https://anthonyzukofsky.com Anthony Zukofsky Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:46:32 +0000 https://anthonyzukofsky.com en https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Home Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:19:51 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Home ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY (b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: December 12, 2025) https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Studio Thu, 16 Feb 2023 19:48:00 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Studio ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: December 12, 2025) OVERVIEW Anthony Zukofsky (b.1992) (he/him) is a graphic designer, educator, and writer in New York, NY, building dynamic identity systems, experiences, campaigns, and interactive projects for clients in art, architecture, education, sustainability and technology. He has been an instructor and visiting critic at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Kansas City Art Institute, School of Visual Arts, and Yale School of Art. He is currently an Associate Creative Director at Instrument and teaching as an adjunct professor at The School of Visual Arts. Anthony holds a BFA in graphic design from the School of Visual Arts. CONTACTanthonyzukofsky (at) gmail.com ELSEWHERE are.na/anthony-zukofsky “When you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it.“ — Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein, A Pattern Language, 1977. COLOPHONTypeset in Neue Haas GroteskCOLOR ACCESSIBILITYTest 1, Test 2 © Anthony Zukofsky 2012–2025. EDUCATIONDesign Writing, Research and Criticism Summer Residency, School of Visual Arts, 2021BFA Graphic Design (Honors), School of Visual Arts, 2015EXPERIENCE Shopify, Staff Brand Designer, 2025Instrument, Associate Creative Director, 2020–2025Independent practice, Founder, 2012–presentBase Design, Senior Designer, 2018–2020&nbsp; &nbsp; XXIX, Designer, 2017–2018Google, Designer, Material Design, 2016–2017Pentagram, Design Intern, Team Michael Bierut, 2015–2016 Champions Design, Design Intern, 2015The New York Times, Magazine, Design Intern, 2014Apple, Marcom, Design Intern, 2014Office of Paul Sahre, Design Intern, 2014INSTRUCTOR Interaction II, School of Visual Arts, Instructor, 2019–PresentInteraction I, School of Visual Arts, Instructor, 2019–PresentBasic Graphic Design I, School of Visual Arts, Instructor, 2017–2022Basic Graphic Design II, School of Visual Arts, Instructor, 2017–2022Senior Thesis, School of Visual Arts, Teaching assistant, 2016Interaction I–II, School of Visual Arts, Teaching assistant, 2016GUEST CRITIC / LECTURERDesign Thinking, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, 2024 CD Studio: Javascript, Parsons, Guest lecturer, 2023Design Practice, Kansas City Art Institute, Guest lecturer, Spring 2022Professional Practice, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, Spring 2022Design Drawing, School of Visual Arts, Visiting critic, Spring 2022Introduction to Graphic Design, Yale School of Art, Visiting critic, 2020Typography &amp; Interactions, Parsons New School, Visiting critic, 2018Typography III, Pratt Institute, Visiting critic, 2017Branding I, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, 2016CLIENTS &amp; COLLABORATORSApple Inc. AIA New York The Architectural League of New York Banff Centre&nbsp; Democratic Socialists of America Google IBM PALMA Architects The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Museum of Capitalism MIT Media Lab Office CA The New York Times NYU Abu Dhabi Nike Oxford University Pace Gallery The Prince Estate Studio Museum in Harlem Stripe The Underline Twitter Yale University Yale School of Management Wellesley College Q&amp;A XXXI ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Teaching-2 Thu, 16 Feb 2023 20:06:33 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Teaching-2 ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: December 12, 2025) CURRENTLYInteractive Systems II, School of Visual Arts, Spring 2025 PREVIOUSLY Interactive Systems II, School of Visual Arts, Spring 2020—Present Interactive Systems I, School of Visual Arts, Fall 2020—PresentBasic Graphic Design II, School of Visual Arts, 2017–2021Basic Graphic Design I, School of Visual Arts, 2017–2021Interaction I—II, School of Visual Arts, Teaching assistant, Spring 2016Senior Thesis, School of Visual Arts, Teaching assistant, Fall 2016 © Anthony Zukofsky 2012–2025. GUEST LECTURESHere—Now, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, Spring 2025Design Thinking, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, Fall 2024 Pofessional Practice, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, Spring 2023 Art Practice, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, Fall 2022Design Practice, Kansas City Art Institute, Guest lecturer, Spring 2022Art Practice, School of Visual Arts, Guest lecturer, Spring 2022Branding I, School of Visual Arts, Guest Lecturer, Fall 2016VISITING CRITICDesign Drawing, School of Visual Arts, Visiting critic, Spring 2022 Introduction to Graphic Design, Yale University, Visiting critic, Spring 2020 Typography &amp; Interactions, Parsons New School, Visiting Critic, Spring 2018Typography III, Pratt Institute, Visiting critic, Fall 2017 WORKSHOPSHere—Now, School of Visual Arts, Forthcoming. &nbsp;Specific (Interactive) Object, School of Visual Arts, Forthcoming. &nbsp;Portland Workforce Alliance, A Timepiece, 2023. &nbsp;Portland Workforce Alliance, A Timepiece, 2023. &nbsp;Basic Graphic Design I, School of Visual Arts, 2018Design for Good, School of Visual Arts, Spring 2015CREDITSSome project outlines are translation of those created by other instructors at other institutions. You can find those credits at the bottom of each given project page. ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-1 Thu, 16 Feb 2023 20:14:27 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-1 ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: December 12, 2025) 2024 No. 572 Interview Lovers Magazine 2024 My Brother and Beekeeping Essay Hold on Whale 2022 On Multidisciplinary Practice Interview The Brand Identity 2021 L-O-A-D-I-N-G Essay ︎ 2021 Time To Move On Opinion ︎ 2021 Accessible Systems Opinion ︎ 2021 Donald Judd Writings Essay ︎ 2021 Reconsidering Time Profile ︎ 2021 A Batch of Biscuits Recipe with Recipes for Food 2021 To Have or To Be? Opinion ︎ 2021 Why Write? Opinion ︎ 2018 Co-Inventions Essay with Henry Nuhn © Anthony Zukofsky 2012–2025. https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-Time-to-Move-On Tue, 21 Feb 2023 21:53:47 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-Time-to-Move-On ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: February 17, 2023) Time to Move On 2021 I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.— Angela Y. Davis, Women, Race &amp; Class, 1981. The studio founder looked up from the floor with a blank stare and asked me “How do I get designers to stay?”. It was one of the toughest questions I’ve ever been asked, I was speechless and ended up giving a half witted answer on the spot. My answer became a culmination of factors including time, place, person and frivolously ending on that it’s hard for designers to make a commitment when there are so many other studios to compete with in terms of work and offerings. It was partially true, yet I wasn’t being completely honest because that wasn’t the most important reason as to why I was moving on. I’ve spoken out against micromanaging, forced long hours, unwillingness to change from it’s traditional studio culture, the underpaying and even the unwillingness to hire BIPOC designers. Ultimately, a toxic studio environment. After being with this studio for a little over a year, I wanted to keep it short and sweet. I was tired of reinstating the same qualms that I’ve presented to them on countless prior occasions. I enjoyed the people and the work, but this place was not an environment I wanted to be in. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation either. I’ve been told by a prominent member of the design community that I shouldn’t be so uptight because I’m “white and straight”, undermined when suggesting to hire more BIPOC designers, received zero compensation for the work I was doing and taken advantage of by design leaders that I looked up too. If that isn’t enough, this is all within five years of graduating. I understand and acknowledge that I’m a white, male graphic designer who attended a prestigious design school that has reaped the benefits of being exposed to these spaces and may sound spoiled from complaining about some of these opportunities that some designers would love to be in. I’m aware of it and I’m learning how to acknowledge these topics of discussion with care and consideration. Needless to say, unfortunately designers have gone through even worse situations than this. This shouldn’t be the norm as we build and foster a community for current designers, younger designers and students. We should be expecting more from the community and the profession we hold so near. The topics of sexism, racism, mental health and studio culture should be front and center at every single design studio working today. It’s time to reconsider how the studio or agency (I’ll save institutions for another essay) is run along with the people in it. It’s not just about making the most exciting work anymore. As designers, we need to be proactive in speaking up around these topics despite awkwardness or the response we may receive, if the response isn’t what we were expecting then maybe it’s a place we shouldn’t be supporting or producing design work for. These moments can’t just be swept under the rug any longer or laughed off. The only way for our community to change is by speaking up and holding these people and spaces accountable. You don’t learn in design school how to navigate these situations or to speak up when something isn’t right, you think it’s part of the learning process when in reality it shouldn’t be part of the process to begin with. As I sat on the question, “How do I get designers to stay?” I realized I should have spoken out for the third time around the same topics, I shouldn’t have been complacent. My reaction was adding to the problem. I should have been relentless despite it feeling like beating a dead horse. After working at countless studios, agencies and large technology companies this experience finally made me realize the work I wanted to take part in along with the designer I wanted to be. I didn’t want to be just another complacent designer sitting behind a desk designing logos, accepting these spaces for what they are. We should be the facilitators of change and new uncomfortable opportunities. We should be expecting more from our community and presenting changes very much like projects and processes we undergo as designers. We shouldn’t just sit back and take things as they are. If not now, when? ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-L-O-A-D-I-N-G Tue, 21 Feb 2023 21:48:07 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-L-O-A-D-I-N-G ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: February 17, 2023) L-O-A-D-I-N-G 2021 Spinning. Waiting. Initializing. A slight shift of opacity. Rotating clockwise. Progressing forward. The most essential stage in the process of starting a program, the loading screen. Typically a picture shown by the computer program itself. Dots, progress bars, percentages, a spinning pinwheel or simply the letters, L-O-A-D-I-N-G. Others, just a static picture. The signifier takes on many forms. Behind these visual cues, something else is happening. Lines of code being read. 1010101. Instructions being browsed. Libraries checked. Gradually placing the program into memory, preparing for its given task. Fetch. Decode. Execute. The loader is ubiquitous. Playing a role in all operating systems. Video games, music, apps, interfaces, devices. A constant companion. Appearing in desktop, tablet and mobile spaces. A rare case in the canon of interface visual language. Unlike its friend the hover state, only appearing on desktop. It hits all senses. Historically, clicking and banging from the turn of a crank as Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine read through a string of Ada Lovelace’s bouliane numbers. The sound of hammers, metal, gears becoming your visual. Now, mysteriously, silence. If you’re lucky, the light spin of the fan. Signs of progress, breathing. Making sure the machine is doing what we asked it to. The small visual establishes a moment of friction. Interrupting our smooth scrolling experiences. Waiting. For however long the process takes. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. The computer is taking back its control, forcing you, the friendly user, to wait. Impatiently. The elements of time, questioned. How long have I been waiting here? An unavoidable part of life. Looking at the spinning dots. They become meditative. Dot. Dot. Dot. A friendly reminder, letting you know who is in charge. Culture has continued to question the loader’s legitimacy. Customizing, avoiding its original intent. Trying to make the experience more enticing. Adding color, different forms. Masking its real purpose. Help threads call the Mac iOS staple a “spinning beachball of death.” Exposing our society’s appetite for boredom, pleading for it to go away. The icon rotates like spinning blades, despite its beachball-esk aesthetic. Artist Evan Desmond Yee glorified, even fetishized, this tiny visual. Translating it into a cult-like symbol. Magnifying the 12-pill-shaped icon to human scale in Chasing Eternity. Forcing us to confront the loader like a door into another world. Light illuminating from behind the hidden surface. While his work from 2015, It Fell From The Cloud, treats the spinning beachball like a technological lollipop. Cynically waiting for us to cave in. Abruptly interrupting our interaction within the digital ecosystem. The waiting is crucial. That friction is important. Humans thrive off comfort. Expecting things to work the way we want them too. Not the loader. It continues to surprise us. We know what it’s there for. Slowing us down with a single click. It’s preparing us. Preparing us, for a moment of focus. Silence. I’m captivated by its silence. Making us reconsider, as we head into our daily consumption of information. Only to start over again. Spinning. Waiting. Initializing. Endlessly. ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-Accessible-Systems-1 Tue, 21 Feb 2023 21:46:21 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-Accessible-Systems-1 ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: February 17, 2023) Accessible Systems 2021 If you design for everyone, you design for no one.— Fulton Suri, Thoughtless Acts?: Observations on Intuitive Design, 2005.The design process typically goes something like this. A branding agency huddles in their studio around a new client they’ve received and begins to develop a strong strategic framework that can be used to build out this new or existing brand. The strategists then work their magic and pass it back to the designers to express visual executions across those established strategic territories. Once the client selects a visual direction, the design team begins to develop that system to include a logo or wordmark, color, typography and given environments that adhere to the project needs. Once the system is developed into a dynamic set of guidelines, it is then handed off to a “digital agency” or “interaction studio” to execute the given identity system across “interactive” environments. Then, something interesting happens as the system gets in the hands of the interaction designers. The interaction team goes on to find opportunities for the brand to be executed across UI/UX patterns, cards, buttons and other visual motifs. As they are testing and flexing this identity system, they realize that most of the assets including typography, color, and animation don’t meet the testable success criteria for accessibility standards. This criteria is measured across three levels, A, AA, and AAA. Why is this? You would think that the branding team who interviewed countless humans from all backgrounds would have considered the use of potential accessibility concerns when developing this identity. Identity systems should be designed for an