BRETT PIVA | Creative Business, Creating Business

Best known for his bespoke hand painted signs & lettering found in pretty much all the trendiest pockets of town, it is not a far cry to call Brett Piva a true craftsman. His passionate creative energy is infectious & inspired. And this is reflected in the development of Pocket Design, his creative studio based in Newcastle.

A glorious mix of ultra-modern and old-school, Pocket Design provides a unique hands-on service that uses traditional and modern techniques. With a speciality in arts, events, community, bar and cafe culture, Pocket is also able offer a whole range of services such as graphic design, brand identity, & web design, in conjunction with the bespoke sign writing.

Brett proudly tells us that 95% of the work for Pocket Design is produced in house. Everything from logo design, promotional material, website design, through to onsite hand painting of the logo on glass or a large mural on brick.

On top of all this, Brett is still running his specialty workshops. Proving to be so successful that Brett has recently been invited to work with world renowned American Sign Painter Mike Meyer for his 2015 Sign Painting workshops at London Design Week.

He is a living example of how creativity & ingenuity can improve upon existing commercial understanding & help to create a positive business culture. This is the stuff we need more of!

We caught up with Brett to talk shop & find out what keeps his brush wet!

What does it mean for you to be invited to work with Mike Meyer at the London Design Week?

It honestly means the world. Mike is such a positive guy for the trade and I’m humbled to be invited and honoured to be assisting him. He’s a great guy to hang out with and is truly addicted to the brush. His teaching style is very supportive and passionate with a lot of great laughs. Mike is doing incredible things for the lettering community across the globe, I’m thrilled to be joining him.

What do you hope to achieve while in London?

Adventure, discovery and creation. Having lived and worked as a designer in London for two years I’ve gotten all the tourist attractions out of the way. This time around I have nothing but focus towards meeting other artists. I’ll also be doing a visual study of the city and two others I’ve selected to visit. London, Paris and Barcelona houses some beautiful lettering that has been ingrained in the cities heritage but also respected by a new age. I’ll be wandering the lesser-known streets to discover many forms of lettering, signage, vintage advertisements and the visual landscape through documented drawings and photography. This will all come together for a new body of work I’m planning to exhibit in 2016.

How have you found navigating a career in such a traditional trade within a digital context?

Honestly, it’s been tricky but I’ve enjoyed every minute. Having worked in a digital design capacity for many years, I’ve not only had to re-train myself on a few things but also re-educate potential clients. Australia swiftly became so clinical in it’s approach to design for our visual landscape. Everything seemed to turn plastic overnight and became what people wanted for a very long time. Just walk into your nearest shopping mall and you’ll discover this clinical representation that follows a generic pattern throughout each level. Now there seems to have been a slight backlash towards what I call ‘the plastic years’. People are finally realising that having a different and more unique face to your business is more far more beneficial.

Name your three creativity essentials.

Three is very hard as I experiment with many practices. I guess, Pencil, Brush and Paint. If there were a fourth it would be paper, the fifth would be music and the sixth would most likely be beer.

How do you keep your creative fires burning?

Discovery. I always keep searching for a level I need to reach next. There is always someone better than you in your chosen industry. If you are not striving to reach new career goals each year then what’s the point? I always experiment with traditional and digital. Modern ideas using an age old practice keeps things interesting.

Recently you’ve been throwing down a quote by Bob Dylan about change. What does this mean to you & what changes are afoot?

Pocket is forever evolving through new and inventive approaches to design. The Bob Dylan quote ‘There is nothing so stable as change’ is a true representation of how Pocket Design has grown. Many people in my industry see change as being too risky and they stick to comfortable guidelines or practices to make life easier and earn an extra buck. F**k that! I can’t imagine how my life would be working with these restrictions. Pocket Design’s forever experimental approach to design and creativity keeps us reaching for more change. This is what keeps our work interesting and our service more unique.

Follow Pocket Design creative adventures at their spanking new website-

www.pocketdesign.com.au

Images provided by Hannah Rose Robinson (& Brett Piva)

#bespoke #brettpiva #pocketdesigns