FISK

PlayLab, Inc. is a studio based in Brooklyn, New York. They are two guys, Archie Lee Coates and Jeff Franklin. They mostly design for print.

Below is the care package that PlayLab, Inc. sent me as a part of their interview. They sent me items such as: Summer Sausage, Twilight Heart’s Desire Chocolate, their newest print piece (the cover of People magazine), and some really fun, colorful foam blocks. They also sent their entire interview in an audio format for your listening joy. You can download the entire audio here.

What was your undergraduate experience like? Did your school have a good design program?

We met in Virginia Tech’s undergraduate Architecture program. PlayLab started then, and we’ve been exploring ideas ever since. The architecture program was a very good experience that encouraged experimentation and taught us how to question and think.

Why did the two of you decide to pursue Graphic Design rather than Architecture after graduation? How are they related?

We’re not only pursuing graphic design, but we have focused on it because those projects are currently the most attainable (architecture has taken a beating). We have a background in graphic design, illustration, printmaking, architecture and industrial design. And we love and would like to pursue them all, in due time. They are related: they are working to solve problems, and helping the people involved. Graphic design and architecture may differ in their scale, scope and result, but they both have constraints and require working towards a solution.

What advice do you have for design students that are just starting their design educations and ones that are about to graduate and go into the real world to start their design careers.

Question everything, make mistakes. The real world is littered with shit. Doing something worthwhile is better than money. You have to work much harder to find the beauty in everything, but it’s there, and the designer’s job is to bring it out. Do what you love, and the money will follow.

Why do you guys call yourself PlayLab, Inc.? It seems like your studio name is something you two live by. Is work really play?

PlayLab is a process of letting loose all the possible ideas, ridiculous as they may seem, stepping back, taking a look at them in a critical away, and then working towards a solution based on those results. We encourage constant experimentation and mistakes. The Inc. is official, incorporated in the State of New York. There’s a balance between business and fun, and we’re still working that out. We’ll sometimes slip into our business-robot outfits and have to climb back out. We’re here to explore, discover and learn. We can’t do that without play. Human innovation starts with human imagination.

How do you like Brooklyn? How is the design community there?

We love Brooklyn. It was always our dream to move here and open the office. Back then we were in love with the idea of Brooklyn, filled with rustic lofts, neon signs and beautiful women on segways. We have come to love Brooklyn now because it is constantly inspiring, has amazing food and beautiful women on segways. The design community is very present here. However, we get the sense that much of them keep to themselves.

You have a beautiful studio, does it ever get really messy or is it always clean like the photograph on your website?

Oh thank you. We are both obsessive compulsive, so it only gets messy to a certain degree. The bookshelf in that photograph collapsed one night. That is the biggest mess we’ve ever had, and we shit our pants when we saw it. Since that photograph was taken, we’ve moved into a client’s studio as an experiment. We’re now in a ground-floor warehouse space, which is all used for steel-working. Our current situation couldn’t be dirtier from our last, but it’s refreshing in some ways, which is why we did it. However, our portion of the studio is by far the cleanest and neatest in the whole shop.

How would you say the work environment is at PlayLab?

A constant battle between boredom and fun. We share the space with one of our clients, an architecture firm called Face Design & Fabrication, which started as an experiment in what could happen when two separate design practices moved in together. They weld all day, and there’s steel dust all over our computers. It’s been interesting. The office is a nice place to work, but we always think best outside of it.

Do you collaborate on all projects? What are some positives and benefits?

Yes, we collaborate on everything. And we mean, EV-ER-RY-THING. That is how we prefer it, and we wouldn’t have the office if that didn’t happen. For us, it is an essential part of working. More heads equals more ideas, and more filters for those ideas.

Do each of you bring something different to the table when working on projects? Do you always like each others work?

Sure, but we’re very different people. For everything that we agree on, there are just as many things that we disagree on. That is a good thing when working collaboratively. It is what makes the filter work, and it would be boring and unproductive if we liked every thought or decision that the other made.

Do you guys have a process for projects?

We get stuck at some point during just about every project. It’s an inevitable part of the process that we are still learning how to deal with. Every project is different and has a new set of problems and constraints. So we try to have a process that is loose and can adapt per project. We start by freely producing ideas, both visually and verbally. And when we hit a wall, we go back to that and/or get out of our normal environment.

What materials do you use for your work? How does the balance of pencil and mouse work for you? Do you think it’s beneficial to not be bound to the computer and experiment with more fine art materials in design work?

People should work in a way they’re comfortable with. Ours involves a pen and something to write on. After that, it’s up for grabs how things get done. We let our minds and conversations wander, and at some point we rope things back in and make something.

What is your driving force, what is it you two want to say with the work you’re putting into the world?

The goal is to be satisfied. We hope to do this by creating and sending things out into the world, no matter their scale, that our beautiful, smart, cared-for and appreciated. We want to give the world things that it didn’t know it needed, and if we could get paid for it, that’d be even better.

What designers/illustrators influence you today?

We are easily influenced by everybody and anything. We met a prisoner named Randy who used to run Alabama’s largest meth lab. He somehow had more wise things to say than anyone we’ve ever met. Randy and Outer Space are at the top of a long list of influences.

With all of the design blogs/websites out there, for us and students all over what would you like to see with FISK?

Show us more than pretty pictures. Make something that is inspiring for all people, not only designers. Ask questions that make people sweat.

Why did you guys stop twittering?

We started twittering? (question).

Dream client or job? Worst client experience?

Dream: NASA.

Worst: The clients that won’t let themselves go, and trust.

Do you wear patterned/designed socks, plain socks or no socks?

Toe fetish (refer to Figure 1A). These are the only socks that we wear.

Thank you PlayLab, Inc. for one of the most adventurous interviews I’ve ever done!
Visit their studio at www.playlab.org and their flickr here.

Tags: Brooklyn, Graphic Design, Inc., Interview, New York, PlayLab