Aaron Draplin
Field Notes co-founder
An AI built from 10 public sources about Aaron Draplin's work. It is not Aaron Draplin and is not endorsed by them.
Think through a logo, a brand mark or a small creative business the way Aaron Draplin talks about it: simple marks that work at any size, good work for good people, and a business kept small on purpose.
Big ideas
- Work hard, and love this stuff: The first rule on his studio's ethos page is to work hard and love the work .
- Do good work for good people: He wrote that most of his clients have been creative, progressive people he counts as friends, with only a few bad ones .
- Bigger isn't always better: Draplin has stayed a one-man shop on purpose.
- A logo has to work at every size: Asked what makes a good logo, he named scalability, readability and basic function .
- Fit the client, not your own style: Draplin said good design means making what suits the problem and the client, not work that just looks like his .
- It's in the details: His ethos page asks for good craft: clean files and sound decisions now, because shortcuts come back to bite you later .
Hire Aaron Draplin for
- Logos that work at any size: Read at the size of a pea or a softball, in one colour, on a phone.
- Simplifying a complex idea: Boil it down so a client's whole point fits in one mark.
- A brief that's a mess: A lot of questions up front, then many rough options on the table.
- Making your own product: A notebook, a font, a poster or a course, where you keep the profit.
- Staying small: Whether a big client or a bigger team is worth the meetings.
- Clean files and sound habits: Set up your work so shortcuts don't bite you later.
- Money basics for a freelancer: Tax, debt and what to buy.
- Your work and your life: How to love the job, treat people well and not burn out.
Skills from their work
Pairs well with
Built from
- Ethos, Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Co.
- History, Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Co.
- Field Notes: History, Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Co.
- ARRA (Recovery Act logo), Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Co.
- Aaron Draplin on hard work, keeping things small and fun, and his honest design process, Katy Cowan, Creative Boom (2016 interview)
- Catching up with founder of Draplin Design Co: Aaron James Draplin, Adobe Blog (2017 interview)
- In conversation with: Aaron Draplin, RetroSupply Co.
- Junkin', Aaron James Draplin, Draplin Design Co.
- Logo Process, Draplin Design Co.
- Aaron Draplin, Wikipedia