Chris Pullman's Tips : What I've learned

 

 

1. Work on things that matter.
As a graphic designer, Pullman spent a large chunk of his time working for PBS, essentially a not-for-profit. He worked on spreading education and information instead of spreading advertising.

2. Work with people you like and respect.
The idea here is that many people spend more time at work than at home. This means that you should like the people you are spending all that time with. Pullman showed his affection for his coworkers by making little gifts for them... first gingerbread cookies, then miniature water colors.

3. Have high standards.
Never adopt the 'dilbert' mentality. Pullman said that high standards should be held onto until the very end.

4. Have a sense of humor.
"Even though we took the business very seriously, we didn't take ourselves too seriously."

5. Do a lot with a little.
Basically, use what you have to do as much as possible. See everything as an opportunity.

6. Theme and variation is our game.
This has to do with a family of form; as designers, we can make a group of things that relate to each other but are still different. This is one of our top skills, and we should use it.

7. Design is a way of thinking.
Designers are fueled by other people's problems as opposed to artists, who tend to be fueled by their own problems. Design is a way to solve problems that can be valuable to people outside the field.

8. Institutions have a persona too.
Every workplace has its own character that is a combination of the people and the business. It is important to find one you enjoy and can identify with.

9. You are what you eat.
Design is a business of relationships. You are as much a part of the equation as your work is.

History on Chris Pullman:

2002 AIGA MEDAL

Since 1973, Chris Pullman has served as Vice President of Design for WGBH, a major supplier of programs and web content for PBS. He and his staff are responsible for the visual personality of WGBH, as expressed through its on-air titles, credits and animation, classroom materials and interactive media.
Viewers of PBS will recognize Pullman's work in the opening title sequences of Masterpiece Theatre and Antiques Roadshow and in the WGBH animated on-air signature, which is used at the end of every program produced by the public broadcaster.
After receiving his BA in History from Princeton University in 1963, Pullman enrolled in a three-year graduate program in graphic design at Yale. He earned his MFA in 1966 and the same year began teaching in the graduate and undergraduate programs at Yale, an affiliation he still maintains regularly as Senior Critic.