inclusive audience, right? This might seem like a typical story from an interaction designer. Once these system flaws are discovered, they then have to push back on the brand team. Even worse, the brand team finds out later from the interaction studio and gets annoyed when their colors or typography doesn’t match up to the guidelines they’ve meticulously built out. I’ve been both, the identity designer not considering accessibility standards along with the interaction designer that gets annoyed when accessibility wasn’t considered in an identity system. From working at branding agencies at all scales, not once has the idea of accessibility ever been brought to the surface in a critique, client conversation or a touchpoint in the deliverables until I stepped foot into an interaction design space. It’s the job of the identity designer to test every single potential logo, typographic and color treatment to meet the needs of strategy along with the clients needs. So then, why hasn’t accessibility been considered? How do we consider accessibility standards while designing these dynamic and ubiquitous identity systems? While in many ways, under the mythical idea of the average consumer.1 Especially now that these systems are being scrolled past, shared and moving in various ways. This shouldn’t be a restriction, it should be an opportunity and primary framework into how we work as designers, identity or interaction, labels aside. Brands are missing audience insights and opportunities to extend their reach by not addressing these accessibility concerns. Identities now, more than ever, are living and breathing systems that flex across an outstanding number of surfaces and each and every one of those surfaces should be considered and legible to every consumer. It shouldn’t just be the role of the interaction designer to consider these criteria, but for all designers. WORKS CITED Kuang, Cliff, and Robert Fabricant. User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play. Picador, 2020. ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-Donald-Judd-Writings Tue, 21 Feb 2023 21:41:42 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-Donald-Judd-Writings ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: February 17, 2023) Donald Judd Writings 2021 It isn’t necessary for a work to have a lot of things to look at, to compare, to analyze one by one, to contemplate. The thing as a whole, its quality whole, is what is interesting. The main things are alone and are more intense, clear and powerful.— Donald Judd, Donald Judd Writings, 2016.The book is a bright orange brick sized at 4.2 x 1.9 x 7 inches with 1056 pages and weighing in at almost 2 pounds. The title Donald Judd Writings runs up the right edge, typeset in a deep blue Helvetica Neue Medium. Donald Judd Writings is exactly what it looks like — it’s intimidating, precise and confident. The book is broken down into three sections that create an extremely logical and conventional mode of organizing: Text, Images, Index. Each section forces you to focus on the specific task at hand and take the words or images for what they are without much distraction. Donald Judd would not be too fond of a “graphic designer” discussing his writings and works at such a surface level without being a working artist to his definition. He despised commercial art and pop art for lacking integrity and bashing it with relentless effort. Despite his feelings, I couldn’t resist. The collection of texts are typeset in Francesco Griffo’s typeface for the Venetian Renaissance poet Piero Bembo, it’s clean, straightforward and references the days of portable publications that helped spread literacy across Europe.1 Bembo invites you into the collection of text from a diverse range of topics, from philosophy, to criticism, to politics. It also becomes the metaphorical bridge that connects form and materiality in Judd’s work. Referencing the days of hot metal typesetting and manual production, Bembo gives a nod to the materials in which Judd admired; stainless steel, galvanized iron, cold-rolled steel, anodized aluminum, acrylic sheet, and wood. These topics are presented in a range of reviews, articles, letters, reports and short statements. You begin in chronological order with an introduction to Judd’s college years studying Art History at Columbia University, whilst writing as an art critic on the side. His words and language are personal and descriptive, it feels like Judd is right there with you, helping guide you through the works of Pierre Pudget and James Brook. Judd wanted his work to feel personal and intimate and his writing very much does the same. You are brought into his world and the pieces of text become the building blocks that are ever so present in the work he creates. As you progress through the text and the cadence changes from long format essays to notes, single sentence statements you begin to become submerged in his text and thoughts. He writes in a note from 1983, “No one understands the change. Everyone is looking for a home in the past while they live badly in the present. People at the present are not paying attention to the present.” 2 Judd was outspoken and rejected anything that may have brought some form of compromise including “wayward artists, obtuse critics, nefarious collectors, bureaucratic museums, untrustworthy foundations, and devious governments with relentless intent.” 