Let’s talk about kids without actually talking about them. What is something that you’re absolutely dying to share with them, but are wisely waiting for them to experience until they’re a little older? How do you think that’s going to go?
From a very young age, we’ve always exposed our girls to live music through family-friendly festivals and low-key gigs and the like. Last year, we took them to what I guess you could say was their first ‘proper’ gig: an album launch for Billie Marten where she performed a small acoustic set and the kids got to stand in the front row. Afterwards, there was a signing and our youngest (7yo) daughter gave Billie a portrait she’d drawn of her that afternoon. It was such an amazing experience, and I joked with them that all other gigs will be downhill from here! But anyway, as much as I want to put off the teenage years for as long as I can, I am really looking forward to taking them to shows that they currently can’t attend (since so many, in the UK at least, are 14+). Related to that, I’m confident that our very musical 7yo will be in her own band by her teenage years, so I’m pretty excited about going along to them, too.
You’ve led workshops and spoken at big conferences. I’ve enjoyed being in the audience (virtually!) and always pick up a few gems from you. Without revealing all of your secrets, of course, how do you do that?
I’m not sure I have a secret, and I’m not sure my talks are always a success, but if there’s a consistent piece of advice I give to anyone who gets nervous about public speaking, it’s this: act like you’re someone who’s confident. You don’t need to be confident, you just need to pretend to be confident and keep that illusion up for the duration of your talk. And it works! Because being confident and appearing to be confident — at least in the context of a talk — is actually the same thing.
Is there a moment from a song, book, or movie that you enjoyed at least 10 years ago but think still think about often (for better or for worse)?
This is such a tough question to answer. A lot of my favourite music is over 10 years old for sure. Or is it just that I’ve had longer to enjoy it, and have it all sink in? There’s too much for me to pin down to one thought.
What’s a feeling you don’t have a word for? For example, I have a weird sensation, almost physical, when I’m at the computer and copy something (cmd+c) as though I’m carrying a heavy thing and won’t feel a release until I paste it.
Maybe this is a bit meta, but something that really struck a chord with me recently was something you linked to in your newsletter: an article by Terry Godier where he coined the term “phantom obligation” to represent the feeling of the guilt for something no-one asked you to do; or, why we feel anxiety every time we see an app’s unread count. Terry’s article also really pulls apart the lazy mistakes we’ve made as software designers over the last 20 years or so, and it felt like a real wake-up call.
You’ve made some pretty significant self-initiated things (I have your book; it’s quite heavy!). What is a collaboration you want to try, and what does that look like when someone else is involved?
Although I’d feel pretty nervous doing it, I’m curious about working with another designer on my personal site. I’ve collaborated with a lot of folks on the code side of things there, and commissioned a friend to hand-letter my logo, but the design of the site itself has always been my own work. I mean, I always love your site in whatever design incarnation it’s currently in, man — want to help? 😉
Where he lives
Bristol, UK
Profession
Designer/author
Hot drink
Black filter coffee with beans from Sweven
Third Space
Garden studio
Elliot has a website, podcast, and newsletter.