It’s a scientific fact that designers should code, break dance with broken legs, be able to recite every lyrics of Barenaked Ladies’ 1998 breakout hit “One Week”, divide by zero, complete at least one Olympic feat better than an Olympian, and/or hold a public office for no less than 17 years. These aren’t our standards by which to measure your candidacy as a designer, merely the universe’s.

It’s just science and you can’t argue that.

It depends on what kind of designer you are. I started out by learning HTML and building websites. In high school I got an internship at a local web design and development company where I learned to program in ASP/Access/Flash/PHP/etc. I can definitely hack my way through a Shopify theme tweak if I need. However, I don't consider this a necessity to being a good designer to be honest. I removes a barrier for certain personal projects (launching a small product line/etc) but otherwise it doesn't contribute to my design directly.

In short — If you're really passionate about something don't let other people's requirements hold you back. Be curious, be passionate and go for it.

document.getElementById('daryl-ginn').style.perspective = 'inherit';

Rogie, Justin & Hannah, and I all have kids - 8 all together. That's a lot of poop.

For me, with 3, I tend to only work on side gigs after they go to bed. My husband and I have a pattern on certain days we have "alone" time - pursuing individually what we are passionate about. Setting those family priorities and expectations help us more forward smoothly.

In a collaboration like this, it's important for us to keep in mind of each other's family needs. Meaning, when it was time for me to craft the photos, the crew looked to ME to set that timeline - then they respected that decision and set it up in the grand timeline.

I have 3 spawn and a lady-unit that's chosen to reside with me for all eternity...or until I die, whatever may come sooner.

Bevan, really for me it comes to choice. I made the choice to turn down other opportunities, be it being a regional foosball champ, or even reading a cool book, or seriously working on other pieces of art in my spare time. The team did the same. We chose to fire all of our ammo at this, and like Alicja said. In our spare time. In the off hours of the evening after the kids goto bed. Or at 6am. It's a bit like a workout routine. It's hard to keep but if you schedule it and are serious about it, even with a family its attainable.

I have zero children and my output doesn't hold a candle to the productivity of Rogie/Justin/Alicja — They are amazing.

Definitely not the easiest thing to do, but I think all of our lives are crazy for any number of reasons. Having children isn't easy when it comes to finding hours in the day, but neither is holding down a job, working on passion projects, finding time to socialize like a human, or finding your own time for solitude.

Not matter what you do in life, you're going to be prioritizing your time to do what you want to be doing. I think, for me, time management in parenthood has more manifested itself in being more time-boxed in how time is used. I'll typically work in sprints where I can hyper-focus for a burst of time and oftentimes those happen around 11pm when the kiddos are dozing.

Oh, also we ship to the UK now! <3

Thanks, Josh! Concepts are done by the entire team...trust me, the idea list is huge but not all of them make the cut...product shots done by Alicja. She's amazing and really took it to the next level!

Yeah, we getchu, boo. Yeah, lapel pins are taking off like mad and have been trending pretty hard for the last few years. We're totally cognizant of that and have a huge desire to branch out. Ultimately, we just wanted to put something out there and not jump in every direction. At the beginning, we were thinking of doing like 4 product types, but really tailed that off to launch sooner and keep shipping simple.

This market is crowded like whoa. Lapel pins ended up becoming the first little medium we worked in after trying out a bunch. We were actually originally going to be making little trading cards in the very first iteration of products, but after trying a lot of samples, we never really fell in love with the medium. It's absolutely the plan to keep growing and pushing into new territories.

Of course Rogie wants hats since we've all yet to see him without one.

Hey Christian, thanks.

Thanks!

Wow, such a rad question. This answer will just be for me. I think it's a pretty multi-faceted, and I'm going to try earnestly—and not just go for the romantic.

I struggled a lot in trying to figure out what it is I wanted to do while in school. I've wanted to be a great many things, but hadn't really considered any of the artistic leanings, though they were a huge part of my growing up.

By the time I figured out that design was a career I had have and sustain, I was almost out of college. For me, it was almost like discovering this whole new world of people who "made" things, all by themselves. I had really wanted to be a filmmaker, but there are so many limitation to working solo in that world. Chief among those, I didn't have a great camera, a budget to work with, actors, etc. So when I discovered this career, wherein I could create what I wanted on my own, it was like discovering a whole new medium for story. I was originally a Philosophy and World Religions major in school, after all.

Wow, that's a lot of setup. Anyhow, I'd say that now, what keeps me most excited is working in a field like technology with Code School that has a huge aim, which is to arm this generation and the next with the tools and proficiencies that are such an enormous part of our world. I love the idea that I could be making something that my daughter could one day be excited about learning from!

Super Team, on the other hand, is my way to play in a realm that's more about having fun and allowing myself to take joy in those little things that inspire me, or just bring a smile to my face. It's not going to change the world, but it's something that I feel like I have to allow myself to do, which is to express some inner delight and get the change to do with those I haven't yet had the opportunity to do it with.

