Brand of Brothers
Brand of Brothers
From the Vault: Alex Lang
Brand of brothers is coming back next year. In the meantime, here's an interview from the vault recorded back in October of 2020, please welcome the legendary Alex Lang previously, the director of visual propaganda for liquid death, mountain water, and now creative director at riot games.
Doug Berger:Thanks for being on the show. Would you mind giving our audience a brief introduction?
Alex Lang:Yeah, absolutely. Well, first I just want to thank you so much for having me. Um, yeah, this is really cool, man. But, uh, yeah, my name's Alex Lang. Um, I live in awesome Austin, Texas. I've been here for like three and a half years now, but, um, I'm an art director, designer, illustrator, um, augmented reality creator when I feel like it. Uh, yeah, I, I previously worked in advertising for Ooh, almost seven years and In a couple days, I will be moving in house to uh, liquid death as their director of visual propaganda So i'm going to be leading art direction and design over there.
Doug Berger:That's so awesome So let's begin with the most complicated question. How did you end up becoming a designer? So in other words When did you realize you had a knack for visually articulating ideas?
Alex Lang:It kind of, um, it's funny. I was kind of forced into it. When I was in high school and even in middle school, I was always really into music and I was in bands. And when you're in a band, someone's got to come up with the logo. Someone's got to make the shirt, the, uh, all the merch, the gig posters, the MySpace page at the time. So someone had to do it and none of my other band members really wanted to. So I kind of just picked up, at the time it was Corel Paint Shop, um, was my first design program. Picked that up, uh, just did a whole bunch of tutorials online, and um, yeah, I started, I started making gig posters for my band, and then, which kind of led to other bands. And then, so that was kind of like where it began, right? And then, I was always in school, I didn't really care that much. Um, I was more just about music, so I was that guy in class who was like, scribbling death metal, like, really spiky logos in his notebook, not paying attention at all. And, yeah, that kind of kick started this design thing. But at the time, it was more just fun. You know, I was in a band, um, you know, making, uh, what I later decided was like art direction for each band, right? Because you kind of got to be like, well, a metal band needs to look like this. Like an indie rock band kind of looks like this. So I was kind of like prepping myself for what was about to come as a designer and art director and I didn't even know it. So I was doing a lot of that not doing great in school, but just good enough. I was able to start taking classes after high school. But I went into computer science because I didn't realize graphic design was a profession at that point. It was just something to do for fun. So I went into computer science, um, you know Pretty much because of making MySpace pages for bands. I had to learn basic HTML, and, uh, that kind of led, I was like, Oh, this is a, this could be a career. And then pretty quickly I learned that there, it wasn't, uh, the type of creative that I wanted to do. So,
Doug Berger:so, So how did you make the decision between pursuing a career in visual art versus slaying us with your metal riffs, if you will.
Alex Lang:You know, I tried to pull off both. That was the goal. Um, all through college, when I eventually went to SCAD, uh, Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, That was the hope. Like, I could be in a band and design. Um, some of my favorite designers have done that. Um, the guitarist, Atushe Amore. Um, the guitarist in Kill Switch Engage. Uh, these are, like, awesome designers who do all the work for their own bands. And they're also touring musicians. So that was kind of who I was looking up to. As well as, like, John Baisley and Baroness. Um, a huge influence and I was like, if they could do it, I can do it. But what they had that I didn't have is, uh, they were a lot more talented at the music part.
Doug Berger:But you know, but your music clearly informs your visual aesthetic, right? So that kind of takes us to the, the other piece, which is, so sometimes you have to work with clients. And you have to make some concessions with, with regard to your design aesthetic. How do you grapple with that? Do you still find a way to infuse your style into an existing brand language? Do you just acquiesce and stick with brand guidelines? Like, how do you reconcile with yourself?
