Five Minutes With… Hayden Burgess
Members of Design Assembly make up a network of Friends working together to build a thriving design scene in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our ‘Five Minutes’ series profiles the breadth and depth of design practice in our network.
Today we speak with our Friends, Hayden Burgess a designer with over 13 years experience working in illustration, art, graphic design and toy design. Based in Hawkes Bay.
Tell us about your career background:
I’ve always drawn and still have vivid memories of ‘the drawing book’ from when I was a kid.
In my twenties I played music in punk bands and kinda stopped for a bit but during that time I was always fascinated by flyers, album covers, and art work – I still remember looking at the album art for Green Day’s Dookie for hours and hours.
In 2011 I was living in Berlin, washing dishes for a job, making coffee as well, cycling around and drinking beer. In the evenings my partner was working so I had a lot of time on my hands, and that’s when I started drawing again seriously.
After moving back home to Hawkes Bay, I was living way out in the country with my parents so for two years I had a focused time of drawing and making characters as pretty much all I did when I wasn’t working.
In 2017 I had a break from working in my family business and did a two year tattoo apprenticeship, which was probably the best education I could have had as a designer, learning composition, contrast, the importance of creating big bold readable tattoos, and also the variety of designing American traditional one day, and tribal the next with some Japanese thrown in to round it all off.
As a result of all that, over the past 13 years or so I’ve built a multi-faceted creative freelance business, focused on illustration and poster design, graphic design, art and also toy making with digital sculpture.
So I didn’t follow the traditional path, I didn’t go to school or ever work in an agency, but that’s allowed me more space and less guardrails in my opinion to make work that I enjoy.
I’ve been super lucky to have had the time and space to build two careers, by day I am a business mentor and consultant which is my family business (my dad is also a sales trainer/consultant) and Fridays and after work I’m creating whether it designing a new toy to print, mold and cast, or designing collateral for a local council initiative, logo design for a local wine brand or painting for an exhibition.
The balance is great!
Tell us about the studio you work in:
I work from home in Hawkes Bay NZ, I’ve been working for myself for over ten years so I don’t have the typical studio experience like many designers.
My space is designed for me and my ADHD brain, so I have books and reference everywhere, art and posters across the walls, vintage toys, as well as my marshall stack, guitars and my wifes drum kit.
My favorite kind of design work is actually self directed work, making tee-shirt graphics for my business and having the challenge of creating my own briefs is something I love, as well as toy design, i’ve always been a toy guy, since way back in the 80s when my mum and dad laybuyed a collection for he-man and ninja turtles toys for me. So for the past 3 years or so I’ve been designing my own toys digitally and turning them into cast sculptures, so I love that work too.
Any kind of client work that involves print for garments, that’s exciting for me.
What does your design process and philosophy look like?
The possibilities is what I thrive on.
Because my main business is helping other creatives to build theirs, there is no pressure for me to conform, or to do work I don’t want to so I feel very grateful and lucky to be in this position, and this is something I want for every creative I work with.
The ability, and energy, to build for themselves, not just for their clients, as both outlets feed each other.
My design philosophy is – make it bold.
Like a great tattoo, design should be bold, memorable, easy to read across the room, timeless.
I think as designers, we are tastemakers in many ways and we have the best jobs in the world, I believe that we can’t be replaced by AI, and no matter what happens, the joy of creation for yourself or seeing your client’s eyes light up is what makes it all worthwhile.
The process of exploration, ideation, just making a mess and then coming to something great is what I love – the money, everything else comes after.
My design process is pretty holistic I’ve got a studio full of books on anything from ancient Mayan architecture to low bro pop surrealism to lettering books and Mercer Mayer kids books.
I’m always thinking about what’s next, on Pinterest every morning as my first thing after breakfast to get inspired.
I managed to build a daily drawing practice as well so each morning I sketch while I’m having my cold porridge.
I think as designers, there are so many ways to approach a project, we all have our own, and for me creativity and visual design is always running through my head so I’m never short of ideas.
What does a typical day in your studio look like?
My days are always different, I’m either working with clients Meet, in my group program, teaching sales, marketing or I’m working one on one with clients on their brand strategy, marketing plan, or sales process – I cover a wide range of business frameworks with what I teach within my FLO model that I developed to help creatives be better and do more.
If I’m not working online with clients you’ll find me painting or working on a project for a client, recently I’ve been working on a local activation for a business body in Hawkes Bay, a new wine brand to launch into the US market from an amazing winemaker based in Hawkes Bay, tee shirt graphics for a client in Auckland who works in the film industry, and designing toys for my own brand that I’ll release this year.