3 These moments of rejection mixed with Judd’s intellectual integrity and defiant attitude keeps you coming back for more. The orientation begins to change as you make your way into Images. To view the content you are literally forced to turn the book sideways in a landscape format. What’s most striking is the resemblance of this simple interaction in reading, the same way that Judd wanted viewers to engage with his work. He left viewers with different ways of interacting and viewing across a three-dimensional surface. The simple shift in viewing is refreshing and even awkward at times, but in many ways the mix of content keeps you distracted from this small, cumbersome interaction. From pre-columbian sculptures built from stone to Yayoi Kusama’s Accumulation II the images further reinforce his textual references and in many ways establish the framework of people, objects and spaces that Judd was analyzing. The conversation between his work and the work of others completes the narrative. The last image you are left with is a portrait of Judd in 1976, sitting on the ground floor of his five story cast iron force, 101 Spring Street. The image is black and white, raw, and cold, very much like the space itself. This still moment encapsulates his ethos, but it leaves you wanting more after you’ve just made your way through 1054 pages of text and images. On March 11, 2020 we were all forced to migrate into our living spaces and ultimately try to understand what normal means as a pandemic spread throughout the globe. We were forced to see the world in a new way. I was eager to find a dense read that opened the door into another world, another methodology and ultimately another way of living. I was hoping to find one point of focus and at least one thing to control. As I read through these paper thin pages it made me realize that I got more than I was looking for. Judd was all about control, forcing a viewer into a space while having that viewer be present during a specific period in time. Yet, there was a level of un-control and acceptance as he left viewers to their own devices. He wanted to make his work permanent, while us as humans were the ones changing along with the environment we live in. It couldn’t have felt like a better time and place to sit with the works and writings of Donald Judd. WORKS CITED Giampietro, Rob. “Fonts of the Resistance: Designing Redaction: Magazine: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/magazine/articles/53Judd, Donald, et al. Donald Judd Writings. Judd Foundation, 2017.Foster, Hal. “Hal Foster on the Art of Donald Judd.” Hal Foster on the Art of Donald Judd — Artforum International, 1 May 2020, www.artforum.com/print/202005/hal-foster-on-the-art-of-donald-judd-82817. ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-On-Multidisciplinary-Practice Fri, 17 Feb 2023 17:18:28 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-On-Multidisciplinary-Practice ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: February 17, 2023) On Multidisciplinary Practice 2022 Anthony Zukofsky is a New York-based creative who curiously explores a multitude of disciplines across graphic design, education and writing. His career has seen him work with a broad range of studios, brands and institutions, from Apple, Pentagram and The New York Times Magazine, to his current positions at Instrument and the School of Visual Arts. We caught up with him to find out what he’s learnt so far, and how he benefits from his multidisciplinary approach.EM: Hi Anthony, how’s the new year treating you so far? AZ: Elliott, hello. So nice to speak with you. Over the holiday, I managed to step away from all screens and devices and for once not think about graphic design. If you have the chance, I couldn’t recommend doing this enough. With that said, I feel very present. refreshed, and healthy despite everything happening all over the world. I hope your 2022 is off to a thriving, healthy and present start.&amp;nbsp; EM: Can you give us a little career background on how you got to where you are today? AZ: I’m originally from New Jersey and my awareness of design started while attending a state school for two years prior to the School of Visual Arts. These two years were my primer into graphic design. I was fortunate enough to study with Jan Conradi, a design educator, author and friend who was very close with the Vignelli’s. While I was studying with her, she published one of the most important publications on the prolific design firm, Unimark International. As you can imagine, the curriculum was very steeped in the international style. For me, it provided an incredible grounding in design history, grids, typography (even hand drawing letterforms) and composition. However, it lacked location and access to a larger community which was something I was eager to engage with. This led me to transfer to the School of Visual Arts in 2012. It was actually the only design school I applied for as I wasn’t interested in taking a drawing or design entrance exam at other prominent design institutions. While studying at the School of Visual Arts, I was thrown right into working with some of the most prominent historical and contemporary figures in graphic design. It’s a humbling experience to take a class with Paul Sahre, Carin Goldberg, Joe Marianek, Dinah Fried, Gail Anderson, Peter Ahlberg and others. It was and still is a special place for me. I spent three years at the institution and maintained a very fruitful set of internships at Apple, The New York Times Magazine, Champions Design (previously OCD) and The Office of Paul Sahre. Upon graduating, I landed a job at Pentagram working for Michael Beirut. Working under Michael and his team was like attending a graduate programme. Seeing how they produce, navigate and challenge the work was ever so refreshing. The most important thing I learned from this experience wasn’t just about design, but about being a generous, thoughtful human being. From there I went onto Google, XXIX, Base Design and now Instrument. I’ve been beyond fortunate to learn, work and build friendships with the designers at these incredibly talented studios including designers like Rob Giampietro, Min Lew, Jacob Heftmann, Jake Hobart and others. I can’t thank them all enough. While doing so, I’ve intentionally maintained a mixed practice that generally includes working full-time at an agency, small studio or in-house setting, taking on freelance projects, teaching at the School of Visual Arts and writing on the side. For me, working between these channels, feeling uncomfortable and moving on whenever I’ve felt like I’m not learning has provided me with a very rich relationship with design thus far. <img>EM: How do you balance your time between being an Associate Design Director at Instrument, a professor at the School of Visual Arts and all while maintaining a writing practice? AZ: The designer maintaining a holistic practice is something that’s very important to me. As demanding as it may be at times, it provides a very generous relationship with design and our community. It’s taken me a while to strike the right balance and it hasn’t been easy. What I’ve come to learn is the most important thing is understanding yourself as a human and a designer along with what you want from design. It’s something that takes time, it’s something I’m still and always will be trying to figure out but you have to put in the work into yourself first. I’ve learned that as a designer working through these channels of output you have to be constantly checking in with yourself while also being realistic when it comes to time. Plus, staying sharply focused throughout the day. I’m a morning person and I find that time to be very nurturing for me when it comes to writing. Now that I don’t have to commute, I give myself an hour or so every morning to sit down and write. It’s a very John Cheever-esque routine. This can be around a design or non-design related topic, working on an existing piece, taking on research or taking part in an interview like this one. My day at Instrument doesn't really kick off until 9-10 pm EST as I’ve been working on West Coast hours. This gives me an ample amount of time to check emails, catch up on project tasks and settle into the day. For the past six years now, I’ve taught an evening class once a week at the School of Visual Arts. I find stepping into the classroom (or now the virtual classroom) to be very fulfilling after being in a studio and client setting all day. The students provide me with so much energy along with an ample amount to learn. EM: How did you get into teaching and decide that’s something you wanted to do alongside design? AZ: For me, it was a very obvious decision to get involved in academia. All of my mentors (design and non-design related) were either full-time faculty, adjunct professors, or active critics. It goes back to the life learner principle and the fostering relationship that an academic setting provides for design. While studying, professors would invite me to critique other classes or give guest lectures and I absolutely loved being on the other side of the podium. SVA really thrives off inviting recent alumni back into the classroom and after a few semesters of student teaching, they offered me my own class. I was speechless and had an incredible sense of imposter syndrome, which I must confess, is something I still carry to this day. Teaching provides you with a sense of clarity into the work you produce as a designer and your practice. It comes full circle when you're working on a branding project with a client while also giving a lecture on branding to your students. Plus, client work does get monotonous at times. It’s important to understand that as a designer you are part of a growing, thriving community and you should be actively engaged in that community. There is a nurturing exchange when it comes to teaching, you learn so much from your students and they learn just as much from you. The classroom gives you a space to foster growth, collaboration and teamwork. You're also passing down the torch to the next generation of designers. Everyone is in this together and it would be a shame not to share your experience with someone who is trying to navigate the small yet ever so intimidating world of design. EM: How about your writing – what direction would you like to take in that area of your practice? AZ: First and foremost, I don’t really consider myself a writer. I consider myself a graphic designer who writes, which for me are two very different modes of working. Working this way provides me with a bit more autonomy and grounds me in the fact that I don’t write for a living. The work doesn’t have to be as precious as someone who does this as a primary source of income. It’s a wonderful realisation to accept that and use writing as a tool to bring clarity to the work you produce as a designer. I’m also quite insecure when it comes to writing, I find writing to be a much more intimate experience than designing. I’m interested in