major change happened when I was studying for my master’s degree and started working on a hiking book; I just loved the control and intimacy of a book. You don’t have that much control when you’re doing an exhibition because you’re designing for a diverse audience. If you’re designing an exhibition, you need it to be understood by elderly people and children. It has to be concise enough in order visitors not to get fatigue while walking around and seeing the exhibition. A book, however, can be slightly more complicated.
It is obvious that you’re very fond of books so I’m wondering why you chose film as a format to explore the pre-DTP era.
All started with me collecting books and manuals, and becoming fascinated by processes explained in these how-to manuals. Based on this, one might say book seems probably the best way to deal with these issues, except, I also had been very inspired by the work of Doug Wilson, who made the film Linotype, the Eighth Wonder of the World. He managed to bring this history to life in a way I don’t think a book really could have done it. A film has an absolute advantage over still images when it comes to demonstrating processes step by step. In addition to that, I also considered that those people who managed these processes were still around, so that might be my last chance to speak to them in person and hear their stories.
Is Graphic Means your first film project or have you done something similar before?
This is my first film project, and therefore I absolutely rely on my collaborators such as my director of photography (DOP), Dawn Jones Redstones, with whom I’ve worked before, and my editor, Emily Von W. Gilbert, whom I met through recommendations. Dawn helped tremendously in terms of preparing for production, and Emily has been incredible in terms of helping shape the narrative.
In the statement posted on the project’s homepage you declared you wanted to work with other women to tackle women’s issues experienced in the film industry. Do you think the same problem also applies to design?
In terms of women working in the field of design, I don’t think so, my class is full of young women, for instance. The questions one should ask: Are women represented enough at conferences and in the press? Do they win as many awards as men? Still, I’m optimistic, I think the landscape is changing and the situation is becoming better and better.
You launched a campaign on Kickstarter to finance your film. Why did you choose this particular platform to fund your film?
Kickstarter is a great way to reach out — not only to raise money but also to start a community around your project. Despite the success of the campaign, the money received didn’t fully cover the expenses so I’m still working on funding that is needed for the post-production. Meanwhile, this campaign helped us build a community.
I assume you had to have a budget in mind before the campaign actually started. How did you calculate it?
I was lucky to have the mentorship of Doug Wilson. I reached out to him when I decided to embark on this journey. He’s been nothing but an amazing mentor for me. He and my DOP helped me set the budget.
How did you select the interviewees?
I wanted to interview people who could reflect upon the history, but I also needed to find typesetters, who definitely have different jobs nowadays, since that profession no longer exists. And since I’m also a professor, I already knew some inspirational designers, writers and educators I wanted to do an interview with. To name a few: Ellen Lupton, Adrian Shaughnessy, and Steve Heller, who was a no-brainer because he’d written about some of the stuff before.
Most of them are probably used to being in the spotlight as they give lectures or talk, but being in front of a camera alone must have been somewhat different. Were they comfortable in this structured situation?
Some interviewees were very accustomed to it, others found themselves in a completely new situation. I was amazed how well people did: being asked about stuff that happened decades ago and try to recall those things might have been a little difficult.
Was it a wholly new experience for you as well?
Absolutely! I got better as I did more and more interviews. At the beginning I talked too much, I treated these special sessions more like a conversation not an interview. This can be problematic in films given that at one point the editor has to go through the whole footage. In order to assist her work, I tried to minimise and lead the interviews. Now I know interviewing is an art form.
What was the most exciting part of the filming process?
It was very exciting to meet some of my design heroes and to hear them talk about something that is specifically very interesting for me. I got even more excited when I saw these interviews come together, edited the trailer and heard the music that I had commissioned. I worked a lot with the composer to get the right sound.
Would you like to make more films after this?
I don’t know. I don’t consider myself as a film-maker, although my other historical interest is in Russian design of the revolutionary era (the short period from the early 20thcentury to the mid 1930s). Sometimes I think what if I could do some research on Russia. My second major in college was Russian actually.
Did you choose this major because of your interest or for some other reason?
It was the link first. I had travelled there with my dad when I was fifteen and got fascinated by the culture. I loved the language and I think my interest in the art came probably a bit later. But I’m still a huge Russophile. If I could combine my research and that, I’d probably be very happy.
Talking about education. You did your master in Communication Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Why did you decide on studying in London?
It’s hard for us, Americans, to move abroad so I thought that was my chance to do that. I didn’t have roots set down anywhere, I knew I wanted to expand my studies, and it was great because not only did I get the chance to live abroad, but I also got to be surrounded by a really international group of students who were really driven. I saw design from a slightly different angle than I was accustomed to. Now I take my students to London for a three-week trip in the summer; I’ll be headed there with a group of students in July.
You live and work in Portland so I would also like to ask you about this very special town. Based on TV shows (e.g. Portlandia), books (e.g. Wild by Cheryl Strayed), and ads, it seems Portland is a really lovely and liveable place. Is it really like this or is it just an image the town has?
It’s a wonderful town to live in. When I got here, it was a very affordable place to live so people could come up here and live comfortably and do their creative projects while working a regular job that didn’t make a huge amount of money. That created a community that is reflected on Portlandia. The design community is very active, very supportive. I started out in the San Francisco area and I did not feel the warmth that I feel in the design community here in Portland.
Can you tell me the reason for this?
It might have been the time period. That was the late nineties. Today people are sharing their valuable knowledge with the rest of the world. That is the mainstream way of working now. I’d say it must be an overall shift in the world; it might be the Internet that allowed that.
Your professional life is undeniably full of creative impulses, I assume you are never bored. What activities do you do in your free time when you aim at being occupied with other than work?
I love walking with my dogs. Portland is great for hiking. I also love spending time in charity shops to look for books and all kind of other things. Initially, these collected items helped me shape the content of the film.
Several release dates are available online. Do you have a final date?
I don’t have an exact date, we might release the film at the end of this year. It’s best to keep an eye on us!
Originally published at //hypeandhyper.com/en/az-emberek-ma-megosztjak-az-ertekes-tudasukat/.
