Each month or so, we like to spotlight one of the many talented members of our AIGA Detroit community. This time we are featuring Andrew Reaume (http://www.adrwrdesign.com/). Andrew is a freelance graphic designer based in Ypsilanti and a graduate of Eastern Michigan University.
Can you give us a brief background of yourself? Your history? Your accomplishments?
I am a Michigan native, raised in the smallish town of Brighton. Growing up I was always a creative kid. I liked to write music, write stories, make art, and immerse myself in movies and music. By high school it was clear I wanted to do something with art, but it wasn’t until I began the graphic design program at Eastern Michigan University that design really clicked for me. As a designer, I discovered an interest in working within a variety of media and experimenting with how they can work together. As a result, I’ve found motion design to be especially appealing, since it combines time, visuals and audio.
I graduated from EMU with a BFA in Fine Arts, and since then have worked for various firms and organizations. More recently, I have been freelancing and working as a graphic designer for the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, a non-profit based in Ferndale, Mich. In my spare time, I like to play the singing saw and mandolin, and maintain my blog, slowly upwards, which aims to provide resources for fellow designers and document various projects I’m experimenting with. My work has been featured by the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the AIGA members gallery, and has been selected for the semi-finals of the 2011 Adobe Design Achievement awards.
Could you show us a sampling of your work?




What interested you in design?
Like so many other art students in college, I originally got into design because I knew I liked art and I knew I could get a job with [graphic design]. However, once I got deeper into the program I found design really resonated with me. I’ve always been a very analytical and pragmatic thinker– maybe at times to a detrimental extent. With graphic design, I discovered that these attributes were a major part of the core of creating great design, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since.
I think most design begins with an objective or question, and as designers we are tasked with coming up with the most creative, visual way of communicating the objective or answer. I’ve become particularly interested in using this same methodology of design and using it to explore psychological or metaphysical concepts.
What inspires you?
Music, Philosophy, and anything that tells a good narrative.
Do graphic designers have a special responsibility to promote a green society?
I think anyone who is lucky enough to cultivate and possess a great ability or skill shares a responsibility to use it in a positive way at some level. I think it is important to have some meaning behind the work you do. For someone to pass on the opportunity to promote some good and help advance the human race in a positive way seems like an awful waste.
Do you consider graphic design a growing industry?
There is no question– absolutely. The scope of the industry seems to be constantly expanding, in both practice and execution. The extent of this has made it very difficult for me to even understand what being a graphic designer is. As a graphic designer, I can screen-print a poster, create titles for a movie and design and code a website. While these all share many qualities, they are very different jobs. It seems like the range continues to expand. Heck, IDEO helped create better access to clean drinking water in Indian and Africa!
How has living in Michigan shaped your work/design and Who is your favorite Michigan based designer/artist?
On both counts I’d have to say the EMU Art Faculty. I feel so lucky to have been able to learn from such supportive, intelligent, and talented people. Ryan Molloy’s work is especially badass, and is a definite influence of my interest in motion design.
What is your favorite Michigan made product?
In terms of branding, definitely Zingerman’s. Also the microbrewery scene in this state is pretty impressive. I’ve also heard that historically we’ve done some notable work with cars?
What is your favorite aspect of AIGA?
Probably the ease with which it allows designers to connect with other designers in the community. Networking is truly a huge part of our industry (or perhaps any industry) and AIGA is really effective at connecting us to the design community.
What is one thing you can’t live without?
While I’ve tried my damndest to function without it, it appears that I need to sleep.
Who is your favorite designer?
That’s always a tough one. I’ve always loved El Lissitzky, both for the scope in which he worked and also for what he did for the industry. Of more current designers, I have really been admiring the work of Tim Brown and the other people of IDEO. As one who is particularly obsessed with design on the thinking level, seeing what they have been able to achieve through the application of design is quite remarkable.
What are your favorite movies?
So many, but here are a few (in no particular order): Stranger Than Fiction, The Royal Tenebaums, The Day After Tomorrow (the original), I Am So Proud of You, Anything made by Hayao Miyazaki or Pixar, Some bizarre Polish weight lifting video I found while cleaning an old gym (long story).
What are a few of your favorite favorite songs?
Like above (in no particular order): Smells like Content by The Books, Glosoli by Sigur Ros, Rebellion (Lies) by Arcade Fire, Blue Ridge Mountain by Fleet Foxes, Do the Astral Plane by Flying Lotus, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi by Radiohead
What are a few of your favorite books?
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland, Fahrenheight 451, The Sandman series, The Walking Dead Series, The Watchmen
What does your work space look like?
I work at a large house filled with other artists inside our dedicated “art studio”. Amongst other accommodations, it includes a black bunny, blue bird, and a creepy mannequin.

What is an example of one of your favorite projects from the past year?
Recently I had some fun making a rebuttal ad to Wisconsin’s recent campaign in which they claimed their state looks like a mitten. As if!? If they can be a mitten, we can be cheese, right?

I also did a personal project not too long ago where I experimented with making a 3d animated typeface, producing a letter a day. The fun part of it was that it left me with this strange typographical creature to work with. I’ve been exploring different ways to use it, and will probably make a useable font out of it sooner or later.

To find out more about Andrew Reaume and to see more of his work, you can find him in a variety of online capacities:
Portfolio
Blog
Vimeo