short, accessible pieces of text. I find writing on graphic design to be either very academic or too superficial. With that said, I want my writing to have substance but also be accessible, which is a fine line to walk. It’s humbling to think about the rich history of graphic design writing over the past century with people like Michael Rock, Mr. Keedy, David Reinfurt, Robin Kinross, Ellen Lupton, Norman Potter, and Jessica Helfand the list goes on and on. I’m incredibly influenced by all of them in different ways. When I first started I was overly existential and thought that every essay had to be this long, exhaustive set of prose but it didn’t have to be that way at all. I’ve also learned that our community doesn’t have a long attention span, so trying to fit a thesis into 500 or 600 words is much more appealing to me. EM: What skills would you like to learn that you haven’t yet found the time for? AZ: I think as a designer you should be constantly learning, feeling uncomfortable with what you're doing, and searching for or challenging a new set of skills whatever they may be. For me, at this moment, I’m interested in leadership, team dynamics and client relationships. How do you ‘design’ a team? How do you get the right team chemistry? I can’t help but think about the work that Elliot Noyes produced while at IBM, collaborating and orchestrating the design process with some of the most prominent architects and designers at that time. How did he do that? Working with clients can be very difficult at times, so how do you manage a good relationship while also keeping the work moving? These interests in leadership have also brought me into the business side of design which is something I’m still learning to navigate after freelancing for a bit and working at various studies. The business side of design opens up a whole other chapter of the design process. All of the things that unfortunately aren’t spoken of in a design education setting that should be but I’ll save that for another time. EM: As you’ve transitioned through to a more senior design position, what have been the pros and cons of how your role has changed? AZ: Stepping into a new role always takes some time to acclimate, especially when it comes to taking on a role within leadership. It’s always going to feel unsettling no matter how ready you may feel for it, in particular, the transition from a Senior Designer to an Associate Design Director was and still is a learning process for me. Luckily, working as an educator, writing and experiencing various studio, agency and in-house environments has helped me step into a leadership role with a bit more ease. These transitions require a different perspective to the work. You aren’t just heads down in the work all day like you might be at a junior, mid or senior design level finessing your craft. You now have to be hyper-vigilant of your team, timeline, resources and next decision, constantly. Your time management needs to be crucial because most of the time you will be juggling meetings all day. With that said, it’s a very humbling and exciting role to be in and you can’t be afraid to fail because it’s going to happen inevitably. Instrument, in particular, provides a very nurturing environment for growth while giving you an ample amount of autonomy to run with projects. You quickly realise that you have a whole team to lean on, learn from and to help you through the process which is how it should be. It’s ever so important to work as a collective, put your ego aside and realise that you are all here to make the best work possible. EM: What do you think about the direction the design industry has been heading in recently? Do you have any favourite studios or creatives that you think are leading the way? AZ: I think we are at a very important turning point in graphic design history. Designers are eager for change brought upon by the impactful political, economical, racial and health threats of the past few years. It's a very raw moment, a moment top of mind for everyone whether we want to engage with it or not, especially for designers whose role it is to exist and flux within this changing world. The critical conversations around race, gender and equality are ever so important and should be happening daily in studios. Discussions around toxic studio environments, student loans, supporting small type foundries and the state of design education should also be happening. I’m so tired of hearing from students or interns about a bad experience they had at a studio or how they’ve been mistreated or underpaid. We should be vocal around these topics, especially coming from a community we hold so near and dear to us. I feel optimistic but it’s going to take hard work and tough conversations in order for us to step into the next chapter but it needs to happen. My favourite studios and designers are the ones that are taking part in this action, breaking down barriers and challenging conventions. For me, graphic design is way more than just making beautiful work. I think designers should care more, we need to be more aware and focused on the space we exist in now along with accepting the crooked history we are trying to break away from. <img>EM: What do you enjoy about New York as a city to work in as a designer? AZ: New York City is one of, if not the most, thriving cities for design in the world. Not just graphic design but design as a whole. Working here forces you to wear many hats and embrace all of the diversity