An interview with Duane King of BBDK

BBDK | visit site

You recently received a huge amount of praise for the Luigi Bormioli website, which is a beautiful piece of interaction design, but which most people attributed to Flash: were you surprised and what was the thinking behind the site?

The Luigi Bormioli site was a challenging project, but in the end, the results speak for themselves. We married our editorial ability with our skill at locating adept partners to create a site that offered a true interactive experience that was both functional and memorable. We collaborated with Ian Coyle of Superheroes to develop a site that used jQuery instead of Flash for it’s interactivity. The net result was an inventive user interface that is highly optimized for search engines, easily updateable and requires no plug-ins. The new site increased web traffic for our client by over 20,000% percent upon launch and was warmly embraced by the design community. Most recently, the site was awarded a Bronze from the Art Directors Club 88th Annual Awards.

In my opinion, the future of Flash-world websites is questionable. Flash certainly has its place, but in a more modular part of the solution rather than the entire solution. Typically Flash is more labor intensive to update, requires a plugin and is still virtually invisible to search engines. Product introductions like the iPhone and it’s lack of support for Flash has certainly added pressure to the need for new technological solutions for interactivity. A change is coming. I can’t predict the future, but I am cautiously watching the horizons as JavaScript developments are leading the way towards a new approach towards interactivity.

Luigi Bormioli | visit site

Please can you tell us about your history, and how you came into interactive design, and then to how you came to found BBDK?

My background is a bit of a rollercoaster ride so here is a the abridged version.

I went to college in Texas and was lucky enough to earn an award for my portfolio that fostered many job leads. I took the offer from the highest bidder and soon learned that I didn’t fit into the environment of the studio where I had landed. One thing led to another and I quit graphic design. Lost, I returned to painting and drawing as a creative outlet. After achieving some success in fine art, I soon felt that creating paintings that matched my patron’s sofas wasn’t cutting it and I decided to return to graphic design.

The entire industry had been computerized in my hiatus so I had to relearn the craft. After three months, I had mastered my first Apple computer and began working as a Junior Designer at a design studio at the beginning of the dotcom boom. One thing led to another and I eventually became the Creative Director which allowed me to expand my knowledge and problem-solving ability. I was lucky enough to work on projects as diverse as sites for Herman Miller and Neiman Marcus, video game logos and packaging for id Software, and retail stores with Karim Rashid. From there, it was a natural progression to found BBDK with my friend and partner, Bob Borden.

You use Twitter a lot to post pertinent and useful links that you have found. What do you think of Twitter and how do you think it should be best used?

Twitter is an interesting new self-promotional tool. It’s validity long term is questionable, but we’re never ones to miss an opportunity to explore a new media form. BBDK believes strongly in filling in all the corners online. We use Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Cargo, blogging and more to spread our message - and to learn about new networking tools. Self-promotion is a constant challenge. Many think that you build your portfolio site and you’re done. It’s just not that simple. Be ubiquitous.

How did you meet Bob, and how did the partnership come about and why? Do you have any great  stories to share?

Bob and I met as client and vendor while I was employed at another design studio. During late night conversations over dinner, we often casually spoke about opening a design studio in the future. It was all dreamy at that point but we shared the same passion and appreciation for good design. Sometimes fate intervenes in life. When I was ready to leave my former employer, I called Bob to let him know about my plans. Coincidentally, he was also leaving his job. At that point, he invited me out to visit him in Santa Fe. The rest is history.

As for stories, you’ll have to ask Bob about his experiences in Italy involving a shoe and a midnight crawl on a rooftop. I can’t do the story justice!

Tell us more about the link between you and Athletics? Is the model of small practices partnering up the future of web/interactive design? What are the pros and cons of working like this?

Athletics is an art and design collective comprised of some of today’s best and brightest talents in their respective fields. With skill sets ranging from graphic design, illustration, art direction, motion graphics and video directing to web design and development, Athletics members have come together to leverage their talents and energies for a wide range of clients and projects.

Athletics was formed by Matt Owens of volumeone in 2005 and currently consists of eight studios. Each member of the collective works both independently and as an agency if the need arises. To us, this is the future of design. All of the members retain their individual identities and can scale to an agency size to address most any challenge. The arrangement also serves to satisfy the creative hunger for comraderie while fostering healthy competition amongst peers. Genius.

What are your favourite pieces from the BBDK (or personal) portfolio?

Currently, I think it’s our passion project Thinking for a Living which has really touched a sweet spot with the public and internally at the studio. Thinking for a Living was built on friendship, passion and a dedication to the craft of design. There really seems to be endless potential for this project but we can only address one opportunity at a time.

We are currently in the process of developing the Thinking for a Living Network, an alliance of like-minded individuals who are experimenting with publishing and education through a series of topic specific sites, conferences, workshops and publications. The Network includes Thinking for a Living, The Grid System, AisleOne, The Design Manifesto, Design Facts, More Substance, and Thought & Theory. We can’t wait to unleash it to the world.

Thinking for a Living | visit site

Describe your ideal client, and do they exist?

Ideal clients aren’t unicorns, but they are rare. For BBDK, the perfect client is someone who appreciates the value of good design and treats us like a partner. We’re painfully aware that good design is more than a surface treatment. It begins with the decision-makers of a corporation. It’s impossible to be effective without a synergistic and holistic approach to design. Like the human body, the left hand has to know what the right hand is doing.

BBDK loves colour. Do you find the grey and orange of siteInspire a bit… dull?

Actually, I find the minimalism of siteInspire quite appealing. Certainly, we do love colour at BBDK, but we also truly believe that less is more. Simply put, our environment informs our sense of colour. Sunsets, plants, mountains. We’re surrounded and inspired by nature. But ultimately, we’re just as happy with white space. The value of a pause amongst the chaos is underestimated.

— Posted on May 27th, 2009 by Daniel in: Interview

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