Justin Fox
Sidney, Australia

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[Zupi] - Tell us a bit about your professional life since u were a student?

I studied graphic design at the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts. The last year involved a one year internship program. I sent out more than 100 cv’s. My CV was very illegible, stylistically, very David Carson (although I had not heard of Carson at the time). I only got 3 interviews out of all those cv’s. I chose to work for a small company called “Bold” because the lady who interviewed me was the boss and she wasn’t wearing any shoes. I knew work would be fun there and it was. I moved on to a big advertising agency after that. I made sure I stole as many documents off their servers as possible. All the legal stuff, all the invoicing, proposal stuff and all of this taught me a lot about business. I learnt not to hang out with designer, that never really got me anywhere, instead I hung out with the project managers and the boss too. I learnt that project managers got sacked a lot, hooked up with temp agencies and got placed in new advertising agencies fairly easily. Being “in” with the project managers got me a lot of freelance work as in every new place they would end up working in, they would call me and pass me some work. I ended up having so much work on that I started up my own business with Caryn Gillespie and Simon McIntyre, we made CD-ROMS and web sites. Today I am still running GillespieFox.com with Caryn.

[Zupi] - Why did you decided to open your own design studio or (work by yourself)? And how u get your clients?

I wanted to make more money. I always liked working from home. I had a great start. I like to think I have a good head for business and I love getting jobs in the door. Clients always come from good word of mouth. I’ve never needed to advertise.

[Zupi] - Who are your partnerships? - Do you have a team that work with u? Any partners?

Caryn Gillespie and I run the business now. We tried, a few times, to have full time staff. But it never worked out. All the designers we work with are contractors.

[Zupi] - What’s the main attraction in your work?

Money, working with other designers, business meetings are so damn fun and I love the dynamic of freedom, working at my own pace but at the same time being responsible for myself as well as other designers.

[Zupi] - Tell us about your style if u have a specific one.

Generally I am into textural art, layered files, fragments of memories, emotions, warmth.

[Zupi] - What makes u inspired?

My history, family, friends, life in general. Remembering I am the only Justin Fox in the world and that so long as I do something with me in it, whether it be remixing a photo of my grandma or my pet fish, then it will serve a purpose, be original and rewarding to me in years to come.

[Zupi] - Who are the artists or other professional that inspired your work?

I liked reading Carson’s book “The end of print”. I loved reading John Maeda’s book. My friend, and INfront member Domenic Bartolo always inspires me.

[Zupi] - Do u think the design from your country have a unique style?

A lot of the architectural and industrial/environmental design in Australia is unique to Australia. Stylistically a lot of it takes inspiration from our environment. But when it comes to graphic design it’s not as obvious, although I think we’re never afraid to use bright colours. Where I am it’s all sun, summer, colours of the rainbow. No fear of using these colours.

[Zupi] - Do u think is necessary to study to become a good designer?

Yes. I think studying design theory, the fundamentals, is so important. A designer needs to be able to use their brain. Concepts need to be valued more than presentation.

[Zupi] - Give a list of the best 10 web sites u like it.

I don’t generally surf the web. I use Google a lot, especially the image search function. It’s the best!