We were lucky to catch up with Benjamin (ben) Tuber recently and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin (Ben), thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Throughout high school and college, I never thought I would – or could – pursue graphic art as a career. This was partly due to me not having gone to art school, and also due in part to a feeling that graphic art wasn’t a “serious” use of my time but rather just icing on the cake, mere decoration, something my hand did idly while my head spaced out. (I am a compulsive doodler and every time I’ve had to take notes I’ve invariably filled the paper with anything but.) It wasn’t until I was several years out of college and floundering in random day jobs that I showed a notebook full of doodles to a friend, and he, kinda surprised, asked me why I wasn’t doing this for a living. Having no good answer for him, I turned my attention to it.

I started a grad program at Pratt for communications design but never finished it since the tuition became frighteningly expensive, especially when compounded with my college loans. And besides, while I’m happy with what I learned there, my most influential teachers have been on Pinterest and YouTube, and the work I’ve done which has most caught clients’ eyes has been personal projects. This is to say that, in my opinion, art school is great only in the sense that it’s a catalyst to get work done. If you have the desire to make things and can do it on your own, there are countless resources online to teach you what you need to know.

The most essential “skill” (if you can call it that) is (and I’m telling this to myself as much as to whoever is reading this) is to keep going and finish one small thing at a time. Dejection, distraction, restlessness, boredom, etc. will be waiting at every turn, and I think the key is to continue pursuing the idea until it’s complete, even with the discouraging inner voices playing in your ear – bring them along until they stop whining. Nothing I’ve ever done has come out looking the inchoate, formless way I’d imagined it before I began, and this is almost always a pleasant surprise, since I’ve learned things I couldn’t have foreseen had I not continued. Also, sometimes things just suck, but that’s just the way it is. A finished thing, amazing or not so amazing, is always good.

Benjamin (Ben), love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Ben, I’m from NYC, and I’m a fiend for graphics. I create graphics (branding, illustration, and animation) for a variety of clients, helping to bring their work to life and catch stray eyeballs. I live for visual culture and ascribe to no particular style – whatever vibe works best for the project is the one that gets me going. And since I design for screens mostly, I’m of the belief that, if the design can move, even subtly, it should move. Having grown up in a city as eclectic and stimulating as New York, and having love for all crowded, buzzing, visually-arresting cities, I think of all my work as an extension of the neon sign – a simple but enticing sign beckoning you to “come check this out.”

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The fact that it’s never over and constantly changing. I’m always excited by new visual trends and remixes of old styles, and I’m kept going by the fact that I’m not actually that good and I’ll always have space to grow and try new things.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Trying new things and practicing. That’s really it. There are no goals, as far as I can see – it will always be a work in progress.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bentuber.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bentuber/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.tuber/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tuber-bb509b68/