Designer Q&A: Brendan Irving

What is your role at BMD? Can you provide a description?

As a Designer at BMD, I assist in completing tasks related to all aspects of design development and execution. Since the beginning of my role in the studio, this has included work in areas such as design research, iconography/asset creation, developing brand systems (identity, guidelines, etc.), motion graphics, case studies and preparing files for print. I’ve had the opportunity to dive headfirst into the process of building a brand from the ground up and have learned a ton from my coworkers through collaboration and working towards shared goals.

What were your first creative experiences? How did you become interested in design?

My brother Grant is also a Designer and growing up he inspired me to pursue my own creative interests. Together, we were always drawing, so my earliest artistic memories involve both of us at the dining room table making something with our hands. Independently, I always took more of an interest in photography and loved to compose photos of architecture and abstract forms. When I started making photo zines in high school, I learned that I loved editorial design and became very excited by the possibility that design could merge all my creative hobbies.

If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?

I would mostly likely be studying writing. I am really inspired by literature and have always had an interest in the power of language as a form of expression. In particular, I see a lot of parallels between design and short fiction in the sense that both seek to distill an idea into its simplest and most effective form. However, what I love about both is that they still allow room to push the imagination and be a bit unconventional.

Who/what do you admire right now?
Currently, I am really inspired by Atmos magazine. It is a beautifully designed publication that merges important conversations around culture, the climate and social justice. I am consistently impressed by their curation of thoughtful text and images across both their print and digital platforms. I find myself saving posts from their Instagram all the time.

What are your hobbies or projects outside of work?
I am really into making collages out of old magazines and found type. It’s a personal project I have kept up for a while now, but I have never really shared any of it online because I really just do it as something for me to stay inspired and motivated when away from my computer. Over the years they have progressed and become a bit more modular which is interesting to me because I now notice certain design principles like the grid creeping into the work. Overall though, I try to keep things loose and let the found material inform the final piece.