1. Hi , who are you and what do you do?
My name is Duane King and I am a creative director and designer at a multidisciplinary studio called BBDK. Bob Borden is BB and I’m DK. From our home office in Santa Fe, New Mexico and satellite office with Athletics in Brooklyn, New York we collaborate with a network of graphic and product designers, programmers and photographers worldwide. In my spare time, I’m an editor at AisleOne, TypeNEU, YouWorkForThem and ViewersLikeU. I’m also a critical thinking scout for Netdiver.

2. Describe a typical day at work?
Most mornings begin with checking RSS feeds and email, followed by posting a few choice items to Thinking for a Living. Then I have a short drive through the mountains to our office. Our days at the office vary greatly, but typically involve putting out client fires intermixed with photoshoots, design and production work and dreaming about the next big thing. We encourage an open, creative environment with a continuous lively exchange of ideas.

3. What do you enjoy most about your work?
Solving problems.

4. What do you like least about your job?
Selling the solutions.

5. What is your worst enemy of creativity?
Routine.

6. What do you do when you start a new project and you have NO ideas?
I suppose that every project begins with a blank page, but knowledge is power. Ask the hard questions. Educate yourself about your clients’ challenges and define the limitations of your project and the ideas should begin to flow. Progress has limits, and limitations create style. The parameters of communication goals, business structure and budget define boundaries that you must work within.

7. What inspires you the most?
White space. I love the space between things, whether it be notes of music, a page layout, or empty intellectual space. Great designers search out the white spaces in order to help set their work and their clients apart from the competition.

8. Do you listen to music while working? And if “yes” what music do you listen to?
We always have music going at the studio. We listen to everything from electronica to classic rock and a bit of anything in between. It’s a bit too eclectic of a mix to list here, but you can always check my Last.fm page to see what we’re listening to now.

9. How do you deal with criticism?
Everyone’s a critic and criticism is part of graphic design. Fortunately, your skin grows thicker as you age and you really learn how to get the most out of critiques. I’ve learned to value input from critics and to use it to my advantage to improve my work. Be objective and selective in what you react to. Don’t take it personally and take your time to respond. The best immediate response to criticism is a simple smile.

10. What does your workspace look like?
Our main workspace is located in Santa Fe. We’re lucky enough to have a warm, bright environment that feels like home to me. Maybe it’s because I spend more time here than at home!

11. Do you remember the very first web-project in which you were involved?
It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago, but I was lucky enough to have a site for Herman Miller called Simple, Quick, Affordable as my first web project. Talk about being a bit intimidated. It was a crash course in Helvetica, minimalism and the history of mid-century modern furniture design. I worked on this site for several years while working for my previous employer. We were fortunate enough to have the site included within the American Center for Design’s Web 100.

12. Is there any advice you would give our readers?
Although design is a profession, it’s above all a passion. And as passionate graphic designers, we are obliged to ourselves, our industry and our clients to provide creative solutions that have persuasive branding messages as well as emotional power and aesthetic value. Great design is an art, not a commodity or a formula. It´s a structure and process that needs to be tested and re-examined as it evolves.

Have a viewpoint, believe in something, trust your instincts. Be a sponge. Pay attention to the world around you. Soak up everything and create filters to sort out the gems from the garbage.

13. What has been the most fun project to work on so far?
Perhaps a store that we designed in collaboration with Karim Rashid for Nambé. I really enjoyed working with Karim’s studio and that particular client was very open-minded and fun to work with. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that the former Vice President and Creative Director of Nambé is now my business partner. We have even more fun now than we did then.

14. Imagine yourself in 15 years… what do you see yourself doing?
The same thing, but hopefully I’ll be much better at it.

15. Please tell us 3 people who we should do this Interview with (Why them?).
Matt Pyke of Universal Everything (http://www.universaleverything.com/)

Matt is an incredible talent and an ongoing inspiration. I love his willingness to question things and ability to push his clients to new heights. Impressive.

Svein Haakon Lia of Bleed (http://www.bleed.com/)

Svein has a fantastically well-developed sense of what’s next. I really enjoy his studios fusion of art, design, technology and fashion. Bleed is a long time favorite of mine.

Matt Owens of Volumeone (http://www.volumeone.com/)

Matt’s work speaks for itself. His studio, Volumeone, has always been inspiring to me. How does one guy do so much? Matt’s legacy continues with Athletics, a collective that leverages the talents of some of the best and brightest in the business.

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Duane… thank you very much for answering our questions :-)
So if you want to visit Duane you should do that now: http://bbdk.com, thinkingforaliving.org