Alex Lang:Yeah, it's um, I think it as designers and art directors can all agree is when you're in this field and you're working for clients now, and they might not be the type of clients, you know, that fit your personal aesthetic. Like, uh, for example, For instance, like, I worked on Southwest Airlines for years. Um, not metal at all. Pretty much the opposite, uh, Midwest Airline. So, what it was, um, kind of what you have to do is become a chameleon designer, where you, you should be able to pick up a style guide or a brand guideline for any brand and kind of run with it, right? Once you see a guideline or, you know, the color palette or the fonts that they use, you know, you kind of know. When you've been doing it for long enough, you're like, okay, so the CT button looks like this. It should go over there, you know, and you kind of like, you see the things you have to do in order to make it the brand, but then there's always opportunities. It doesn't matter what the client is to, to flex your own creative muscles. A lot of times it doesn't work. You got to kind of, you got to, you got to keep trying. But what I always like to do in a, when I'm concepting or coming up with a design for anything is give the client what they want, um, whatever it is, and then also give them a wild card. You know, and that that wild card is sometimes I would say 90 percent of the time it doesn't go through When when it does it's like the most amazing feeling because you kind of feel like you put your personal stamp on a client um and it's happened with southwest airlines and And clients like that where sometimes you just get lucky or it's the right brief or right project Where the wild card idea or design, uh, it's just something they haven't thought of yet You But as long as you kind of tiptoe the edge of their brand guidelines and make sure that the foundation is there Then uh, sometimes you can get away with it
Doug Berger:and sometimes you get to shoot for the stars and they say yeah, that's great So that's awesome. Um and speaking of of companies like southwest airlines you've gotten to work on some rather High profile shit, if you will. Um, I think that's the technical term, right? High profile shit. Um, do you have a favorite story? Um, that you'd like to share? And again, um, in case you hadn't figured it out. Totally cool to drop names. Um, only some of us will judge.
Alex Lang:Yeah, totally man. I gotta say it's, it was probably working on Pepsi Perfect, um, when I was at the Barbarian Group in New York. So I was really just starting my advertising career. I think I was like maybe two years into it and I was a junior designer. Um, and then this project came, we, Pepsi was one of our clients and Pepsi does a lot of really rad stuff because whenever you're number two in any, um, industry, like you have to work extra hard, right? You throw a lot of money into it. Because Coke doesn't need to flex, those aren't, they're Coke. They're number one, they're going to be number one. But, uh, so working with Pepsi, they're, they're really down to do crazy, crazy shit. And, um, one of those was, uh, Pepsi Perfect. So I don't know if you remember in Back to the Future 2, There's a scene where Marty McFly, when he goes to the future, he goes into the diner and he asks for a Pepsi. And then, uh, like the, the diner counter like opens up and this weird futuristic Pepsi pops out of the table. Um, and it's a Pepsi Perfect and it, and it looks weird. It looks like it's from the future. So, on the anniversary of when Marty McFly goes into the future, which was like October, might be butchering this, but like the 23rd of 2015. Um, when he goes into the future and gets that Pepsi, on the anniversary of that day, Pepsi was like, well, we got to do something for the Pepsi Perfect release. Which is awesome, because you don't get clients that often who like keep up with, you know. Like random cool pop culture things like that. So they're like, what what could we do? And um, I was I learned that this brief was happening in my agency and I Forced myself onto it. Thanks. They already had a team a creative team um, these this awesome, uh duo who now are at mother, uh, claire and emily, but uh, Like amazing creatives and they were leading it and I I just forced them. I was like, dude, I love back to the future You I'm a huge nerd for this stuff. So, I kind of just tagged along and one of the ideas that they had was let's go to New York Comic Con and um, that's where we'll showcase the Pepsi Perfect. Like it's the perfect target audience, like people will love it there. So we went there and we recreated the diner, uh, from the movie as a giant booth at Comic Con. And we had this, this, uh, Doc and Marty, uh, like impersonators there who didn't really look like them at all. But we had to use them because they had the DeLorean, so we didn't really have a choice. But it was still cool. And, um, so we gave away all the Pepsi, uh, a bunch, like 500 Pepsi Perfects that day. Just like super fans who dressed up like a character from Back to the Future. But the thing that's stood out for me, I got to be kind of like the person that, yeah. Did you get to keep one? Yeah, I have one. Nice. It's somewhere. I'll take your word for it. But the thing that stood out, like it was an awesome experience. And I was kind of the guy like behind, uh, at the booth giving away the Pepsi Perfects and kind of answering any questions anybody had, but I got, we had celebrities who would come to the booth and kind of do, um, like a video spot for like IGN and kind of, uh, you know, They're present, and they're making content at Comic Con, and one of those person was Whoopi Goldberg. And for some reason, she came right up to me and shook my hand and said, This is an amazing experience. And I, I just owned it, and I said, Thanks so much. Like, thank you. I'm glad you like it. I had really nothing to do with the booth, but I got to meet Whoopi Goldberg and shake her hand. And that, that will never happen again.