Generally though
Drop the kids at school.
Meditate for like 10 minutes or so.
Put some music on (right now it’s Gorillaz the Mountain or Viagra Boys).
30 minutes on a project/job.
Check emails.
Meetings with clients (at the moment in London, Scotland, Auckland, Melbourne, Belgium…)
Content creation.
Project work.
Finish at 2pm and pick kids up.
My studio space is also my coaching/office so it’s multi use in that way, I’ve got a toy making station, library, a leather work station *for my wife*, also my desktop, painting area, drum kit and guitars/amp setup – sounds crowded but it works, and means I’m never short of something to inspire.
Generally it runs that way, Monday/Friday after 12 is generally design time or painting time, and I work in the evenings if I have a project on or a show coming up – but only after the kids have finally gone to sleep.
What’s one thing that you would like all of your clients to know?
One of the biggest and most important things I teach my clients is simply how to articulate the value of their work.
Most designers under price, ask budget and sell themselves and their work short because they know design, they love creativity but they get stuck communicating that to the client – so the client just sees pngs and goes ‘wow cool but seems like a lot of money’.
If we can just be more confident expressing to the client – this logo suite is a business asset, that will be an investment for you, and make you money, and help you achieve your goals, then clients make that connection in their heads, and are like – ‘now I get it, this is hugely important and valuable and worth way more’.
What are your favourite tools in the studio?
My art/design library – I’m a total book geek, and totally buy into two ideals
1. Spending on books is always good and never ever a waste of money.
2. Having physical reference will always trump digital.
My books are just amazing, and even if the brief calls for something very clear and specific, I know I’ll have book that can bring in an idea that I would have never thought of or found if i was just browing pinterest.
My cricut – it’s used to make stencils super precise stencils that I use on all sort of projects.
My Elegoo Saturn 4 – a beast of a 3d printer, I make all my prototypes on their from toys to sculpture.
My ipad – 99% of my concept work I do on here before coming into illustrator to design final files, I love it and it’s been my go to for ten years, it’s meant that I’m more productive, faster and making work and don’t have to be in the office at night.
What are your favourite types of projects to work on?
Tee shirt graphics honestly, I’ve always loved tee shirts, especially for bands and record labels, growing up in the punk scene that is my jam.
So if I can design a tee graphic for my brand (pitchr) or a band, label, or event – that’s what gives me a lot of joy.
Again like the tattoo, and logo analogy, for me a great tee shirt is bold, easy to read, and memorable – you know, make something that someone will hold on to and wear long after the event, band or whatever is just a distant memory.
Honestly, the mural design work I’ve done in Hawkes Bay is always pretty high up for me, one specific mural I created at Hapi – an organic cafe/company in Hawkes Bay had an open brief and I created a mural based on community, joy, and shared experience.
What project are you most proud of?
Honestly, the mural design work I’ve done in Hawkes Bay is always pretty high up for me, one specific mural I created at Hapi – an organic cafe/company in Hawkes Bay had an open brief and I created a mural based on community, joy, and shared experience.
That was a big one for me, because seeing your work on that scale is something that you can’t compare.
Do you have any advice about our industry for emerging designers or career changers?
Remember that the work you do is worth 100% more than what they’re paying you.
That logo design you did for $500? probably meant 50,000 worth of income for that business, who now attracts the right clients, sells more product and has just opened their fifth location.
The more you know about business, the better you can become at knowing the value of your work.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Japanese ukiyo e prints.
Vintage toys.
Charles Burns and Daniel Clowes.
Expressionism.
Punk flyers and artists like Alexander Heir.
American traditional tattoo design.
Paul Rand
Veritas paintings.
1950s lettering and advertising.
What hobbies or interested do you have outside of work?
I’m a dad.
And outside of that just making stuff.
Painting is a constant, I just had a solo show in January, and going to be releasing new shirt designs this year.
I’m working on toy concepts to release a new designer toy based on my illustrations so I’m drawing, sculpting and and creating those.
I read a lot of horror novels (english folk horror mainly) and also business and books on spirituality when I’m painting, working or doing odd jobs.
Music, when I can, my wife and I jam and are going to start a band one of these days.
Where can people connect with you?
www.pitchr.biz
www.grimmyone.com (coming soon)
On instagram it’s
@grmmyone for design and art.
or
@haydenpitchr for coaching, business tips and strategies
Loved this peek into Hayden’s creative journey? The conversation doesn’t stop here. Hayden will be joining us as one of the speakers at Join The Dots this April, where you’ll have the chance to hear more about his work and ask your own questions.
We’d love to see you there.
Grab your ticket and join the session.