the city has to offer both conceptually and aesthetically. It’s a place that is so steeped in graphic design history that it’s hard not to be influenced by it. Prior to the pandemic, it was a beautiful experience to attend lectures, exhibitions and engage with other designers from various backgrounds. You would run into friends or meet new designers that you might collaborate with down the road or open doors to new opportunities. There is a collective mentality in this city and that’s not just within graphic design. New York City is also one of the only places where you can experience everything from a small studio setting to an agency to a large technology company. It’s something that designers here take for granted but we definitely use it to our advantage. Why not build a set of completely diverse relationships in your community? Why not learn and experience as much as you possibly can from these places and people? It’s something I always tell my students. The design community here gets even smaller the longer you’ve been in it and the more you realise that everyone knows everyone. This can work in your favour if you are a nice, friendly and talented human being. There is a stigma that the design community here in the city is very intimidating to access, which I understand, but in fact, it’s the total opposite. It’s open, welcoming and every single designer or studio would be glad to meet up to talk over a coffee or virtually on a screen. <img>EM: Are there any not so good things about the city? AZ: Of course, it’s easy for me to complain about the city from an economic, educational, political or urban planning point of view. It’s not a sustainable place to live by any means. The city always will present friction in every possible way but that’s what also makes it the best place to live and work, especially as a designer, nothing is easy. Specifically, in the context of graphic design, I do find that it’s easy for designers here to fall into a very similar and expected path of working at the same studios, doing the same type of work, and engaging with the same like-minded set of individuals. These designers then go on to open their own studio and continue to do the same work they’ve always been doing all along. This cadence builds a strong community but on the contrary, leads to a monotonous cycle of sameness within that same community. At times, I find designers to be too comfortable with the work they do and unwilling to change or challenge conventions. I’ve always found designers whose background spans various sectors and spaces to be the most fruitful, the designer who has defined their own path and not followed a given set of preconceived notions. I’m not sure if designers are aware of this or want to accept it but why not try something different? Why not step out of your comfort zone and collaborate with someone from an opposite background? Why not work at an unexpected startup compared to a studio where previous peers or colleagues might be? I’m guilty of this as well but doing the complete opposite of what everyone else is doing is a space I find quite interesting. EM: What are you looking forward to over the next few months? AZ: I’m looking forward to being here and now. The pandemic has taught me that you have no idea what the future holds so why bother thinking about it? Graphic design was literally the very last thing on our minds during those unexpected times. This all sounds very nihilistic but it’s humbling to think and accept these terms. Being in the present, slowing down, and realizing you exist within a living ecosystem will only make for better work along with being an even more engaged designer and individual. The interview was published on The Brand Identity on February 22, 2022 ︎ https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-A-Batch-of-Biscuits Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:46:32 +0000 Anthony Zukofsky https://anthonyzukofsky.com/Writing-A-Batch-of-Biscuits ANTHONY ZUKOFSKY(b.1992) Studio, Writing, Teaching (Last updated: February 17, 2023) A Batch of Biscuits 2021 Ingredients︎3 cups all-purpose flour ︎&nbsp;3 tbsp sugar ︎1/2 tsp salt ︎4 tsp baking powder ︎1/2 tsp of buttermilk ︎3/4 cup of very cold butter ︎1 egg ︎1 cup whole milk Objects ︎Bowl ︎Rolling pin ︎Cast iron skillet (preferred) or baking sheet ︎Hands (preferred) or pastry cutter ︎Glass (preferred) or biscuit cutter Process Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl.Makes sure your butter is cold and cut it into small cubes.Use a pastry cutter or your hands to add the cold butter into the flour mixture.(Don’t mix it too much, make sure you can see small pieces of butter throughout the dough.Add in the milk and egg until everything is evenly combined, your dough should be sticky.Add in some flour and knead for a few minutes. (Add more flour when needed if the dough becomes too sticky.)Sprinkle some flour onto a flat surface of your choice and roll the dough out so that it is roughly 1 inch in thickness.Using your biscuit cutter or glass, begin cutting out circles from the dough.You should get roughly 12 circles depending on the dough thickness.Place the circles onto your buttered or lightly greased skillet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.EnjoyRemove from the overn and let them rest for a bit.&nbsp;Spread local honey or jam on top of the biscuit and consume.&nbsp; Recipe in collaboration with&nbsp;Nazli Ercan and Eric Li. Published in Recipes for Food.&nbsp; ︎