Doug Berger:Dude, that's better than an AIGA medal, right? Yeah, it's close. So that's, that's awesome. So, completely shifting gears. From getting your BFA at SCAD and cutting your teeth in Savannah, to working in New York City and now Austin, um, and we already kind of touched on the fact that you're chillin in Austin, even though your new gig is, is based out of California, so that's pretty great. Um, you have, I've been a bit of a career gypsy, right? So do you think it's important to have the willingness as an artist to uproot and start fresh? And do you think that has impacted your perspective and possibly your aesthetic? And if I can stack one more question on top of that, what have you learned along the way as it relates to environments impacting your work?
Alex Lang:Yeah, totally man. So when I was in Savannah, it was really the music scene was my biggest inspiration, right? That's actually why I went to SCAD is my, some of my favorite bands at the time were from, That area, uh, Kailesa, Baroness, uh, Macedon is in Atlanta. Um, and what I took from that as a designer is like metal aesthetic, right? And then there's also like this weird thing that other places in the U. S. or even in the world doesn't have, which is that southern, like, homegrown, metal, like, just gross stoner swamp metal thing. And it's, it's a whole design aesthetic to itself. I mean, the metal genre is so expansive and every single part of all the sub genres at that, they all have their own different design aesthetic. Um, and that was like what I really honed in on. And then when I moved to New York, um, it was, and I was living in Brooklyn, in Bushwick, New York state. That's where I started really getting into graffiti and street art. And I was like, so inspired by it. I went to, um, you know, the Armory show in Brooklyn, saw all the amazing artists, and then I got huge into that. And it started playing into my personal, uh, aesthetic and style, where I was, I was learning so much about these different street artists like Tristan Eaton and, uh, Fayol. You know, all the, all the big hitters. And so that started affecting everything I was doing too. But at the same time, it's merging with that weird, like Southern metal style at the same time. So it's kind of just like, you're picking up influences wherever you go and it's happening subconsciously. And then when you go into design, you're just like, whoa, this is weird. This is not where I was planning on going. And then when I moved to Austin, it was. It is a similar thing, except what I find really interesting about Austin when I moved here, first thing I notice is how much respect graphic design and branding it has. Everywhere you go is the most incredible, um, this signage and branding is off the chain. Like, you'll see a dentist's office that has like this killer logo, you know, it looks like some grappling shoe. You're like, how is that possible? And it's everywhere Everybody has it. Um, so I think when I moved to Austin and the emphasis they have on design, you know Every restaurant has a killer menu Uh type is signage is super important hand painted signs. It kind of um You know, you pick up on all these little things. And then when you want to start designing as a part of a community in a new location, you know, you kind of want to dive into their art community they already have and like soak it up like a sponge. And, uh, that's exactly what I did in Austin. And, yeah, it's kind of, again, it's like an evolution of style of picking up all these things from different places I've lived. And, uh, Yeah, just diving into those worlds and learning as much as you can. Would you say it's
Doug Berger:something that you kind of set out to do to basically go from one place to another? I know that as a military brat, if I can use that term, you kind of grew up with the idea that, you know, you were your own that could float from wherever it is that you needed to go. So anywhere you went was home, right? So do you think that is part of what has impacted your mentality? Like, do you, do you feel like you're uprooting yourself when you go from one place to another? Or, or does it just feel like you're immersing yourself into just a new vibe?
