Kelly Hartman
Title: Graphic Designer, Creative Director, Principal | Experience: 28 years
Kelly Hartman is the Principal and Creative Director of Hartman Design Studio, based in Calgary, Alberta. Opening its doors is 1990, Hartman has produced a huge volume of projects, including branding, visual identity, books, brochures, magazines, direct mail, packaging, and much more. Kelly takes special pride in her experience with book design, she has worked on nearly 40 different book projects throughout her career.
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CWID
Describe the first office where you worked as a designer.
K.H.
I’ve never worked for anyone else, so it was my own. Twenty-one different business from across Canada had their satellite offices in this group coop-office setting. All offices shared a common receptionist and basic equipment. I opened my office up right in the middle of all these offices. All the others were blue collar, manufacturing-type businesses. And they were all men. I was the only girl in one little, nicely-decorated, tiny room amongst a sea of questionably-designed, very masculine offices. It wasn’t such a bad start. I stood out.
CWID
What’s the first thing you do every morning to start your day?
K.H.
I would have to say it’s my tall, non-fat latte in the shower. It’s my ritual. It sits on a perfect ledge in my shower that has views outside and it honestly feels like I’m getting away with something every day!
CWID
Who do you consider to be an inspiring female (alive or otherwise)?
K.H.
I would have to say Sarah McLachlan. She’s not a designer, but she is an artist. Her music is Breathtaking and her career is incredibly inspiring. She forged many new trails for female musicians in her career and was fearless in stepping out and promoting others. Most notably, Lilith Fair became the most successful all-female music festival of all time.
CWID
Describe your design process.
K.H.
I spend most of my design time in either the branding world or the editorial world.
With branding it always starts from research and strategy. If the client doesn’t have a strategic plan, I help them create one. I can’t design without it. I need to have a thorough, well-defined plan with measurable goals before I begin the design.
With editorial—and usually it’s books—I won’t start until I get all the content (in particular, the texts). I need to read all essays/stories first. And often I read them many times. Then I begin the concept phase. I’m a very pragmatic designer. That doesn’t mean I stay inside the box. It’s usually the opposite. Often the tighter the parameters, the greater the gift. You have to work hard to push the boundaries, but the results always pay off. When I say pragmatic, that means I try to find multiple reasons for what I do or multiples uses for one thing.
CWID
What inspires your work (professional or personal)?
K.H.
Well, I would have to say I don’t really have a job. I’m not a 9-to-5 designer, so everything is inspiring. There aren’t any “borders.” But I have to say I’m a concert junkie. Seriously, I can’t really afford myself anymore. Twenty-three concerts last year and I’m on a roll again. But they really feed me. I am incredibly inspired by music and particularly live music.
I went to a couple “old-school” concerts last year—the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode—and they both had unbelievable stage shows. They were so well-designed. Each song had its own presence, graphics, choreography... edgy and super inspiring.
But garage sales can be inspiring as well. That is a world unto its own. And the typical “garage saler” —wow! You can learn so much from going to places where there are these “subcultures,” each with its own visual language and cultural rituals.
CWID
What project are you most proud of?
K.H.
I worked on a retrospective book for an artist (Garry Newton) who had passed away. It felt like a HUGE undertaking. I wanted to make sure I did this man’s life and his work justice. And it had to happen in one book.
I spent a lot of time with his work and with the information I collected on him. I’m really proud of this book. Every detail and design element was carefully crafted, all to showcase his work in the most appropriate and supportive way. At the opening of the exhibition, I was asked to speak about the design of the book, and I explained the approach and why things were done they way they were. His living partner came up to me at the end with tears in his eyes and told me he felt incredibly honoured that I had taken so much time to get to know Garry and that I had truly done his life and work justice. Most humbling (and fulfilling) time in my career.
CWID
What is your personal or professional motto/philosophy?
K.H.
This is a great question! I think my professional philosophy has evolved many times in my career. I’ve always wanted to do good work (who doesn’t?). But the work I do now is far more thoughtful than it was when I first started.
By “thoughtful,” I mean strategic. I’m just not into vacuous design. I’m not interested in doing work that doesn’t have a solid story behind in—a story that actually has substance and value (and if the client doesn’t have that story, then I help them write it). And craft! Everything with craft in mind.
CWID
What’s the boldest thing you’ve ever done in your professional life?
K.H.
I started my business right out of college. There were no jobs in my field at the time (in Saskatoon), so I decided to open up an office and do it on my own. Call it naive—and it was—but I wanted to be a designer, so I figured if I couldn’t get a job I’d create my own. Tough. I found out quickly how green I really was and how much I didn’t know about the business of design. I had a lot to learn. I still do. The amazing thing about this profession is that it is a lifetime of learning. So that was my start.
CWID
What does success mean to you?
K.H.
Well, I hope I create work that matters, work that has had impact in a meaningful way. I hope I have a body of work that is filled with really great, well-crafted, impactful shit! Can I say that?
CWID
What’s the greatest challenge you’ve faced as a female designer?
K.H.
It’s different now then when I first started. I’m lucky that I have an androgynous name. Honestly, there were many times where I got my foot in the door because Kelly was assumed to be a guy’s name.
When I first started my studio, the design world was very heavily male. And all the suppliers were male. That didn’t scare me. In fact, I liked the challenge of proving myself. I can’t say I had any one “greatest challenge,” but I’ve had LOTS of smaller ones. They helped me figure people out. Learning people is a fascinating skill – how to communicate to different personality types, individuals with varied levels of education or ethnic backgrounds….
CWID
What does it mean to you to be a woman in this business?
K.H.
Women can be incredibly competitive with each other. That’s not a blanket statement, of course, but I’ve seen it many times. We need to learn the art of supporting each other. Women can be incredibly powerful when we come together. I hope to see more of that!