And why keep learning and improving? Because I'm nowhere near done yet. At least I hope not! I'm so humbled to be working in such a great field with so many kind folks who will willing teach and invest in my own personal growth. If I don't take advantage of that, what a missed opportunity! It's good to remember what a privilege it is to get to do what we get to do from time to time.

Thank you for this question!

Anthony, it's great to see a fan from my modeling days still appreciating the funk that I brought to the artform. So, thanks for that. Bless up, child.

Personally, I've been down a tattered path of underwear realization and at this stage, I'm not even sure who or what I am...so even though I hate labels, I'd have to say im just a bit underwear-curious.

We all know Rogie prefers his natural, buff state the most. Common knowledge.

Rogie wears underwear?!

Designers that cannot dance are rare in the natural kingdom. Most designers born in the wild are predisposed towards their own ancestral dances and to neglect those parts of your soul has been shown to be disastrous on an ecological scale. Also, no.

Please don't dance (if you're a designer).

Hell yeah. I'll be the first to admit I've not seen a designer dance well, and thats the beauty of it. Embracing your shitty moves and just moving. So yeah, dance.

But, I call it rage-dance because rage-dancing is the best. Dance at your desk, dance in public. Put it all out there.

Yes. Hard. All the time.

• I haven't been in the Print Kingdom for some time, but I used to work on magazines. That was definitely a tougher world to work in as print weeks were essentially spent sleeping in the office on a copier or under a desk. So far, we haven't pulled those hours, but I've also noticed that while these are much smaller pieces to work, the time we have to spend concepting is so much longer. Getting the sizes just right for this medium has been one of the more fuzzy areas as designs that are too complex get muddied and also start to resonate less with folks. This first batch was definitely a bit of a wide swath in terms of complexity and style since we really wanted to pressure test the canvas in what this medium was capable of.

• As for updates, we've got a newsletter that you can sign up for on the site as well as our various social accounts on this here internet via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

• Collaborations! Right now, we're just getting things going and figuring out just what our current bandwidth allows for. In the future, we'd love to be able to bring in other artists on goods!

• Regretfully, I'm a voracious consumer of Imgur and dank memes. That includes but isn't limited to cool/random.

Nate, that was me! But, like everything, we are bouncing ideas back and forth with the team. Some ideas get squashed, some don't. So, while technically I authored the HTML/CSS/Shopify theme/Visual Design and UX of the site, ideas came from all of us, critique came from all of us, lettering came from Drew Melton and Photos came from Alicja.

Ultimately, Alicja riffed off of ideas from Justin. Ideas for the theme came from conversations between Justin and I and thats the beauty of a team. At some point in the process, you forget it's even you making/owning these ideas because you're not really sure of the origination point, nor does it really matter because team.

What apps do you suggest?

Tell us more, Federico. What kind of a t-shirt do you want?

Well, I'm not a good hand-drawn artist. So there's that. Also, I don't do it very regularly, so it hurts about five minutes into doing it. But I like working with computers!

I think it's really important to draw, period. it's a valuable skill to help put ideas out there, super fast...take a gander at it, and scrap it or move on. But, there are many ways to draw. Like take Justin, he CAN DRAW, but he actually draws faster using vector tools in illustrator. So, most of his art is informed by that tool. Drew is probably the best at drawing — his control is pretty off the chain.

But, to get at your question a bit more directly..what sort of art are you trying to make?

Justin, Alicja and Drew.

Tony Dispigna, Ken Barber (forever), Herb Lubalin, Erik Marinovich, Neil Hubert, Tattoo artists, Simon Walker, Steve Powers, the Hoodzpa Twins, and I could go on and on...

Oh, great question!

Loving the work of James Gilleard right now. Such stunning work with geometry and creating depth.

Also, huge fan of MUTI as their work is so diverse it's overwhelming.

Also, these folks at Super Team Deluxe. It's why we're working together :)

I think for me it's both the caliber of work, but also the heart behind it. Frankly I'm always smitten by the work of the Focus Lab team and Super Team - as each designer I've worked alongside are humble, about collaboration, and highly skilled.

For me, I've sort of let my love of interests kinda run wild on this thing. I'm a big fan of tattoos and collect them on my skin myself, so that played a huge factor in this first run for me since pins are worn on the body as well. There wasn't a particular artist that was the larger inspiration, but I'd say American Traditional as a style was a big influence. Super Team all sort of came from this idea of marrying things that could be perceived as hard and/or badass (a la tattoos) with things that felt more soft and fun (like working with computers for a living). That's been a theme for us on this first run.

A lot of the idea behind Super Team and how we approach goods is pulling from those things in life that were great sources of joy and delight. I think one of the bigger brands that we love (that's made its way into future plans) is Nintendo as I've felt they've played a huge role in my joy growing up. There's something so infectious about those characters and the universes they created—it's just masterful world-building. To be able to play in that sandbox is something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. And Nintendo hasn't come knocking on my door yet, so I guess I've just been finding my own ways to connect with things like that on my own terms.

