GAIL ANDERSON

Gail Anderson is the creative director of design at SpotCo, a New York City-based agency that specializes in creating artwork and campaigns for Broadway theater. From 1987 to early 2002, she served as senior art director at Rolling Stone magazine. Anderson's work, has received awards from the Society of Publication Designers, the Type Directors Club, AIGA, The Art Directors Club, major design magazines, and is in the permanent collections of the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and the Library of Congress. She is co-author, with Steven Heller, of the upcoming New Ornamental Type, as well as five other books. She also teaches in the School of Visual Arts, and currently serves on the advisory boards for Adobe Partners in Design and the Society of Publication Designers. Anderson is the recipient of the 2008 AIGA Medal, and the 2009 Richard Gangel art direction award from the Society of Illustrators.

Where were you born, where do you live, did this effect your design style or sensibilities? I was born in the Bronx, New York. I've lived in New York for most of my life, with the exception of a few years when I worked at the Boston Globe. In fact, I've lived in the same apartment in Greenwich Village for almost 20 years now. I probably developed an attraction to detail because I've lived in the same small space forever. I think I'm attracted to clutter.

If you were not a designer, what would you be? I'd be a writer. I'm not sure what I'd be writing about—maybe it would be fiction. But I'd hope to be really smart and witty, like Fran Liebowitz or Nora Ephron.

What is your design process, do you sketch first, go to the computer, take days off to get inspired? Who are these people who take days off to get inspired? Where are those jobs? We try to sketch on paper before going to the computer, and I try really hard to get the undergrads I teach to work that way, as well. Most seem a little puzzled at first, since they've grown up in a completely digital environment. Some do carry those big black sketchbooks, though, so there's still hope. Those take me back.

What is one thing you have done to help weather the economic downturn? I find that I'm on a constant hunt for the sweetest deal. I refuse to pay full price for anything, whether it's personally or professionally. I look for the best price for everything, whether it's shoes for me, or books for the department. We've been extremely lucky at SpotCo; no layoffs, no pay cuts. I don't take advantage of my good fortune, so I make time for all projects and pretty much never say that we're too busy to take something new on. You never know.

What is your greatest strength and weakness as a designer? I love type, and l love all things design, but I think my real strength is that I am still curious. I still buy books, hunt for fonts, and all that. I still want to learn all that I can. My weakness is that I over commit and don't carve out enough time for myself to do all that growing. I need to take time to expand my horizons a bit and do some traveling. I haven't experienced enough of the