In business, women have the unique ability to see holistically and usually from a place of compassion. If we can apply this to our field as designers/communicators, we can make really meaningful connections.
CWID
What was your educational experience like?
K.H.
I went to design college. At the time I thought I was the bomb until I got out, started my business, and realized how much I still didn’t know. And there was a lot! But that was a great lesson.
Now, I’m also a sessional instructor at ACAD and I am trying to give the students as much of the real-world information I wanted to know but didn’t.
CWID
If you weren’t a designer, what career would you pursue?
K.H.
Well, I’d love to say a musician, because I love music so much. But I truly suck at anything musical, which is sad. When I filled out those career surveys in elementary school, I wanted to be a secretary. I have to laugh at that now. Although I am very organized, so maybe I’d be good at that!
CWID
Name a fear or professional challenge that keeps you up at night?
K.H.
This is a hard question, but I think the biggest would be staying up with technology. The world is moving at lightning speed and with the development of what I like to call “Star Trek Tech,” it’s mind-boggling to think I can even get close to understanding what is truly happening. This is a really amazing and super scary time. I hope we do good with what we develop.
CWID
Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently when starting?
K.H.
I wouldn’t have started my own business if I didn’t have a choice. I would have worked for someone, found a mentor, learned from others. I was on my own, so I had to learn on my own. The great thing is that I recognized how weak a designer I was, and I spent a lot of my time trying to figure things out. I did, but it took longer. It was hard. Now I try to give those who work for/with me as much of the backstory as possible, so if they go on their own they are better-equipped.
CWID
What are the best and worst pieces of advice you’ve ever gotten?
K.H.
The guy I was with in the early part of my career said I had a hobby and not a job. That was brutal to hear (and wrong) but I used that to prove him otherwise. It became fuel for the fire. I surpassed his career in four years. The best advice was to never settle.
CWID
As a female, what sacrifices have you had to make in your professional life?
K.H.
I didn’t go down the parent road, so I can’t say I’ve had those types of challenges. My fiance got a transfer early in my career and I “had to” follow, which brought me to Calgary. I guess you could argue that was a traditional sacrifice. And it was. I had to restart my business in a city I’d never been to. I didn’t know anyone. That was tough. It did prove to be the best thing for my career, but it took some time to get things going again.
CWID
What is unique to the female design experience that no one talks about but should?
K.H.
There is still a lot of value placed on what I call “perceived coolness.” Designers are often expected to look the part. We’re a bit different. In the know. Artsy. Cool.
As you get older, the pressure grows. An older man in this industry may look “seasoned”, while an older woman may look “outdated.” You can see this in past design conference circuits — the big names were mostly men. There are some outstanding women who are well into their career and are still current, but seem to get dismissed.
As designers, we play with perception all the time, and yet this is an issue we don’t seem be handle very well. It’s likely we aren’t the only industry to experience this and it needs to be addressed.
CWID
What advice would you give to a young female designer.
K.H.
Learn, learn, learn. Never stop. Be confident. And if you’re not, fake it till you are.
CWID
What’s your favourite thing to do when you come home?
K.H.
I’m not much of a homebody. I’m not going to lie. But if I have to stay in, then it’s likely watching an interesting documentary with a ton of popcorn for dinner. Popcorn makes everything better.
CWID
How would you design the ideal creative workspace?
K.H.
I love my studio, but if I could design the ideal work space, it would be a constantly changing space. Multiple movable walls that showcase various collected inspiration, images, and tons of type. I love collecting design ephemera, but I wish I could push a button to have one space one day and another the next (on a rotating schedule, of course, because I’d want to see the things I love again).
CWID
Which of your traits are you most proud of?
K.H.
I’m very hard working. It’s the Saskatchewan roots in me. I don’t give up. If things get hard, I find another way. I’m proud of that. I’m proud of me for that.
CWID
Who are your design heroes (male or female)?
K.H.
I love small studios for the most part, but I’m a big fan of the design that comes out of the UK. Why Not Associates, Experimental Jetset, Johnson Banks, KesselsKramer (Amsterdam), etc.
But there are amazing studios in Montreal too. OrangeTango. Blok Design is fantastic—Vanessa Eckstein is an amazing designer. We also have some fantastic females close to home (like Monique Gamache at Wax and Keli Pollock at Keli Pollock Creative).
CWID
Who was/is your greatest mentor and why?
K.H.
My last partner was probably my greatest mentor, and really the only one. He came into my career about 10 years in. He was a London-trained designer and brought a different perspective to my work. We pushed each other a ton, but it paid off. We opened up a side project under the moniker FISHTEN and it was extremely successful. It changed my work and continues to.
CWID
Is it possible to be unique or original in the Internet age?
K.H.
It’s definitely a LOT harder—there is so much content out there now. It’s hard to stand out. But if you do meaningful, strategy-based design, it will succeed. Research is key.
Ten, 15, even 20 years ago (still the Internet age), it was easier. The volume was less. And I think the time spent was greater. Things were slower and maybe more care and attention was taken. When you didn’t have all the whizzy bells and whistles at your fingertips, you took the time to consider and do it right.
CWID
What was the worst trend in the history of design?
K.H.
Starbursts. And the 90s triangle. It was everywhere. What did it even mean?
CWID
What about the current state of graphic design could you do without?
K.H.
The arrogance. Maybe it’s an education issue. Just because you can easily use the design programs does not make you a designer. Wow, there are a lot of clients who now think their interns can do it themselves. Just create a template and hand it off. Oh boy.
CWID
What are your plans for the future?
K.H.
Forging ahead. I LOVE what I do. I can’t imagine doing anything else. But how I do it will evolve. It always does. And I’d like to self-publish. I have always wanted to do my own book.
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