Quickfire questions with (soon-to-be) LA-based art director Jeff Docherty. From ProDesign 106 with additional images.

Electric Wire Hustle album cover.

ProDesign\\ The biographical info on your website reads a little like this: Christchurch, Melbourne, New York. What’s the best place you’ve worked at as an art director?

Jeff Docherty\\ I’d have to say New York, the city is filled with so many inspiring and talented people. You buzz off your fellow creatives, it’s like when you go skateboarding with someone better than you, you want to progress and push each other to improve. Saying that, I’m in Christchurch at the moment and arrive in LA in a few weeks.PD\\ You’ve worked on a number of publications, including The New York Times Magazine and i-D Magazine. Where do you think magazine design is heading these days?
JD\\ Magazine design should alway focus on telling inspiring and interesting stories. Great content and great images equals a great magazine – it’s simple math, but it is tough to pull off. Learning to exercise restraint is a quality rarely considered. I often see magazines designed for designers and not readers.

PD\\ Am I correct in inferring a strong geometric theme in some of your work – fine lines, triangles, cubes. If so, where do you think the fascination for this style comes from?
JD\\ They tend to be bold and stick in people’s minds, we are trained to remember simple symbols in life, like a stop sign is red and usually an octagon. Implanting a memorable moment is a challenge in this day and age, with the abundance of advertising… Simplicity is king.

PD\\ Do you have a favourite piece of editorial work?
JD\\ Hands down my work for The New York Times Magazine, they justify both sides of the story – neither the design or the editorial content is compromised in telling the story. The design speaks louder when needed, and in other cases the editorial text pushes forward to take centre stage.

PD\\ How did you come to work for the band Electric Wire Hustle?
JD\\ I was lucky enough to work and live with one of the band members in Melbourne, we have always kept in touch. When they travelled through New York I made it obvious that when they released an album I wanted in! Great thing about working for EWH is that they trust your creative input, you really need good clients to do good work.

PD\\ What was the logotype typeface you used?
JD\\ The EWH logo was a custom typeface I built. It was inspired by those old style 50s and 60s neon signs.

For more examples of Docherty's work check out jeffreydocherty.com.

– MB