Interview — Robby Davis
Design / Illustrator
We’re excited to welcome Robby Davis, the newest addition to the Forest Giant team!
Robby is an artist, designer and illustrator — whose work you may recognize at Against the Grain Brewery.
Can you tell me about a little bit about the path that led you to design?
Well, I’ve always liked to draw and I’ve always liked technology. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in high school and thought I’d try to combine the two and do something with graphic design. I had a really good art teacher all through high school, and she played a pretty big role in that.
After I graduated college, I started working in advertising. I moved around to a few different agencies until I landed at Indatus. At Indatus, I was introduced to more software design opportunities and I realized I really liked it a lot. I really enjoyed balancing traditional art and design but also having to have a more analytical approach that comes with software design and usabilty.
Was there an “Aha!” moment when you realized that you wanted to do design professionally?
Well, I always knew that I wanted to do art. But pretty early on I realized I’m probably not going to make any money doing just art, so I knew I needed to combine that with some sort of commercial aspect. I think I probably realized that in high school and needed to combine the two.
A teacher I had early on in middle school would put all of our assignments on the board for that day and as soon as we finished them we were allowed to do whatever we wanted art-related. So I remember getting done at like 10 o’clock in the morning and then spending the rest of the day drawing comic book characters and stuff like that. She’d always laminate them for us, and I still have this huge binder of guys like Earthworm Jim and Animaniacs — all these cartoons from the 90's. So I think that actually influenced me a lot.
Have you had any mentors along the way?
Yeah, I definitely had a few great professors in college that played that role. One of them was my drawing professor. I learned great things about drawing from him, but more importantly he taught me to question my work and know that it can always be made better. Not settling. That was a big take-away.
Outside of school, I’d say I’ve learned a ton from people in different disciplines. Specifically I’ve learned a lot from developers. Really early on it was a struggle for me to work with them, because you didn’t always understand what the other person did. The more you collaborate with them early on and try to understand their art form and respect it the way I respect mine, the more I found we could do a lot better work together.
What do you think is the most important thing when working with different disciplines?
Respect and compromise. Compromise can sometimes sound like a negative term, but I don’t really think it is. If you are willing to compromise you are willing to set your ego aside and know that you are in it for the end goal. It’s not taking the path of least resistance.
Getting started is oftentimes for artists the hardest part. What’s your best advice to those who are struggling to get started?
I don’t know, it’s kind of different for everybody I think. But for me it’s looking around at what other artists are doing for inspiration, getting outside of my element and going on a walk or going to a concert. Running — I’ve spent a lot of time thinking through problems while I run. Waking up early. I’m more productive in the morning.
I know you have a few side projects you work on. Can you share with us a little bit about those?
Well, the side work I do is more illustration heavy. I really try to keep it separate and protect it — not do it for the money but for the enjoyment. Against the Grain is kind of the exception because there is money involved, but they are a great client and I really enjoy doing it for them.
Having that freedom is a big thing for me to keep the balance, to do what I want with no client or boss’s input. I can explore it, and let it live or die. There are no strings attached to it basically. I’m a big believer that the more you explore on that side, the creative side, the more it will inspire the other work you do that has to be more anayltical — and vice versa.
Cool. What about the client work? What type of design projects do you really enjoy?
I really like doing iOS projects, it’s always exciting to design something for a new hardware or platform.
If you were to give advice to a young person just starting out, what would you say?
Find your passion, and protect it.
Are you ever creatively satisfied?
Yes, but it’s a fleeting moment. Sometimes it’s during the project, but often it comes at the end. That said, looking back at past work, there isn't a ton that’s satisfying to the level that it was when it was fresh.
