Interview with Keir DuBois [keirdubois] on Whohub

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What is your profession? What is your title printed on your business card?

Designer/Wordsmith/Rockstar. It's mostly true.

How and why did you begin to be creative?

I don't remember, but it probably had something to do with being more fun/less boring than the alternative.

Your mind is your work tool. How do you take care of it?

By answering surveys like this one and discovering how creative I can be when lying my ass off.

How do you avoid repeating yourself, or falling into formula? How do you stay fresh?

Every creative repeats themselves. To pretend otherwise is delusion. We all get better at doing what we do best; we fool other people into thinking that we've reinvented ourselves.

What cultural sources do you draw from the most?

Anything that deflates the pretentious and mocks the ignorant. Well, that and various sources of personal megalomania by various men and women of letters, wealth, and taste. It's a delicate balance.

It is possible to fall in love with a bad idea simply because it is yours. How do you avoid this?

Yes. You cannot avoid it. Don't try. Accept that you'll churn out gallons of crap in between fits of unintentional genius and you'll be fine.

The armchair psychologist: Is creativity an act of rebellion for you?

Yes. All my creative energy is negative, for better or worse. It's a pathetically Freudian sense of revenge.

Do you work well under pressure?

Only if it's self-imposed. Outside pressure is the mind-killer.

How is an idea sold?

You are as good as your last idea. Wouldn't you like to have a more secure type of work?

That's false. I have had several great ideas followed by mediocre ones. Willfully judging one out of context is a chickenshit thing to do.

What is your specialty?

Front-end web development, supposedly. After that, print design for magazines. After that, well...is debatable.

What made you interested in design?

It was the last resort after I crashed and burned in rock & roll and journalism. Plus it was easy and people offered to pay me for it.

Have you received any awards for your work in the field of design?

What is your motivation? What makes you get up in the mornings?

Getting up in the morning is a foul plot to destroy my creativity. I refuse to be creative until 10am. I refuse to be uncreative until after 2am.

How would you define your design style?

What is your favourite type of customer?

Someone who trusts me to do the job well without micro-managing it.

To a certain point, is copying justifiable?

I don't know—do you think that, to a certain point, copying is justifiable?

List some things you dislike seeing in design.

The swirly curly trend of '06/'07 deserves to die a slow and extremely painful death, and its tombstone should be defaced with the Papyrus font.

Do you believe the newer generations are better at designing?

Define "newer." I can get my hands dirty as well as any crazy hippie, and I can geek out as well as any shut-in programmer.

Which professionals in your field -contemporary or past- do you most admire?

I don't admire professionals in my field—that only leads to inadequate derivative work. I admire professionals in other fields and try to adapt what they do to what I do.

Up to what point do your designs reflect your personality?

That depends on the size of the paycheck, and if personal reflection is even appropriate for the job.

How do you distinguish passing fads from mainstays in new trends?

Easy: once I discover something, it's usually been over for months. Years. Decades, even.

If you weren't a designer, what would you be doing?

Bitching about how no one will pay me a six-figure salary for knowing random trivia, and about how Jeopardy is rigged for the itchy trigger fingers.

What is your message?

Don't let other peoples' hangups fuck with your art.

What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote?

I probably read the riot act to my little brother. My parents attempted to translate, but the crude attempts at communication were far below their epic intellects.

What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it?

My favorite genre is gonzo. I post derivative and plastic versions of it at http://dubiousventures.blogspot.com

What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

I write well when angry or annoyed. It's great fuel for mindless smackdowns.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

Stuff with life in it. Stuff that doesn't demand a specific interpretation or force a reader to abide by the author's meaningless personal hangups. Stuff that makes me think "Hell, I could do that. Better, even."

What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

First. Third person is for cowards.

Deep down inside, who do you write for?

Deep down inside, nothing. I write for me out front and out loud. It comes too easy to hang on anybody else.

Does reader feed-back help you?

Only when not laced with projection and envy.

Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?

Yes. Even with people whose opinions I can't guess at. Hey—if they don't like it, that's not my fault.

Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for?

I found "a" voice and planted a flag and claimed it for myself. I don't believe in silly romantic notions like this.

What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.?

Whatever I write at 2am better sound damn good when I read it 12 hours later.

What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate?

Things that remind me how creative I've been in the past, to prove to myself that I've done it before and to get my shit together and do it again.

What has been your experience with publishers?

I'm told they are all witless buffoons, but I don't totally believe that. Yet.

What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone?

Stop being a chickenshit and give them life. People will misinterpret them no matter how much you protect them. I'm misinterpreting them right now, for instance. Aren't they good? Aren't they worth reading? If not, don't bring it up. Show me what you've got and own up to your talent, or go home.

What do you do? What is your musical specialty?

Bass guitar (mediocre to good), lyrics (usually damn good), and singing (usually bad).

Do you work alone or in a group? If in a group, who are the others you work with?

I've been in three bands, each progressively better than the last in almost every way.

Is there a web address where one can listen, see, or read some of your work?

What was your musical education?

I learned and forgot how to read music at least three times. I played violin for three years in elementary school, then went on the wagon until college, when two bad breakups forced me to buy a bass guitar.

Oh, and I listened a lot, too. That helped.

Have you ever awoken with a melody created from your dreams?

Yes. And it's never as good as you thought it would be.

What part of your job is your least favourite?

Trying to make people care. Booking gigs is the absolute worst.

Which musicians or groups have been inspiring to your career?

The inspirational ones.

What type of music do you detest?

I know it when I hear it.

How do you sell yourself? What has been your experience with record companies and representatives?

They are all coke-addled dingbats with envious, shriveled little hearts and no morals whatsoever.

Though I've never actually met any.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the business?

Don't let other peoples' hangups fuck with your art. Yes, I've answered another question that way—but it applies here too.

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