How unfinished sketches lead to New York Times work
1. Using everyday patterns as material for movement
Rob Farmer looks for starting points in design in the movement of flocks of seagulls or the noise on a TV screen.
- He observes the forms in front of him and thinks about them as repetitions or rules of movement.
- In Cavalry, which he mainly uses, he explores patterns found in nature by using noise and random parameters.
2. Storing unfinished sketches so they can be taken out again
When an idea comes to him, he leaves it in form without pressure, from a rough five-minute sketch to work that takes about an hour.
- He captures the work screen and collects it in an Instagram post planning app.
- It is an archive where easily forgotten ideas can be visually found again.
- When a new commission comes in, it becomes a work library for pulling out drafts that fit the mood.
3. Developing rough ideas through collaboration
The em dash illustration for the New York Times Book Review also began as a loose tattoo sketch.
- Art director Matt Dorfman recognized the draft's potential and helped develop the idea further.
- The process of moving between personal experiments and commissioned work also led to the New York Times Magazine cover and work for the Design Museum.
4. Looking at whether perfectionism is preventing sharing
Farmer regrets situations where good work is never shared because of perfectionism.
- Making personal work public can become a starting point for someone else's ideas.
- However, it is not necessary to share every piece of work, and he also recognizes the value of work kept privately.
