Jason Munn is originally from Wisconsin but now calls Oakland, California home. Arising from a love of independent music, design, and making for the sake of making, his posters soon became a fixture in the local independent music scene.
He started The Small Stakes in the fall of 2003, and it has since unfolded into a successful independent design studio, producing nationally and internationally commissioned work in a range of print materials, including book covers, album packaging, T-shirt designs, screen-printed posters, and illustrations.
Jason’s work has appeared in Print, Communication Arts, Step Inside Design, Computer Arts Projects, Étapes, ReadyMade, and Creative Review. His work has also been featured in numerous exhibits and is part of the permanent collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Read the interview after the break.
Q: You got into design because of your passion for music and now you’re making a living off of designing posters for your favorite musicians. How do you feel about designers doing work that they have no interest in?
A: Growing up I was really involved in music and skateboarding and the aesthetics that went along with both. After eventually discovering that it was possible to get hired to do that kind of work I started taking design classes and a lot of my projects revolved around my interest in both music and skateboarding. After finishing school I worked in a few different design studios and design departments of larger companies, which were really beneficial to me even though the subject matter wasn’t always of huge interest to me. When I would go home I could take what I’ve learned during the day and apply it to some of the work I was doing outside of the studio work – typically work for friends in bands.
At CalArts, students collaborate on posters quite frequently for events and visiting lecturers. Have you ever collaborated with someone on a poster or project? If not, would you?
I haven’t worked on too many collaborative projects, but this summer I plan to work on a project with Dirk Fowler, a good friend of mine and one of my favorite designers as well.
What designers influence your work? Past and present.
I really enjoy the work of Alan Fletcher, his general approach to problem solving and design. Barney Bubbles and Peter Saville as well for different reasons. Most of my favorite designers now include Jeff Kleinsmith, Aesthetic Apparatus, Sonnenzimmer, and Dirk Fowler.
Links: Website