Stewart Smith:
Designer, Artist, Programmer
Back in July of 2010 I was featured in the premiere entry of Lisa Smith’s “Starting Out” series for industrial design magazine Core77.
I’d been living in London less than a year; working some design freelance locally, and serving as an artist-in-residence at ZKM in southern Germany. There’s an argument to be made that this was actually my third “starting out.” I truly started out in 2003 when I graduated from the University of Connecticut with my BFA in graphic design, worked some odd design jobs, and then scored a real creative and educational win for myself when I began interning for David Reinfurt at his Manhattan studio, O‑R‑G.
My second start came a few years later. I’d gone back to school for my MFA, earning my second degree in graphic design from Yale University in 2008—just in time for the Great Recession that ensured anyone entering (or re-entering) the workforce would face lean times ahead. I spent that first lean year living in Manhattan, working with Robert Gerard Pietrusko at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Then we packed up and crossed the pond, leaving the Big Apple for the Big Smoke.
And that’s where this interview picks up: I’m a Yankee in Hackney, sharing a workspace in Shacklewell Studios with friend / artist / technologist Jurg Lehni. The student protests and London Riots had yet to unfold. This was me, closing out my twenties.