In 2009 I’m all over the place, so if you’d like to see me on stage, ranting on about various design-isms or teaching cosy little workshops in a city near you, there should be several opportunities.
The events on the right are Microformatted for your pleasure. To be the first to hear about new ones, simply subscribe to my RSS feed. You can also keep up with my galavanting on Dopplr.
Written at 3pm on 24.11.08
Filed under ALL CATEGORIES / Publication & Recognition
9 comments (closed)
When I was a nerdy teenager and dreamed of one day becoming a rock superstar, I - like most nerdy teenagers who dream of one day becoming rock superstars - whiled away hours imagining various ‘rock’ scenarios. One of those scenarios involved me getting interviewed by magazines. Something about people wanting to hear my thoughts on the world seemed extremely alluring, but it was so unlikely that I filed it away along with the rest of my teenage daydreams.
Web design’s a funny thing, however, because although my chosen vocation involves much less ROCK, it has somehow allowed me to travel the world and get interviewed on a semi-regular basis. Two interviews coincided quite recently and I thought now would be a good time to highlight them and give you some links, if you’re in need of some internet-flavoured distraction.
The first was for Blogorola magazine and took place a few weeks ago, when I was in Ljubljana, Slovenia (to speak at Spletne Urice). I was interviewed outside a very cool absinthe bar by Blogorola’s editor Simon Ručigaj, and Jernej Kelih has kindly managed to get the interview into English and publish it on Social Media Soup. Thanks Simon and Jernej… for the interview and the absinthe!
The second took place via email, which is much safer, let me tell you. Gavin Elliott interviewed me for his brand new, just-launched website Floobe, and apparently I’m the first of many interviewees. He said some very nice things about me, he asked some great questions, and he has a fantastic surname.
If you enjoy reading the interviews, please leave a comment below!
(Photo credit: Marta Lamovsek)
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UPDATED! I’ve been known to while away a few hours on these blogs, most of which are written by my friends in the industry...
Basics Design: Layout (Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris) - A beautifully designed book about beautiful design. Some key layout principles are presented in an engaging way, and this is more a book about inspiration than pure instruction.
Poe: Illustrated Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) - Some fine contemporary illustrrators take on some Poe classics and the result is a gorgeous collection of words and art.
Penguin By Design (Phil Baines) - A history of Penguin Books’ cover designs, as educational and inspirational as you’d expect from this prolific publisher.
Thinking with Type (Ellen Lupton) - I first saw this sitting on a desk in the nytimes.com offices, and after thumbing through it, realised it was one of the best books about the technicalities of typography that I’d seen.
Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Other Stories (Mike Mignola) - The latest Hellboy trade paperback collects yet more classic stories, although this time Mignola is joined by other artists.
The Ten Commandments of Typography (Paul Felton) - A book of two halves (the flip-side deals with so-called ‘Type Heresy’), this is a witty but informative book bout typographical techniques.
Great Beers of Belgium (Michael Jackson) - No, not that Michael Jackson. This is the one who really knows his stuff when it comes to fine beers.
London: The Biography (Peter Ackroyd) - A lively, engaging book about the history of London, told as it the city itself were a living thing.
Tres Logos (various) - I could look through logo books until the cows come home; this kind of collection is invaluable to the identity designer, and this is, of course, just one book.
Business Cards 2: More Ways Of Saying Hello (various) - This is another great source of inspiration and a lovely ‘coffee table’ book that’s a joy to flick through even if you don’t need to design a business card.
Schild’s Ladder (Greg Egan) - One of the most full-on sci-fi books I’ve ever read, with its use of real physics and exploration of quantum mechanics shaping much of the narrative.
Wolverine: Weapon X (Barry Winsor Smith) - A landmark story in the history of this legendary comic book character, Weapon X has become a real classic.
Casa Batlló: Gaudi (various) - Sam and I visited Barcelona last year, where we saw several amazing architectural feats by Gaudi. This book captures some of the beauty that our camera couldn’t.
The Fundamentals of Typography (Gavin Ambrose) - This was the first bok I bought specifically about typography, and it pretty much does what it says on the tin, although a nice bit of history is thrown in as well.
Analog In, Digital Out (Brendan Dawes) - Magnetic North’s main man explores some arty, experimental projects without any of the ponce usually associated with the genre. This is a book about merging new and old ideas, and it’s inspiring all the way through.
The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins) - Possibly one of the most important books in print today.
Foundation’s Edge (Issac Asimov) - Another Asimov classic, this part of The Foundation Saga encapsulates some monumental ideas about humanity far beyond the boundaries of regular sci-fi.
Web Standards Creativity (various authors) - 10 great lessons for writing better markup, using the latest CSS, and adding subtle Javascript tricks
Transcending CSS (Andy Clarke) - Rethink the way you design and code. This book was hugely influential on me whilst building the latest version of this site and made me even more pedantic
Dune (Frank Herbert) - An absolutely legendary sci-fi novel full of very complex ideas... much better than the film!
Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman) - A dark and charming tale of a man who eschews normal life for the secret underworld of ‘London Below’
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Gavin Elliott
24.11.08
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Hi Elliot,
Thanks for taking part in the interview! It’s an impressive read.
Thanks Again,
Gavin
Loz Lowe
24.11.08
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I remember always reading the interviews in the Telegraph Magazine of all things, and thinking “One day, that’ll be me…”
You’re living my dream, man!
~Loz
Jernej
24.11.08
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thank you for cooperating!
Neil
24.11.08
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Treating speaking gigs like free mini-holidays sounds like the way to go; I got a little bit jealous at that point (in the Floobes article, which was great). Regarding favorite Mac apps - TextMate is the bees knees - good choice. I use it for anything & everything, even Xmas shopping lists.
Grant
25.11.08
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Great interviews. And thanks for the tip on Miguel Ripoll. I’d never heard of his work before. Excellent as well.
rama
25.11.08
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yet another great insights on web-design by Elliot Jay Stocks.
Thanks for the share Elliot.
barry
25.11.08
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A great insight, cheers Elliot.
Elliot Jay Stocks
25.11.08
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Thanks guys - I’m glad you enjoyed them! :)
Marta L.
04.12.08
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Elliot, finally visited your wonderful site after a long time, and said to myself Marta, you are AGAIN late 14 days to say thanks for all the credits to Elliot, - but it is never too late! ;) So, thanks! It’s been my pleasure all the way!
Hehe, I didn’t know it was your FIRST. And now I’m really proud! Becouse, you know what they say about first timers …you never forget it! :) I will never forget it neither! Rock on!!!