In English:
Jason Dean is a graphic designer/illustrator from Florida. He created a website to sale is own posters, thebestpart.com. Everything is limited edition, local partners, handmade processes and natural inks are used whenever possible. His last innovation including two different layers of phosphorescent inks, so when the lights go out you can see a other aspect of New York, San Francisco... He has a modern aesthetic, and old fashion style. Jason like to share is favorite link on his Facebook page, go take a lock. He succeed and can live from his business, it's a very talented and a lucky guy. Thank you Jason for your interest in participation in this blog.
En Français:
Jason Dean est un graphiste/illustrateur originaire de Floride (USA). Il propose des posters en édition limitée sur sont site thebestpart.com. Des points importants, tout est fait localement, avec des encres naturelles et à la main. Grâce à l'utilisation d'une encre phosphorescente, il a élaboré une série d'affiches sérigraphies, offrent une vision de jour et de nuit de villes comme New York, San Francisco... Ces créations font preuve de diversités et son style reste personnel, moderne tout en ayant une ambiance rétro. Il réussit à vivre de sa passion et de ces créations. Il nous décrit sont parcoure dans cette interview. Un grand merci pour sa participation.En Français:
Can you tell me about "the best part" website?
Originally "The Best Part" was simply an art/design blog, created more for myself than anyone else. I (borderline obsessively) like to catalog things that inspire me, and a simple website was my way of doing that. After years of working days at a design firm and coming home to work on the blog at night, I felt like I needed to do something of my own. So I quit my day job and began creating posters, which had always been something of a dream for me. Luckily my wife is very supportive and understood why I wanted to leave a perfectly good job that I was very lucky to have. I'm still obsessive about documenting things that inspire me, so while the blog in its original form no longer exists I still post links to things I like via Facebook and Twitter. They're so much more immediate than a traditional site and this allows me to spend my day working on posters rather than tweaking code. All of these different things still fall under the umbrella of "The Best Part" though.
What was the most challenging part in creating "day and night in" poster?
The most challenging part was the printing process itself. Don't get me wrong, I didn't print those personally. But it would be wrong not to recognize the fantastic and excruciatingly painstaking work that my printer David Chad did on the "Day and Night" series. Not only did he have to print and perfectly register 7 different ink colors on a constantly changing page (paper contracts with each layer as more ink is applied to its surface, sometimes drastically), he had to mix two different intensities of phosphorescent inks to make sure that the things I wanted to glow most prominently did exactly that. All from a garage in hot & humid Central Florida with no air conditioning, and no computers. The man is a craftsman and he involves me in every step of the process, I really can't say enough about how lucky I am to have him.
What work do you most enjoying doing?
I always say that my favorite project is the next one. The beginning ideation stages of designing a poster are both scary and exciting, you have nothing but a blank sheet of paper in front of you with which to communicate an idea that people will want to buy. The process is addictive, reaching that AHA! moment when you know you have something good is possibly the greatest feeling on earth. But once it's done, I'm usually over it and want nothing to do with it again. I'm too busy obsessing over the next idea!
Who is your favorite designer? Ohio University's Graphic Design program was very rooted in the Swiss International Style, so I'm partial to design with a strong, grid-based approach. My favorite though, would have to be Josef Muller-Brockmann. His work is not only strikingly simple and beautiful, but organized in a mathematically precise way that makes communication effortless. I will be forever striving to reach the perfection that is Josef Muller-Brockmann.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Daily life is inspiration. You never know where it's going to come from or when. We're all pretty much bombarded constantly with imagery, whether it's the internet, tv or signage. Specifically though, I'm inspired most by vintage Americana. Things like hand-painted signage, old billboards and neon signs, abandoned gas stations, old packaging graphics and things like that. Advertising and design used to have so much personality and craftsmanship. Nowadays everyone just wants everything to be cheap.
Lease tell us a bit about your professional background
I grew up in rural Ohio and attended Ohio University, where I earned a degree in Fine Arts with a major in Graphic Design. My first job in the industry was an internship at my local hometown newspaper, the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. I laid out ads for real estate, classifieds and things like that. I still have a cutout of the first ad I ever had printed in the newspaper, an ad that read "Fish for Pond-Stocking" available at the local feed store. After graduation I got a job at a large ad agency in Columbus, OH as a graphic designer. It was my first experience in an agency that size, and I quickly learned that this was not something I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not play the politics game well. Luckily my wife (girlfriend at that time) was moving to Orlando, FL to attend grad school so I tagged along.
In Orlando I was freelancing for a while when I was offered a role in a project at Brand Architecture, a local architecture, branding and design firm. The project was a re-branding of Outback Steakhouse. From the architecture of the buildings themselves to the interiors, menus and advertisements, we were re-branding everything. It was extremely intense, competitive and thrilling. It was the first job I ever had where I felt like I was actually contributing something worthwhile. I worked with some really inspiring people who had projects of their own on the side. The owner was doing watercolors in his studio, the creative director and partner was making posters from home and an architect was making hand-sewn leather goods in his garage. I started toying with the idea of making posters of my own and The Best Part was born, first as a blog and eventually a poster design practice.
How would you describe your style?
My style is simply an extension of myself, composed of individual pieces of my past. Bits of traditional Americana from growing up in the country, alongside a strong Swiss grid and simplicity from my schooling. I try to approach each project individually though, without a set style in mind. I think this differs from most illustrators and is probably a result of the fact that I'm trained as a graphic designer.
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