La Vie, 2008
Please define Graphic Design.
Graphic design shapeshifts into anything it needs to be in order to convey ideas and engage with constantly mutating cultures.
Please introduce yourself and the studio.
Fake I.D. is the collaborative work of Yvan Martinez and Joshua Trees. We initiate and collaborate on a variety of interdisciplinary projects and cultural productions including publications, exhibitions, typefaces, and social media.
Please share with us your earliest influences that inspired you to become a designer.
In 1995 we co-founded a performance art collective CCSIS (Creative Community Seriously I Swear) with Carlos Julio Molina, Luis Molina-Pantin, Milena Muzquiz and Martiniano Lopez-Crozet. CCSIS was adopted as both a subject of study and collaboration with artists Michael Clegg and Martin Guttmann. While contributing to Clegg and Guttmann's Sick Soul series we got really interested in the capacity of design (graphic design, namely) to peform social and philosophical functions. The Web started introducing new possibilities for experimentation, yet most of CCSIS had moved to Mexico City and Caracas, so we decided to form a project called Fake I.D. to investigate technology and the borders between art, design, and everyday life.
Can you tell us a little about your studies, and how they shaped your work?
JT: My undergraduate training was probably the last wave of T-squares, triangles and airbrushes. I hated it so much that upon graduation I decided not to pursue a career in graphic design. Instead, I took a job as a display artist for Urban Outfitters (which I soon realized was a form of graphic design, but that's another story). Seeking something more challenging, I applied and got accepted into a small graduate visual art department at the San Francisco Art Institute called New Genres, a program that evolved from sculpture into contemporary practices like performance, video and installation. New Genres opened my mind to what art and design are capable of. And unexpectedly got me involved with graphic design again.
YM: Both my degrees are in Mathematics which provided me with a conceptual framework that thrives in practices like art and design.
What stimulates your creativity?
Cities, mostly. Up to now, our work has taken us to live in 4 unique cities: San Francisco (1995-2002), Los Angeles (2002-2007), Amsterdam (2007-2008) and now London.
What are the main concepts and key elements in your work?
Autonomy. We work with clients, but we make independent projects regardless if we are commissioned or not. Ironically, our self-initiated work is what attracts clients because it demonstrates how far we can push ideas.
Hybridity. The most compelling projects mix and relate to different cultures and interests.
Media-neutrality. We don't specialize in or define ourselves through any particular media. We let the concept choose the materials and media used. And if an idea asks for a medium we're not familar with, we collaborate with others.
What or who is your biggest influence, in terms of style?
We lived in the San Francisco Mission District for 8 years and were exposed to diverse ideologies and movements including community bicycle programs, green anarchism, queer activism, conceptual art, open publishing, technocracy, localism, veganism, etc. Our approach and attitude was definitely formed there.
How do you develop the ideas, while working on various different design projects?
We have many ways of working. No two projects are the same. In our experience, the best results come from experimentation and risk rather than a repeatable process.
What is the future of Graphic Design?
This summer we took part in the New Views 2 Symposium about the future of graphic design, held at the London College of Communication. After three days of conversation it became clear to us that tomorrow's graphic design is evolving into something defined more by individuals than institutions. Designer-initiated projects are way more common than they were 5 years ago. So the way we see it: the more designers produce their own projects, the more control we have over what graphic design is becoming. Schools can also play a significant role by opening pathways of study for students interested in independent and conceptual practices.
Which designers or artists do you admire most? Why?
Viktor & Rolf, for saying No!
Mevis & van Deursen, for never saying No.
Tatukichi Kimon, just because.
Can you tell us a little about your current projects and future plans?
It's called 'Books from the Future', a series of books that experiment with language and noise. Available soon through Mark Unread in Amsterdam.
Please drop some suggestions to people who want to take part in graphic design?
Watch the following movies in this order: Week End (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967); I am Curious Yellow (Vilgot Sjoman, 1967); Over the Edge (Jonathan Kaplan, 1979); and Vibrator (Ryuichi Hiroki, 2003)
Yvan Martinez & Joshua Trees interviewed by La Vie magazine, Taiwan, 2008