Meet Timothy O’Donnell, the graphic designer of the next Go4Ellis poster

Let’s meet Timothy O’Donnell, the designer of the next Go4Ellis poster. 

While O’Donnell is notable for designing many notable things, he is most notable to us as the the designer of the Go4Ellis logo. 

Once we have the final list for our 265 Reasons You Need An Athletic Trainer, we are going to turn it over to his capable graphic designing hands to turn into something fabulous. 

So, hey, sit back—or forward—and check out this interview with O’Donnell and see the word ‘betide’ used in a sentence. 

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What led you to becoming a graphic designer?
Book jackets— my parents had tons of books lying around — and later, album covers. Both are still among my favorite things to design.

What was the first design project you worked on that you got paid for? 
I think it was an identity for a landscaping company.

How did it turn out? 
Passably.

Who are some of the clients you’ve worked on? 
Some acronym-y clients : HBO, UCLA, MTV, NFL, 4AD, and NASA.

Besides the stuff for Go4Ellis, what have been some of your favorite projects? 
One favorite is the hardcover edition of Grady Hendrix’s novel, My Best Friend’s Exorcism. Because it’s set in a 1980’s high school, the design is yearbook themed—so the endpapers are signed by various friends of the protagonist, and the book opens and closes with spreads of photos and congratulatory ads from Mom & Dad. It was a blast emulating that time period and the general amateurishness of yearbooks.

What’s the hardest product you’ve ever had to work on? 
My own book, Sketchbook, was the hardest. I had the idea, and planned on editing and designing it —I had no intention of also writing it. When the writer dropped out, I thought, how hard can it be to write a book which is mostly pictures? Turns out, it is really hard. 

Along those lines, what’s the most perplexing feedback you’ve ever gotten from a client? 
Hoo boy. It’s usually a variation on, “I don’t know why, but I just don’t like it.” ????

So, you’re going to do this Go4Ellis poster project, where do you start? What’s your process? 
It’s tempting to immediately start making stuff on the computer, but I try really hard to think and sketch first, if only for a little while. Designers all have ‘muscle memory’, and the computer makes it that much easier to keep designing things the same way every time. I need to find an idea first before I can start figuring out what it should look like.

Why is good design important? 
There’s no one definition of “good” design, but when it’s done thoughtfully, design improves our lives—making it more convenient, more easily understood, more attractive, more engaging.

As you’re graphic designing, what’s playing on the Hi-Fi? 
Anything with lyrics distracts me too much, so I either work in boring silence, or else to spacey ambient music. 

And what’s the snack tray? 
Unfortunately, whatever is around. Woe betide me if there are Peanut M&M’s in the house.

Cool. Cool. Can you leave us with a quote? 
“When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” —R. Buckminster Fuller

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Below are some examples of O’Donnell’s work. You can see more of his work HERE.