Elliott Walker

We were lucky enough to have the incredibly talented designer & art director, Elliott Walker, come to speak to our Shillington New York students last week. Elliott is a designer at leading global agency Pentagram, and he agreed to share some advice for young designers starting out… 

What was the biggest mistake you made as a junior designer?

I started out in design as a self-taught freelance designer. It took me a LONG time to learn the ropes. Because I didn’t have a degree in design I was hesitant to approach studios where I would have learned a tremendous amount from other experienced designers. Instead, I dragged things out in isolation for a few years. When I finally started working with other designers, I feel like my development took off because I had all of these ideas and thoughts about design that I had kept bottled up. It was so refreshing to be around extremely talented designers that challenged my thinking and made me really step up. I think it was a big mistake to work on my own for so long.

What did you wish you knew when you were first starting out?

I wish I knew how hard it is to sell through an idea.

I thought that if the work was good than the client would naturally accept it, but that’s not the case. In fact, a lot of times it’s even harder to sell someone a good idea! If I had known that earlier, I would have been less precious and withholding with my projects.

How or where do you find inspiration?

I’m a big believer in finding inspiration outside of the graphic design bubble. There is so much beautiful design work in the world and online that you can spend the entire day just browsing perfectly curated Tumblr blogs. As fun as that is, I find it much more interesting to use references outside of design. Art, fashion, architecture, film are all great subjects to study and learn from as the solutions developed in those disciplines can often be applied to visual communication.

What would your ideal brief be?

For me, it’s less about the brief and more about the people.

I love working on projects with people that have big ideas and ambitious creative endeavors.

I’m interested in working in areas that help push culture forward: art, architecture, film, food, music, publishing, etc. I also get excited about helping people launch new businesses. Really, if I believe in the idea and the person, the project ceases to feel like work.

Tell us about how you ended up working for Pentagram?

The right place at the right time. I heard about a job opening and feel fortunate to have even been considered for the job. It’s an honor to work with Emily Oberman and Pentagram itself is a great place to work. The projects are interesting and challenging and everyone that works there is smart, talented and genuinely nice.

Thank you Elliott!