Alex Lang:Yeah, I think it's a bit of both. It's definitely immersing and I get honestly a little bored in a place if I've been there for long. Like, when I was moving all around when my dad was in the military, we would live in a place for three years max. Like, and because of that now, I do feel, uh, just, it just gets a little bit stale, um, in many senses, but design for sure. Um, and it's, it's just fun to like really immerse yourself in different places and, uh, just experience it. Like even when, when I was in college, I did a, um, A semester abroad in Hong Kong And just because the opportunity arose and I was like, well, I have to check that out totally But as as a designer you kind of you see these places different than other people would right? Like you pay attention to the design and why do they do the things they do. Even advertising, you know, when you think in that space, like advertising in Asia is completely different. Um, so yeah, it's just like super interesting. I don't know if you necessarily need to completely uproot and move yourself to experience those things, but, uh, I guess that's just what I seem to do.
Doug Berger:And, and do you find that as you've gone from one place to another, that it's Um, so I'm going to talk a little bit about how I came up with the idea for this project and how it's impacted your process. In fact, actually, before I have you go down that path, let me ask you this, so when you set out to work on a project, can you talk to us about that process, how you begin that process, where you find your inspiration, and like, what that whole journey looks like, and then, I guess the whipped cream on top would be the, have you found your process change as your environments have changed? So like, I think I just asked you like five questions. So I guess, I guess, I guess the first, the first question is when you set out to work on a project, can you talk to us about that process?
Alex Lang:Yeah, totally. So my process is, uh, uh, I guess a little bit unconventional after I've had more conversations with designers about what their process is. Um, which honestly makes me question what I'm doing, but it seems to have worked out so far. It's working. It's
Doug Berger:working. Stick with what you got.
Alex Lang:But I kind of, I jumped straight into Photoshop, Realist Trigger. Um, I'm, I use the, I'm so comfortable with those tools, uh, because I don't have a, I never had a background in illustration or drawing. I didn't really start, except for metal logos in the notebook. That's about it.
Doug Berger:And are you a, are you a mouse and keyboard guy when you're using this or are you using a stylus?
Alex Lang:Yeah, uh, mouse and keyboard, originally trackpad. Wow.
Doug Berger:Wow.
Alex Lang:But those just became my, my sketching tools, right? So, because I kind of grew up with that and not drawing, I can fly through an idea really quick in Illustrator or Photoshop. And through doing this, Now for however many years, you kind of, you start to learn like what works and what doesn't. You don't feel the need to kind of like go down a path or an idea, um, as far anymore down that road because you've kind of, you've experimented enough over the years to kind of learn like, okay, that's not going to work. I can already tell that's not going to work. Um, So you kind of start narrowing down your options in your head. And so I'll just, I'll try to just blow it out maybe to like 50 percent of what the design's going to be. Um, and I can, I can kind of tell like if it's working, if it's not working, I know what the final product's eventually going to look like if I keep going down this design idea path. And Um, that's usually, like, the process, which is tough because, you know, when you work with clients, or anybody, and you have to deliver a design for them, uh, they're going to want to see sketches, right? They're going to want to see, they don't want to see that 50 percent done, so, it's kind of
Doug Berger:I never give them that. I always give them, if it's not finished, they're not seeing it. So, and, and, you know, like, like you said, designers do things differently. Um, obviously your approach, totally different from mine, right? Like, I, but I also come from an older school, right? I mean, when I was in art school, Not only did you pick up the pencil first, you also then did paste ups, and amberliths, and rubyliths, and press type, right? And, and put it on a fuckin stat camera in order to create films. We are in a completely different place today, which is probably a lot closer to where you started out than where I started out, right? Desktop publishing was just becoming a thing when I started. I was starting to cut my teeth, if you will. Um, so yeah, like with regard to how you, you culminate your process, right? How, how does that journey actually, how does that journey end for you?
