Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Tuber.
Hi Ben, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I didn’t go to school for art or design. Actually, that’s not entirely true – I began a master’s program at the Pratt Institute, but since it’s high price tag was adding a dangerously large amount of student debt to what was already left over from my undergrad days, I aborted it after a year or so once I secured an internship at an agency. Though I learned some great stuff at Pratt, I’d also say I learned more in my first week of being an intern, since nothing beats on-the-job education. I’d also say that at least half of my education in design comes from YouTube, books I’ve bought over the years, and, for better or worse, social media.
Before that, I was lucky enough to receive a pretty wide-ranging education in liberal arts (history, english, that kinda stuff). I grew up thinking I wanted to be a writer of some sort, first of books, then television. I was naturally good with words and I somehow had it in my head that writing was a more worthwhile artistic profession than anything else, but I eventually found I couldn’t fully commit to it – I’d write in fits and starts, and was never especially thrilled by what I’d written. One thing I did incessantly throughout my entire education, starting from kindergarten, really, was doodle incessantly. I still doodle incessantly, every morning while I’m having coffee. I don’t think drawing came as naturally to me as did writing, but visual art hits me deep in a way nothing else does, and it didn’t matter so much that I couldn’t draw well in the traditional sense – I just wanted to make the kind of visuals that I could make and resonated with me. Graphic art and animation gives me that tingly feeling, makes me obsessed. It took me until I was about 25 to realize that, but I’m glad I did, and I haven’t looked back.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course there have been struggles. I’d say the biggest struggle has been ignoring those impish critical voices that emerge from the swamps of your brain when you’re low on juice or just feeling blue. I’m not sure they’ll ever fully go away, but I’m always trying to get better at not listening to them and plowing forward. It’s really the only thing to do.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in graphic art – branding, typography, illustration, and animation. Really I think I specialize in art for social media. I began my career around the same time social media was becoming the dominant medium and I think I took to it because it was new and not hampered by any stodgy, institutionalized standards. Though a ton of it is brain-rotting sludge, there are so many weird and wonderful corners to social media that I’d say I’m a pretty huge fan.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I think I was pretty cool by most measures. There were plenty of times where I tried on hats that didn’t quite fit, meaning I did stuff to seem “cooler” than I was, but for the most part I was true to myself. I always zigged where others zagged, sometimes to be intentionally different, but for the most part I think it was because I had a fairly unique vision of things and stuck to it.
I always liked art and artsy stuff. I liked sports too, if sports can be considered the opposite side of the spectrum, though when given the choice in high school whether to continue playing sports or smoke cigarettes and kick it with the weirdos, the punks, the art class types, I chose the latter. I liked and still like going to off-kilter shows and movies, wandering around lost in my own thoughts while listening to music, and making jokes and shooting the shit. Not all that much has changed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bentuber.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bentuber/
