Drew Melton奉行Chuck Close的那句话“灵感属于业余爱好者；剩下的我们只是来上班，然后开始工作”，正是这样的心态让他成为了一位颇有名气的设计师。他的字体排印、插画以及整体的设计感令人印象深刻，同时也激励了许多设计师。他都和我们分享了什么呢？

Drew Melton

Narkii：

您为何热爱字体排印呢？

Why do you love typography?

Drew：

我无法具体说我热爱什么，但我一直对设计、建筑和艺术感兴趣，虽然我并没有每个都擅长。我发现字体设计和排印很好地平衡了这三者。字体需要时时关注技术层面的问题，但它同时也非常具有表现力。好的字体设计平衡了审美与功能。

I couldn’t really say what I love specifically. But I have always had an affinity for design, architecture and art. Though I am not really good at all of those things separately. I find that lettering and typography is the ideal balance of the three. Lettering has to work on a very technical level but it is also very expressive. Great lettering is a balancing act between aesthetic and function.

Narkii：

您如何成为一个字体排印设计师呢？

How did you become a typography designer?

Drew：

说实话有点偶然。上大学的时候，我一直对Herb Lubalin的作品很感兴趣，但是由于某种原因，我太愚钝了，没有明白他的作品有多么依赖于伟大的字体设计。在辍学并开始自己的工作室之后，我一度丧失了热情。连续三个月我住女朋友家（现在的妻子）的地板上，然后才开始探索。

Kind of by accident to be honest. I was always attracted to the work of Herb Lubalin when I was in college but for some reason I was far too dense to understand how heavily his work depended on great lettering. At one point after dropping out of school and starting my own studio I burned out. I lived on my girlfriends’ (now wifes’) floor for 3 months and just started exploring.

Narkii：

您最喜欢哪种类型的设计呢？

What types of design do you appreciate the most?

Drew：

我喜欢肯定的设计。我知道这听起来有点模糊。但是，我职业生涯中一个重要的部分就是去学着相信我的双手和直觉。 如果不这么做，会浪费很多时间来苦恼，作品会失去优势。当你看到带着信心创作出的作品时你就会明白。 

I love design that is sure of itself. I know that sounds kind of vague. But an important part of my journey has been learning to trust my hands and my intuition. If you don’t you’ll waste a lot of time agonizing and your work will lose its edge. You know when you see work that is created with confidence.

Narkii：

您之前有导师吗吗？他们是如何帮助您走到今天的呢？

Have you had a mentor? How did they help in getting you where you are today?

Drew：

当谈到艺术和手工，我最喜欢的人之一就是Jake Weidmann。当我碰壁时，Joshua Bullock和Sean McCabe让我可以继续前行。他们都非常有才华，而且是很好的人。去交朋友—他们不会仅仅把你当做“通讯录”上的一个名字。到现在，我的许多非设计师朋友常常给我的工作带来很多鼓舞。

Jake Weidmann is definitely one of my favorite people to talk to when it comes to art and craft. Joshua Bullock and Sean McCabe keep me going when I hit a wall. All of them are so talented but more than anything they are just good people. Make friends-They will take you farther than “contacts”. Many of my “Non-Designer” friends have been some of the most inspiring people to my career so far.

Narkii：

什么能帮助您提高效率？

What helps you be productive?

Drew：

避免注意力分散—当我有一个小而整洁的桌面，上面尽量少有那些会让我分散注意力的东西，这种情况下我的状态最好。哦，还需要有很多阳光。阳光让我感到开心，富有效率；住在洛杉矶在这方面对我来说就很棒。

Disconnecting from distraction-I do my best when I have a small, clear desk space with as little distraction as possible. Oh, and lots of sunlight. I need sunlight to be happy and productive; living in Los Angeles is good for me that way.

Narkii：

对您来说，作一名设计师意味着什么？

What does it mean to you to be a designer?

Drew：

就是与客户合作带有商业目的的产品。对我而言，艺术是关于表达，而设计是带着商业意图的沟通。这可能不完全准确，但这是迄今为止我最好的解释。

Working with a client on a product for a commercial purpose. To me, art is about expression and design is about communication with commercial intent. This may not be completely accurate but it’s my best explanation so far.

Narkii：

对于刚入行的设计师，您有什么建议吗？

Do you have any advice you’d like to share with people who are new to this industry?

Drew：

学习基础知识。不要试图耍小聪明，尽量不要和其他伟大的设计师比较。它会阻碍你发现自己的声音，真正发展你的技能。那是我早期犯的一个很大的错误。我忙于工作，没有耐心真正去学习好的排版，字体和设计的基础知识。最好的作品不会给人造成过多视觉上的混乱。我们有必要朝着好的作品努力，但把它们当做燃料就好，不要让它们破坏了你自己的作品。

Learn the basics. Don’t try to be clever and try not to compare yourself to other great designers. It will keep you from finding your voice and really developing your skills. That was a big mistake I made early on. I got caught up on busy work and didn’t have the patience to really learn the fundamentals of good layout, lettering and design. The best work is the work that needs the least visual chaos. It’s necessary to keep up on great work but use it as fuel and don’t let it derail your own work.