Alex Lang:Yeah, so if I'm doing my own personal design, um, I kind of through the process I kind of do the the drapling technique of where he'll design um, he'll, he'll do a move in illustrator right like one move he'll move the anchor point like an inch and then he'll copy and paste that somewhere else in illustrator. and then he'll do another move. And then at that point, he has like 20 different designs, but every step of the way of how you got to, um, you know, where you end up. And for me, it's a, I do that technique because it's pretty interesting because you can always go too far. You know, as designers, we look at, we're like, oh, this needs to be simplified, or this is too simple. But when you have every step of the way in front of you in an illustrator artboard, It kind of shows you like how you got to where you did. And at what point did you go too far? Right. Um, and that's kind of, you, you know, when you did what as a designer, you're like, does this look good? Or does this not look good? And that is really like the end question, right? You can always keep going. Um, but usually I find if you just go too far, after you've said it's good, You're going to have to rein it back in at some point. So that's really like the process of how I get to the final stage. But I think when you're talking about how, you know, we come from different, um, you know, I don't want to say eras, cause that's serious, from, from different backgrounds. I think that what always is going to be the same even in the future for future designers is the fundamentals, right? It's typography color theory And composition and composition is so important And when you know those especially composition and layout It stops you from making Mistakes or going too far down a path like I was talking about before Then you should because you have an understanding Of what looks right and what doesn't is something too busy or is it not busy enough? Is the negative space working? Is it not working?
Doug Berger:And do you think that sensibility for you has changed throughout the years? Do you think that? You know, not to harp on this idea of you being a, uh, a fucking career gypsy, but like for moving from place to place and experiencing these different environments. I mean, that's the key here. It's not about the fact that that you've gone from one locale to another. It's that you have experienced these different. cultures, you've experienced these different cities, right? You've experienced these different aesthetics that you find in each city. I mean, it's what makes them each new, uh, unique. So do you find that that has informed how you perceive composition, etc?
Alex Lang:I think it does. I think it gives you a new perspective on a design aesthetic that you've never seen before, but I think across the board, no matter where you go or the designs you see, Like, you'll always have composition and it works on everything. Um, I mean, of course there's a trend happening right now with anti design or brutalist, which completely throws my theory out the window. I think across the board that It'll always stay the same, you know, there is a moment Where it's working or it's not working and all design aesthetics really have that and I think it's all grounded in composition
Doug Berger:I totally agree, and it's so funny because I've had conversations with people like Art Chantry, who, he's a grunge designer for lack of a better term. His stuff is very hand done, and uh, and I identify myself as more of kind of in the Swiss theory. And he gives me a lot of shit for grids, and I'm like, dude, you start with the grid and then you break the grid. You even do it. And, uh, and, and he just, he and I kind of went back and forth on whether or not that's true. He's like, yeah, but I don't draw a fucking grid. And I'm like, I don't either. I mean, I could hit the button on my computer to show me a grid and he's like, yeah, but I don't even use a fucking computer. And I'm like, yeah, but you know, you still have that visual sensibility and, and whether or not you're playing the rule of thirds game, you might just. Automatically understand it and apply it. So when you actually reach the finish line in your design journey, God, I hate using the word over and over again, but it really is kind of this, this path that you go down when you end up at that final result. So when you reach the finish line, um, what do you find is most satisfying? Like from client approvals, or seeing your stuff out in the wild, um, or, or at, at Comic Con, or, uh, wherever the Pepsi thing was, forgive my terrible memory, um, what aspects of your career make you want to celebrate?
Alex Lang:Yeah, it's, for me, I really got the first gratification of what I was doing, um, was cool or slightly impactful. Um, it comes in different, in different ways, depending on what I'm working on. For a lot of the band work that I do, Or just, uh, music, posters, that kind of thing. It's when I see someone wearing the shirt, right? It's like, I'll, whenever I do merch, I'll just stand by the merch table. And I'll just watch and see what people are buying. And when they buy that shirt, that's like the moment, right? Or, or when I go to the show the next week and someone showed up in that shirt. That's, like, that's the best. And when it comes to like, uh, you know, advertising work, uh, client work, I think it's when you see it out in the wild. Um, it's, it's kind of harder to get that personal, you know, um, appreciation when you see somebody interacting with it. That's why a lot of the work that I, uh, like to do is, you know, augmented reality, because you see people messing around with it and then they'll post it on Instagram or Facebook or wherever. you kind of get that, uh, they're sharing the thing that you made. You know, it's kind of the same reaction as when you see someone in the shirt, right? Um, but yeah, I think it really depends on the work because I don't think we're ever going to get gratified when we make like a banner, right? You don't see the banner out in the real world. You don't get excited when you're making it.
Doug Berger:Wait, you don't get excited when you see a web banner that you designed? I don't even see web banners.
