The Geek Talk

Who’s Brian Hoff?

I’m a graphic designer, blogger, speaker and part-time educator on the subject of design from Philadelphia. I’m also the guy behind the design blog, The Design Cubicle, in addition to running my own business focusing on brand identity and web design.

Do you have a Brand?

I focus on and enjoy sharing and interacting with others within the design community in as many ways possible. Designing, blogging, speaking and teaching makes this possible, and I guess you can say I’ve established somewhat of a personal brand because of it.

How do you choose the idea and the colors in any new project?

Typically when starting a new project, for somer reason I always seem to start off by choosing the type. This usually helps to establish the feeling and mood I am going for. Colors and other design elements soon follow. Of course as a project progresses some or many of the starting elements will change—but it’s all part of the design process and working through a problem.

What does your typical day look like?

I usually begin my work day around 8:30am, which starts off with Twitter and RSS feeds for the first half hour or so. Then I respond to client emails, which usually takes another half hour, and then move on to proposals and invoices (if needed that day). Around 9:30 or 10am I start my client work, which I try to split my day between two projects. This helps me to get fresh ideas and a new perspective on a particular project. I find that working on one project all day for eight hours straight tends to not be as creatively productive as it could be with a fresh set of eyes the next day or so. My day usually ends around 6:30pm by responding to blog comments, reader emails and interview requests (like this one!). I also try to write around 2–3 articles a week on my blog, which usually takes place after 8 or 9pm. Go to sleep, rinse and repeat…

What are the tools you couldn’t live without?

Besides the obvious (the Adobe Creative Suite), I also use Little Snapper for storing and organizing online inspiration, Remember the Milk for keeping track of tasks and other client remembrances, Suitcase Fusion 2 for keeping my fonts and families organized and quickly accessible, and Subernova for tracking expenses and time. My iPhone is also a must have, in addition to my second monitor connected to my iMac. This helps to be more productive and timely.

What do you do in your free time?

I enjoy being around friends — going out to bars, live music, or just sitting around chatting the night away. I enjoy walking around with my camera and photographing different things around the city.

Current favorite apps?

If we are talking iPhone apps, I would say my top 3 are Dropbox, Flickr, and the Amazon app—simply for the fact that the Amazon app makes it much easier to browse and buy then the actual website. Top 3 Mac apps would be Dropbox (love it!), Tweetdeck, and Coda when doing development.

What OS do you prefer?

I’m actually a big fan of Tiger (Mac OS 10.4) — it was by far the most stable, in my opinion, of any of Apples amazing OSs.

Small pic for your Workplace?

10. Favorite: Colors, Fonts?

Definitely a tough question. Favorite (lack of) color: White. Favorite font(s): Anything that H&FJ crafts. All of their typefaces are incredibly beautiful and well designed.

The things or source that inspired you?

Print design, magazine / book layout and typography provide a lot of inspiration for my web work. I also love color palettes of old, vintage/retro posters.

What do you prefer, the freelance work or the full time employee?

Freelance work. There’s a lot to do and maintain, but its well worth it in the end. Nothing is more gratifying then running your own business…and being the boss

Your projects and goals for 2010?

I’m looking forward to speaking and traveling more. I also plan on starting a book towards the end of this year, and of course, as always, plan on learning as much as I can about design and improving my own skills and knowledge on various web technologies. I love to learn and explore.