We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Rygiol. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.

David, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In 2016 A friend and I had the idea to do a nationwide collaborative poster show to celebrate the National Parks centennial anniversary. We gathered 60 designers from across the country to do posters for each of the 60 national parks. The project went so well that we formed an official non-profit and did eight more collaborative projects celebrating the outdoors – donating 100% of the proceeds to various nonprofits advocating for the environment.

We eventually sunsetted the nonprofit, but in early 2023 decided to try a similar idea, but this time for companies with a positive social impact who want a more interesting way to tell their story than a traditional ad campaign. We started Friends For Good in April to be a community of creative people joining together to do their best work for companies that do the most good. Our first two projects tested the idea and we’re taking the lessons learned and successful piece of those and are looking for our next big project.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I followed a pretty traditional path into design, starting at San Jose State University studying Graphic Design and then working at ad agencies and design shops for several years before deciding to go out on my own and work independently. I was very unhappy working for big corporate clients and wanted to be closer to the people starting the business. making the product, and following their passions. I work with a lot of startups, small companies and nonprofits doing primarily branding and illustration. I love partnering with people starting out on a new idea and helping them tell their story visually. My approach to design and illustration always starts with discovering what the company wants to communicate – what tone and message they want to convey. That central idea inform all of the visual choices we make together – an intentional approach that I find less and less as the tools to create become more accessible to anyone who wants to learn them. It’s the focus on concept and story that sets my work apart and also makes it so fulfilling to be a part of.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I was always told in school that designers and artists should NEVER work for free and that whenever you do free work you’re being taken advantage of. In my 15 years as a working designer I’ve done a lot of free work, and I can confidently say that it’s made my career. The misconception is that viewpoint is that it places all the value on the financial transaction, when there’s actually many forms of value in a project. I’ve always focused on doing free work for people in my community that I know will greatly benefit from a little visual help – people that are also very collaboratively minded and will likely pay that forward to others. Many of my most popular and well received projects are ones that I did for free and they led to a ton of other paying work that I wouldn’t have been connected to if I hadn’t done the first project. When I talk with students today I find that they’re still being fed the same line about avoiding free work, and I’m always eager to share my story and try to convince them to see value in things other than payment.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Undoubtedly the most impactful thing I’ve done to build my reputation is the collaborative shows we started with Type Hike and continued with Friends For Good. Because they involve so many people, there is a natural virality to them (on a small scale) and I get to meet a lot people very quickly – many more than I would through traditional networking. The secret is in curating a diverse group of creative from many different industries and fields to be a part of the show – that creates natural exposure to many companies and potential clients that would otherwise be hard to meet in a meaningful way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.friendsforgood.com or www.rye-jol.com depending on where you focus the story,.
• Instagram: @ryejol or @_friendsforgood