Alex Lang:I absolutely have the ad blogger. Yeah, it's too funny. With client, with client work, it's a little different, but, uh, you can still be gratified. I mean, I remember the first time. Not to name drop, um, but the first time I saw Something I did and out of home was for the Pepsi Perfect thing um when it was in New York and Just plastered huge on the wall and I did the same thing. I do when i'm at the at the show Where I just stand by the wall that it's plastered on like 14 feet Uh, and i'll just watch people like walk by and look at it And sometimes you get people will stop and take a photo You You know, so, yeah, it's, I think that's really the moment when you see the person interact. You don't get to see it every time, but when you do, it's pretty special.
Doug Berger:Cool. So, Obviously that's gonna change a little bit with your new role, right? So now you're moving into a new role, which I, I really would love for, for you to, to tell me a little bit more about um, what, what that actually entails. Um, but so instead of getting to interact with an array of brands, you are gonna be like the in house guy that kind of guides things along from, from a brand experience perspective. And so as it relates to process and where you find fulfillment as a designer, what do you expect to change? And, well, what do you expect to be the same?
Alex Lang:Yeah, it's, it's hard to answer because I have no idea really what I'm jumping into. I have a sense. But it's, I've never worked in house before. Um, I've never worked on just one client. But, I think what's different about Liquid Death is that I am so completely aligned with this brand.
Doug Berger:Yeah, you are. It's so perfect.
Alex Lang:It's everything that I, I didn't know that those illustrations, those death metal logos, were going to come to anything when I was drawing them as a kid. And now, like, a weird freak brand has randomly shown up over the couple years that is, is exactly what I want to do, and It honestly feels like a brand that I could have started myself. And
Doug Berger:so
Alex Lang:really quickly,
Doug Berger:really quickly, if I can, I just want to diverge just a tiny bit to tell our listeners about Liquid Death. So, um, so If I, if I, I, I think it was, uh, Bogusky who, who said it actually best, that basically what you would see are these ex gamers drinking from Monster and drinking from Red Bull and all these other energy drinks, but there wasn't actually an energy drink in there, it was actually water. And so, It made complete and total sense to just flip water on its head. First off, water primarily comes in these, you know, one time use, single use plastics, which are obviously terrible for the environment, whereas aluminum cans are predominantly recycled, like it is one of the most recyclable, uh, things that you can basically package these days. And so, that's what Liquid Death is. It's basically this, like, death metal, brand, uh, in terms of aesthetic that contains the most pristine spring water you can get, right? And of course, being in a can, it is as earth friendly as it gets next to actually sticking your head in spring water. Okay, so I just wanted to make sure that our listeners know that what we're talking is spring water and The way it's packaged. It's it is so perfect for that ex gamer mentality where Fuck these energy drinks. They're drinking water. Let's not let's just tell them the truth. And of course If there was ever an extreme, uh drink It's water, right? Like, when was the last time you heard of someone drowning in monster energy drink? It's just not something that happens. That's perfect, man. Alright, so tell me more about the role and how you expect to find fulfillment.
Alex Lang:Yeah, totally. It's um, Yeah, so I'm coming in, um, I'm just going to be like the art direction design lead, right? And they already do amazing stuff, like with that. So I'm coming into a brand that is very much established itself, um, in terms of their aesthetic, um, what they're doing. Their target audience, uh, you name it and they're really a an e commerce first brand as well So they're very much in aligned with you know internet culture And I think the biggest thing that they go for there is humor. Like it it has to be funny. We're dealing with Everybody who works there, I guess now including myself is ex advertising guys And we've all been there where we can't do the cool idea Right with the client, um, you want to do that crazy shit that you came up with when you're like really high And then you know you go to present it and you just get blank stares But, you know, in your heart, it would be super cool if it wasn't, you know, some weird thing you were doing for Southwest Airlines or some, like, Capital One, you know? And, so what's great about Liquid Death is that the guys who made it are all those people. They're all the ones who have those just insane ideas during the meetings. It just gets shot down and everyone's like, what are you doing, dude? just deliver the tv spot. And
Doug Berger:so they're taking Is the CEO like a former creative director too?
