Writer, Designer & Podcaster, Debbie Millman
is a writer, designer, educator, artist, brand consultant and host of the podcast Design Matters.
You can visit her website here.
How did you get started in your career?
I went to SUNY Albany because I thought I wanted to be a journalist, and I worked my way up through the ranks of the school newspaper and became the editor of the Arts and Leisure section. Then very quickly found out that, in the grand scheme of things, I was much more interested in what the paper looked like than the specifics of how it ran.
I wasn’t as interested in editing, once I was assigned a story idea, as I was into designing that story. I very quickly realized that it was really design that I should pursue and not journalism, although writing has had, and continues to have, a very big impact on my life and my career.
However, I don’t have a design degree. I have a degree in English Literature, with a Minor in Russian literature, so really I have a college degree in reading. : )
After I graduated and started looking for a job, I saw an ad in the New York Times for a magazine job at the publication that’s called Cableview and the ad specifically stated, “no visitors.” But I figured I would go in person anyway, because it was literally a block away from where I lived. And I thought, well, what’s the harm in just dropping it off.
I was the first person to come by that Monday morning. The receptionist didn’t even know there was a job opening. When I dropped my resume by, she immediately called the creative director and said, “Oh somebody just dropped a resume by.” He came out. I really thought he was going to come out and yell at me. Instead, he came out to see my portfolio and a half hour later I was working.
I ended up being hired as a traffic girl between the design department and the editorial department. I continued my path of doing both, working with words and visuals. Because I had been doing so much editing while I was in school, I still was doing editing and also doing graphic design. That was my first job.
Who are your biggest influences?
My first mentor was a woman named Karin Lippert: She had her own PR agency and hired me to do all the graphic design for her clients. She was the first strong woman who I was able to watch run a business and she was, and still is, very involved in the women’s movement. In fact, she is the person I wrote about in the visual essay “Cheese” in my book, Look Both Ways. She was and still is a strong mentor of mine.
Gloria Steinem: I worked with her about 25 years ago via Karin. Just being in her presence and watching her work and think was extraordinary.
Paula Scher: She has created a body of work over the last four decades that has been groundbreaking, genre-making, inspiring, and meaningful. And after all the awards, and accolades, and medals, she is still working and making some of the best work of her life.
My fairy-godfather, as I call him, and the magician of my life is Steve Heller. Steve asked me if I would cofound the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts and also gave me my first book opportunity. He’s someone I would go to for advice about anything.
What work do you most enjoy doing?
I am happiest when I am making things. I have been making things for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, I made my own coloring books, I made my own paper dolls, I made dioramas, and I even tried to make my own perfume by crushing rose petals into baby oil. I made barrette boxes out of Popsicle sticks, key chains out of lanyards, ashtrays out of clay, and Halloween costumes out of construction paper and old sheets. These days I am happiest when I am making something from nothing: it could be a podcast, a magazine, a lesson plan, a presentation, a garden, a meal, or a book. If I am making something and being creative, I am happy.
When you're not creating, what do you like to do in your free time?
I like to sleep! I like to go to the theater and watch movies. I love to read. And I love to take long walks with my wife and my dog.
What goals do you have for yourself as an artist?
I want to keep making things until the last days of my life and feel that both my work and my life has made a little bit of a difference. □
Article Credits
Instagram: @debbiemillman
Twitter: @debbiemillman
Debbie’s Website: debbiemillman.com
Design Matters Podcast: designmattersmedia.com
