Interview with Spencer Nugent

A while ago I wrote about Spencer Nugent and his sketches. I sent him an email recently and he agreed to answer a few questions. Here they are:

1. Where did you find inspiration for your style?

First and foremost, I think I got most of my inspiration in school from my Professor, Paul Skaggs at Brigham Young University. I also like to just browse the internet for new styles and cool sketches. I don't consider myself the best at what I do, but I am passionate. I also was influenced a lot by Feng Zhu

2. Who are your three favorite designers?

That's a tough question. I tend to be a loner when it comes to design and am not really a fan of design celebrity. That being said, I relate more to the designs from firms rather than a singular designer. I do like what I see coming out of MNML these days.

3. What inspired you to start designing.

I'm not sure. I've always been curious about things in general. When I was younger, my brother and I would take things apart and make things together, and see what happened. I was more his accomplice in the matter, but I loved doing it with him!

4. What type of work would you see yourself doing in the future.

I'd like to still be involved in design visualization in the future. I see my path leading towards design education in the long term.

5. Sketch-A-Day doesn't seem to be something that brings in much money. What inspires you to keep doing this?

Well I do run a studio with my business partner, John Muhlenkamp, called Studio Tminus (studiotminus.com). So that's my primary source of income. Sketch-A-Day really started as a means to keep my skills sharp and relevant. You find that as a professional, it's easy to let your skills slip. Practice makes perfect after all.

6. What type of work do you spend most of your time doing?

I spend most of me time in front end visualization and conceptualization. It's my favorite part of the process and I feel I get to really shape, no pun intended, the outcome of the project. I am also the primary CAD modeler in the studio, so I enjoy doing that as well.

7. How long do your sketches take on average.

Depends. For a sketch page full of ideas, it could take 30-60 minutes. For a small, singular idea, about 5-10. Add in some color and that doubles the time.

8. How much do you look to historical designers, or designers that don't directly relate to your field of work?

Not very much. It's something that I find can be limiting in some ways. I'd rather look to the future than relate too much to the past. That's not to say I abandon all principles of good design as advocated by past designers.

9. I noticed you do a lot of robot sketches. What is your favorite robot movie?

Funny you ask. I was just watching Robot Jox, a little known movie, the other day. I pretty much will watch any movie that has some robot in it.

10. What other projects will you be involved with in the near future?

If I told you, I'd have to kill you.