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4 The Visual Thinker March 2019 5

Did you always want to be an Where did you attend college? What was the first big gig “What do you find What advice can you offer to someone who wants to start a
artist and designer? National Forest did that made yourself doing? I’m business?
I went to Art Center College of you realize you were making it
Like most kids, I grew up draw- Design in California. In high happen? not talking about For the first year, focus on bringing work in. Bring projects in,
ing and painting. My parents school, I was lucky enough to something you execute them as best as you can, get them out the door, and
really embraced that and pushed have a teacher who was really Right after we graduated, we got wistfully daydream move on to the next one. Focus on completing the work and
me further into it. When I hit devoted to art. He taught me a pretty big illustration job for about. There’s a big billing for it. Make sure you spend time on executing the work,
high school, I realized that I about Art Center, and I took Rolling Stone. It wasn’t the cover, because you’re only going to get paid for what comes in and goes
liked drawing and painting so college-level Art Center courses but it might as well have been. It difference between out. After your first year of work, then you can start to consider
much that I didn’t want to stop. while still in high school. was like, “Holy shit!” what you actually the taxes, trademarking, and all of the bullshit it takes to run a

enjoy doing and the business. If you make it past that first year and you’re still into
“I grew up daydream of what you it, then do it. If you’re not, then there’s no real loss. At least you
know that it’s not your passion.
hearing want your identity to
encapsulate.”
interviews with

people who said,

‘Oh, I love telling

stories.’…what

about when you

don’t want a

story? What if

you just want to

feel something?”

Steven partnered
After college, you dove into big decision. We chose to put illustrative, even though a lot with Roshe One
design work and started our portfolios together, create of the work is not necessarily designer, Dylan
National Forest with your a business, and try to get jobs. illustrating in a traditional sense, Raasch, to design a
friend, Justin. How did that We literally put our illustration like what Saul Sternberg did for Nike Sportswear pack,
come about? portfolios together and hustled the New Yorker. It’s more vague which includes the
our work around. and surreal. Roshe One and a Nike
I met Justin at Art Center and slide, now at select
the two of us had a mutual Very cool. In addition to your stockists worldwide.
passion for art, design, and agency, National Forest, you
drawing. At the end of college do personal work under the
we both thought, “Whoa, we’re moniker, You & I, right?
either going to split up right
now and go work for different Yeah. A lot of people consider
companies or we can do this it illustration, but it goes back
together and try to figure and forth between illustration
something out.” It was a really and art. My work tends to feel