Paul Christus

Designer Statement

I fell in love with graphic design when I was a kid on a skateboard in the 1980’s. During this era, I was informally introduced to the concepts of branding, advertising and brand strategy. The company with the best graphics was king. Many of those companies are still around. Santa Cruz, Powell & Peralta and Vans are striving examples and have even expanded outside of the skateboarding community. The most impressive thing for me though, was watching a subculture attain an identity through the unity of culture and design. As a designer, my passions include, but are not limited to branding, telling stories and creating elevated solutions through design. I am influenced by the clean, smart but timeless designs of Saul Bass and Paul Rand, ambassadors for modernism. But I strive to stand out through postmodern elements extracted from Pop Art and yes, skateboard graphics. I am a firm believer that music and design go hand in hand and can create a beautiful union stronger than its parts. As a designer/musician/ex-skateboarder, I understand the importance  of unity, and I look forward to finding new unions to create with design.