Josh has been part of the NVH studio family for a couple of years now and has become one of our most trusted collaborators. Whether we're throwing him a tight brief or a loose idea, he has a rare ability to move fast without sacrificing quality. From mascots to brand work, he consistently nails the concepts we fire at him with zero ego and a great sense of humour. In short, an absolute dream to work with. We sat down with Josh to talk process, inspiration and what keeps him balanced in an industry notorious for freelancer burnout.
Q: You’ve got a fair bit going on! Tell us in a nutshell what you do.
A: I am a designer of fun visual things. I do a stack of mascot and illustration work, make heaps of killer brands via my studio Heaps Good Studios and I also design websites via my other business, a web design agency called Jaffle.
Q: What’s your favourite kind of design work? What really gets the juices flowing for you?
A: Too hard to pin down, I just enjoy creating. Mascot and illustration work hits me right in the nostalgia, I was obsessed with skateboard graphics as a kid but I do also find a lot of joy in the branding process and solving problems within that. Weirdly, I also enjoy traditionally boring tasks like typesetting annual reports haha.
Q: You’ve produced some incredible mascot work for us over the years. Are you see any changes or evolution in the way mascots are popping up in design work?
A: It’s really starting to gain more momentum, especially in a sea of generic AI mascots that aren’t tied into a brands story. I have a feeling there’s going to be a need for more things created by humans over the next few years to cut through the generic rubbish starting to flood the market.
What’s quietly changing in the industry that most people haven’t clocked yet?
A: Hard to not say AI, it’s changed workflows, processes and touched nearly everyone’s working lives already. It helps me map out strategic stuff for the businesses but I keep my creative process old school. A good chunk of my design ideas come in the shower or whilst driving and they’re usually throw backs to something I’ve seen fleetingly in the past, AI isn’t going to change my ideation.
Q: Looking at the apparel industry now, what’s one trend you love and one that you hope fades away?
A: I’m a sucker for subtle branding on the front and large graphics on the back when it comes to prints. I’m hoping Real Tree takes a bit of a step back though haha, too much damn hunter camo out there right now.
Q: What’s your creative process? How do you get in the zone?
A: My process has always been fuelled by music. I come into the studio, light an incense stick, bump on whatever genre I’m feeling for the day and just hook in. As a fam, we try and make sure we get to the ocean once a day too, I think that helps clear the 9000 ideas rolling around in my head at any given moment.
Q: What’s the most common misconception about design work?
A: How long something takes. There’s an entire process that happens before you put pen to paper and as a designer you need to account for the days that just aren’t productive, you can’t force it sometimes. It’s also really hard to monetise the bits that happen outside of the clicks of a mouse, especially when you account for years of experience. Always fine tuning the process and the pricing.
Q: You’re pretty loaded up, juggling a range of different creative businesses with a young family. Any productivity hacks?
A: I thrive in the chaos and having too much on my plate. Some of my best work comes when there are way too many plates spinning, but you also have to listen to your body and take some downtime. Burnout is real and it’s cyclical in the creative industry so you need to know the signs, step away and recharge with the things that fulfil you.
Q: Ultimate playlist for getting in the creative zone?
A: I like to theme certain types of work to certain genres. I’m a punk and metal fan from way back so they’re usually my go-to but when I typeset I like to roll with some more progressive or lo-fi stuff.
Q: What’s a hill you’ll die on in this industry?
A: CMYK first, RGB second. Start with bleed, remove it on export if not needed. Learn your prepress basics, your printer will thank you.
Q: The rise of AI tools are emboldening many brands and businesses to attempt to DIY their design work. What’s your take on that?
A: People said the same thing when Canva launched and it just took a heap of back and forth with indecisive marketing teams out of my day. So hopefully this filters out the clients that don’t appreciate the design process and in turn, makes our lives easier as designers. If you’re worried about how much something costs so much so that you’re happy with what AI spits out then I’m not for you.
Q: What does your dream project look like?
A: I have a little list of things I would like to design and brands I’d like to work with but a skate deck for a team would be up there. Skateboarding is still a huge part of my life and now my kids lives, so being able to create a board graphic would keep 13 year old JP pretty happy.
For more of Josh's work, jump over to instagram
