In an effort to foster relationships and create dialogues with the creative forces that inspire us, “We Are Each Other” is an on-going series that spotlights designers in various design disciplines. These in-depth interviews and essays showcase our belief that we are all extensions of a larger artistic community, inspiring and motivating each other to new heights of imagination and innovation.
Vaughn Fender and I have a very peculiar story: you see, we’ve never met, yet we’ve worked on a few things together here and there. Even funnier, while we share a good handful of mutual friends, in real life our paths have never crossed. I was first introduced to his brilliant illustration work when I was recruited by the Hartford School of Art. Vaughn was featured in their beautifully designed prospective students handbook. I would later find that he worked as a designer at Fathom, where I’d been interviewing as a prospective intern. Later Vaughn and I would connect to work on a mutual project concerning Kid Cudi. Despite our rich personal history, to this day Vaughn and I have still never met. I felt that We Are Each Other resonated deeply with Vaughn and I because we share so much in common and are able to collaborate so effortlessly, geographic and time/space constraints be damned.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Vaughn Fender. I’m a designer and illustrator living in Hartford and missing NY.
I commute way to much but I love where I work. I do daily drawings and I freelance when I can.
Selected Work
5 typefaces that you are currently digging right now.
Gotham (everyones fav)
DocumentSans
Lisboa
Helvetica ( had a short addiction)
Hand Drawn Goodness
4 books that inspire you and why?
I currently have Graphic 10, Lowdown, Wired and 1984 on my desk. A random combo, but I draw inspiration from a lot of things.
The Graphic 10
A collection of artist’s moleskins and drawing books – I love seeing sketchbooks. I haven’t had a chance to grab a follow up issue, but the range of artists and the amount of work keeps me motivated.
Wired
Always informative and well designed, I had to get a subscription. In some ways I’m a technology hound.
The Lowdown Magazine
Does a good job at featuring artists and culture. The spreads are well designed and the articles are a bit adventurous.
1984 – George Orwell
What can I say about it? Its a classic.
3 people you admire
I admire a lot of people, this one is hard, but let me try combos. I admire a people I work with and build friendships with.
My Parents
My Grandparents
Hannah + Mark (my coworkers)
2 things you want to do before you die
Visit every island in the Caribbean
Get married, own a house and multiply
1 motto you live by
Carpe Diem
To view more of Vaughn’s work please click here
Interested in being featured as a spotlighted artist in our new “We Are Each Other” series? Or do you know someone you think we should spotlight? Drop us a line at waeo<‘at’>theretrospective.com!
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[…] Are Each Other” campaign. It was a good outlet for creativity. Check out the article here.Big ups to Gitamba and the team for keeping me in […]