Andy Taray : Principal & Art Director / Ohioboy Art & Design
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WORK BIO
Andy Taray is the owner, art director, and designer of Ohioboy art & design. Before that, he was an art director at MTV Networks and Platinum Design Inc NYC. Andy was also an instructor of typography and design at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. His work has been featured by AIGA, The Art Directors Club, Print Magazine, Communication Arts, HOW Magazine, The One Show Awards, Plus 81, and PDN. Andy also devotes his time with Campfire Goods an apparel line which launched in 2005.
INFLUENCES + INSPIRATIONS
As early as childhood I always enjoyed the creative aspects of school more than any of the other subjects. I always say even though I had no idea what graphic design was when I was a kid in the 80’s I still was “in training” for the job. Collecting everything from baseball cards to cool gum wrappers to records to t-shirts. So I guess from a very early age I had an idea for good design… without even knowing it.
I think inspiration comes from everywhere. I am energized by everything from record covers to sugar packaging to fashion styles to old Sears catalogs. It truthfully comes from everywhere. I think that design is everywhere we look and has become such a huge part of our world. Both good and bad. Nothing gets me more psyched then seeing a small store open and watching them do everything right from a design and business perspective. Whether it is signage, bags, logo or whatever it may be. The small shop is kind of a lost art and it gets me psyched to see people going for it. It is an aesthetic that is lost in a lot of the big corporations of the world.
I would say my three biggest inspirations in the world are Mike Joyce of Stereotype Design NYC, www.stereotype-design.com, Charles Wilkin of Automatic Art and Design, www.automatic-iam.com, and Charley Harper (illustrator). Mike was my art director and co-worker for 7 years at both Platinum and we continue to collaborate through Stereotype and Ohioboy. We both work extremely well together bouncing ideas off of each other and making each others work better. The cool thing is, our work is pretty different in the end, but we start from the same basic structures. BIG and BOLD! As for Automatic… I think Charles is one of the best designers/creators I have ever seen. His work gets me so jazzed up. I love the levels of texture and noise mixed with the old clippings and unique vintage art. Lastly, Charley Harper is THE best illustrator of all time. Pretty much nothing else needs to be said. He was cranking geometric birds well before the vector bird rage! I am so glad to have had the opportunity to be introduced to all of their works and look forward to being continually inspired by new folks daily!
FAVORITE CO-WORKERS
Rufus & Annie
FAVORITE BOOKS
Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life / by Charley Harper and Todd Oldham
Index A / Charles Wilkin
Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface / Lars Muller
Paul Rand / Steven Heller
Rethink Redesign Reconstruct: Re:Interpreting Original Designs / Mark Wasserman
Blue Note: The Album Cover Art 1 & 2 / Graham Marsh
Reinventing the Wheel / Jessica Helfand
Cool Type One / Spencer Drate
Cool Type Two / Spencer Drate
Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop / Jim Sherraden
Genius Moves / Steven Heller
Business Cards: The Art of Saying Hello / Mike Dorrian and Liz Farrelly
Open Here: The Art of Instructional Design / Paul Mijksenaar and Piet Westendorp
Penguin by Design / Phil Baines
A Smile in the Mind / Beryl McAlhone