Other than that, I love things that make me smile like The Onion / Clickhole, memes, 80s sci-fi movies, and comics.

See Justin's more fleshed out reply, but just to throw some of my own stink at this...I think I'm inspired more by things not necessarily perceived as a brand, like cartoons on Cartoon Network or a conversation that Justin and I had that had us cracking up...or maybe a conversation Drew, Justin and I had that was a touch cynical about some stuff we hated hearing in design circles.

But ultimately, we really aren't talking a whole lot about how others are doing it or really wanting to be like them. We figured we've racked up enough life experience and affinities and what-not like our love for video games and sci-fi as kids, or the fact that we're so lucky to be growed up nerds sitting on our asses in front of glowing screens making riffs off of pokemon art.

I think an underlying inspiration or theme in general for all products we're making is this idea of being really child-like, like when you were a kid and you didn't know you were NOT cool. You just were. For us, that takes the shape of blending all this bad-ass tattoo/biker/hard culture (to us, this idea of puffing your chest out and saying...hey look, im hard, im cool) with the ironic twist of really the person you are inside that maybe loves donuts and hates running, or just loves pokemon as a 36 year old balding programmer and father of 3. We think theres a lot of beauty in the irony and some fun counter-cultural statements to make about not taking ourselves too seriously and not losing the kid inside of us. Not pandering to the masses to BE COOL and to JUST BE.

Oh man — To be honest my inspiration has come from a lot of the street art around Los Angeles lately. I LOVE the super fat overlapping lettering you see painted on overpasses and random sidewalks. I also love anything and everything by Herb Lubalin, Tony Dispigna, Ken Barber, The Quiet Life, Vintage movie posters, Psychedelic poster art and Dad's Paper Signs.

STD photography for everyone.

Well, Heath, this is my fav question yet asked. It could be that it's directly related at me, or your moral high role abstaining from "STD photography" - but more likely the former.

First is concept... it needed to be simple enough to further the idea of the product, but also be unique in that it didn't step on another product photo's toes. I reach out to others for concepts, but ultimately the designer of the pin is the Creative Director of the shoot.

Second is production of sets... props, backgrounds, colors, it's all considered. Some propers are made out of fake blood, others out of paper. Many times the concept is figured out but it takes lots of iterations on executing with with set to find a solid direction.

Third is lighting .... light is part of the story. The angle, the modifiers - again this is iteration.

Lastly - post production. Few of the product shots were simple edits and retouching, while others are composites.

I've broadcasted the production of Untitled-1.ai on Twitch, if you're interested: https://www.twitch.tv/alicjacolon/v/81756054

Hey Joe! Fine Goods is a simple little storefront for my (Rogie's) goods. Well, not those goods...if you know what i mean. More like physical...er...products. You know, prints, pins, etc.

Super Team is a collaborative born out of a desire to make cool shit. We have a mission statement as well, but its secret...not because we want to be exclusive, but out of a desire to protect humanity from the sheer glory and weight of its wit and depth, we fear it could bring humanity to the ultimate realization of self-worth and our eternal purpose. So, we're holding onto the reveal of that.

Butchea, super team is about being greater together than apart. Bringing our strengths together for the greater good, you know like if we could time travel, we'd try to prevent global atrocities like the creation of Dumb and Dumberer or the fall from grace of Lindsay Lohan from ever happening. Also, getting outside your own head and making stuff with others, while risky, is so damn rewarding.

We're all about that Slack. It's definitely the go-to for communication at the group level. We've got rooms for this, rooms for that etc.

But I think perhaps the most valuable part of this is that we actually like each other quite a bit (or at least I do). So we're keeping up with each other anyway. A lot of these ideas for products are born out of general, non-focused discussion where a thread appears and we just start pulling on it to see if there's anything there.

So far we have been mostly designing and developing the products/platform/brand experience. For me the focus has been entirely on designing things on a regular basis. Having Rogie, Justin, Alicja and Hannah all doing their part makes my job feel much more focused.

Hey Blake! the creation of Untitled-1.ai is here ---> https://www.twitch.tv/alicjacolon/v/81756054

Blake, hopefully soon! I know that Alicja is keeping up her schedule and Justin, well, Justin is just the actual worst at staying with his schedule. Go figure tho, he's actually streaming today.

Butchea, definitely going to get back at Twitch soon. It honestly brings me a ton of life and I love doing it. Yeah, I love just being buds with the design community. It really fits with Super Team's perspective of not being above everyone but really just being alongside this rad group of people and learning together.

Thanks for the encouragement!

We've considered it but we've also noticed that it's pretty great when each owner uses her/his own voice to talk about things in a really organic way. We don't want to lose that personal touch...so, we might...but its always important to talk about things from our own human standpoint too.

Prints...hmmm, not sure. We might if the requests come in like a wrecking ball...Ultimately, we want our products to make you feel like you're awesome, and you can do anything...and that you have a really nice body...well, and all that.