Alex Lang:Yeah, yeah, he was at um, he's been in a bunch of places. Um, last, what he was doing was at Donor in LA, uh, working on Netflix. So he did a bunch of like the stranger things promos when uh, when that show first came out So he's doing a lot of stuff like that. And um Yeah, it's I mean, this is a brand that is rooted In ridiculousness like the product itself is ridiculous. But when you actually like think about the messaging And the mission behind it. It's there's There's so much truth to it, you know and When when you're advertising guys and you're like we can do anything because this is our brand we are the client Like just really special things happen. So I definitely encourage all the listeners to go check out the spots that they've created. Um, it's mind boggling there. It involves waterboarding. It has, um, there's a spot that was animated by, um, the guy who did Mr. Pickles where we have like a, a muscular, like Undertaker style guy with a can for a head. He's like cutting people's heads off. Um, it's really
Doug Berger:balls to the wall. Yeah. I mean, first off, the, the, the, the live action one was just spectacularly hilarious. It basically takes the, the orbits gum concept, elevates it and flips it on its head. And then the, the, the cartoon one is. Holy, holy crap. It's incredibly, um, alarming. And, uh, and, and you're just like, wow, that's, that's intense stuff. Um, but I gotta say, thank you so much. You're awesome. This was awesome. And, um, do you have any parting words or mystical words of wisdom you care to impart to our listeners?
Alex Lang:Yeah, man, it's so I was thinking about this earlier and how like liquid depth kind of came about and how I got on their radar, as well as a couple other agencies I've worked for in the past is the work is definitely a big part of it. Like what you're doing. And of course, like, you know, the, the word no one wants to hear side hustles. It's a thing, you know, it's hard to have side hustle when you're working those 70 hour weeks, but you know, sometimes you need a release to go do, um, your own thing and not work on, you know, a client. But the biggest thing that I found, um, that really grabs people's attention And get some going is um, that opens you up to like cooler work, you know Like i've been that guy who was just sitting working on capital one southwest airlines Um, you know these pretty monotonous brands where their style guides are like, you know to a tee It's it's so strict and What I found that really like opens you up to give you different opportunities is your portfolio and the way you present the work. Um, for the longest time I had really just whack work in there that I wasn't interested in. No one else, um, no one else would be interested in. But it's the way that you present it and if you can throw in your own personality into the work, it really helps show people who you are as a designer. So your work might not represent you. As a whole, because it's representing Capital One, right? And I don't know who would want to be Capital One as a person, but you get to, um, if you can inject a bit of yourself into your portfolio and kind of maybe like even poke fun a little bit at what you're doing, it really shows who you are and the kind of work you want to do, and you still get to flex a little bit. So what I always tell people is, if your portfolio is flat and simple, Like just a square space, white background, thumbnails of your projects. If your, if your portfolio is flat and simple, then you're flat and simple. And if that is, if that's what you want, then by all means go for it. But this is a representation of you. And this is like, this is your website. And why would you want to be perceived that way? If you want to do the kind of work that you want to do that you see other people, um, doing at like agencies or, or design firms that are doing like cooler work, then, you know, show that you could be that guy or that girl. Be, be that person and you could do it in your about section because the about section is you. Design the hell out of your about section. Put just crazy shit in there, you know, but that's where you tell your story. And even in the projects that you work on, inject a little bit of humor in there or like a little bit of extra design, you know, once these design projects are done that you do and the finals came out, if it's not what you wanted it to be, you know, you still can change it. Like it's your design portfolio. It doesn't have to be what shipped out the door. You can do whatever you want to it. Like put all the, all the designs that got killed, throw them in there. Like, but just remember. Uh, your portfolio is you, and the work represents you, so just make sure to have a personality in that portfolio.
Doug Berger:Love it. So good. Thanks again for coming by. Appreciate it.
Alex Lang:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, man.
Doug Berger:My pleasure. And scene.
Scarlett 2i2 USB:Thank you for tuning into our brand of brothers interview from the vault special. Thanks to our guest, Alex, laying in a big thank you to our presenting sponsor remix, the branding agency, along with production assistance from Johnny digs and Simon Jacobson music by pro don't. Forget to check us out@branchvillelive.com and follow us on the socials at brand show live.