Jake Farmer
A spotlight on Jake with 8 questions and our favourite pieces.
Jake Farmer, or also know as designbyjake is a designer, animator, and type fan who also runs his own clothing line called Flux.
He loves to experiment with all things kinetic type, experimenting with different ways typography can be used in motion to tell a story.
Do you remember the moment you knew you wanted to become a designer?
I remember when I first started messing around on photoshop when I was around 13-14 and that kind of kicked off my love for creating things. I ended up starting a clothing brand back in 2012 with the skills I taught myself and this gradually led me more and more to wanting to become a designer.
Did you go to design school? Do you think it was necessary to get to where you are today?
I studied graphic design at college for 2 years, I then ended up going to Coventry University to study graphic design for 3 years which helped me develop myself further and I think it was the best decisions I ever made in my opinion. University made me explore lots of different fields within graphic design. After three years of studying I saw so much progression in my work from the first year to the last year of uni. I found my passion for motion graphics in my final year at University when I was creating motion work for the degree show, although I wasn’t really taught motion design, that’s just something I taught myself along the way.
Who is your favorite designer right now?
I have many favourites, such as Lucas Grassmay, Fatih Hardal, Kenny Brandenberger, James Lacey, Dase Boogie, Lucas Hesse, Dan Barkle, Alexander Dueckminor, Jeremy Rieger, the list could go on and on.
What is your all time favorite font?
I don’t have a favourite font but I do love condensed fonts such as Formula, Alternate Gothic and Tusker Grotesk as they just work so well for kinetic type and have so many weights to them. Helvetica is always going to be a font I love too.
What is your method of getting out of a designers block?
I browse Pinterest a lot to get inspired but I mainly just force my way out of it by designing even if I don’t feel as motivated.
Can you describe your ideal working environment?
It really depends what it is I’m working on. If it’s personal projects I work best when I’m sat on my own with no distractions, listening to music as it gets me in the zone for any project. For agency life it’s always good to be able to have team close by to give feedback on projects and make a project the best it can be.
Some of our Favorites
What advice would you have given yourself 3 years ago?
I would have said to work on personal projects as I didn’t really start to do that until I was just finishing University. I know it’s hard to know what route you want to take as a designer early on but just experimenting with different software all the time really helped me find my way on the right path and improve my design skills as a whole.
What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career so far? How did you overcome it?
Moving to London to start my career at an agency after University was a big step for me, I had no experience at an agency/studio before. Having a great team around me meant I was able to settle into the role and I have learnt so much ever since I joined the team two years ago.
