"In the days well before Twitter, Mark's fingers were fused together with model glue. Constant rubbing on his black velvet posters in his pre-Harry Potter, Harry Potter-like closet left him with black, glued together fingers. He was lean, but saddled with the baggage of a sex educator nurse of a mother, an ample supply of gasoline to burn or huff at his whim and a friend and yet-to-be business partner guiding him in the black arts of backyard arson and needle darts.
The stage was set.
Enter Industrial Brand. Then blogging, Twitter, rich food, long hours, debilitating eye twitches from printing ink fume mismanagement and a burning desire to put Vancouver on the Graphic Communication, no, Communication Design, scratch that...Graphic Design, no, Communication Design map as President of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada. He also (fill in with laundry list of accomplishments and other cool shit he's organized, taught, brought to Vancouver, exported from Vancouver and exploited for Vancouver including such hits as Foodists, Interesting Vancouver, Design Week, Creative Mornings and those really awesome little hors d'oeuvres made with Medjool dates, hazelnuts and blue cheese).
Seriously, splash him with a little truffle oil and you could just f*cking gobble him right up. Creative doer. Design leader. Internet bastard. Generous soul. Business leader. Self-serving ass. Yes, to all of those and more. Bring it."
- Ben Garfinkel (business partner and creative director at Industrial Brand)
The Proof
01 This photo is of me giving a lecture to a local design organization. Seems no matter how badly I behave, I find myself in front of crowded rooms sharing opinions or telling stories. I still find public speaking terrifying, but I do like to talk so I mask my nervousness with lots of words.
02 This is a shot of the more than two dozen event or conference ID's I've collected over the last few years. People often ask me how I have time to be involved in so many professional associations, community groups and charities. Truth is, I have no idea. I guess not having children helps, but I like to be busy, I like to learn, I like to make things, and I like people.
03 My dog Charlie may be blind from birth, but he sure does love to stick his head out the window of the car and let the wind blow his hair back. Car travel must be such a mystery to him. By the way, his favourite thing is to play fetch, which is hilarious to watch.
04Two absolute truths about me: I love to travel and I adore Asian food. When Icograda World Design Congress brought me to China, I was in heaven. At this street food stall in some Hutong (back alley neighbourhood) in Beijing I ate sheep's penis, spicy boiled pork blood and intestines of some sort. Absolutely loved it.
05 The fact that my wife Andrea married me is proof enough that she's a lunatic. This photo of us dressed up as a booby trap and spice rack is ancillary. Yes, I realize how pretty she is and that I married above my station. Lucky me.
06 Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for years and I finally made it there this year. Myself and two close friends spent a couple weeks in Peru and five days hiking the Inca Trail to these ancient ruins. I wheezed and gasped all the way up and cried when I got there.
07 I love this t-shirt, but I fear it's going to get me beat up one day. It's no secret I love food and especially meat—I even once said that vegetarians were untrustworthy and should probably all be in jail...on CBC. Oops. I love food so much I co-founded a food collective called Foodists.ca with some friends. It's my vice.
08 This is where you can find me most days and many late nights. I've been accused of being a workaholic, but I love what I do. Suppose I should clean up my desk soon though.
The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?
I live just off of Commercial Drive in East Van with my wife and my blind Havanese Charlie. I love the energy, diversity, cultural mix and unpretentious vibe of The Drive, not to mention the numerous restaurants, cafés and live music venues.
What do you do and where?
I am the Design Director (a fancy title that means I do whatever needs to get done) at Industrial Brand, a brand strategy and communication design firm I own with my business partner Ben Garfinkel. We're in our 15th year of business and our studio is located in a loft building just off Main St. near 2nd Ave—my second favourite neighbourhood in Vancouver.
What are you working on?
I split my time at work between business development, working with clients on defining their brand strategy and design needs and collaborating with my design team on identities and websites that work. Much of my time recently has gone into bringing CreativeMornings to Vancouver, a free monthly breakfast lecture series for creative professionals from a variety of industries.
Where can we find your work?
Depends how you define my work I suppose. The obvious place is www.industrialbrand.com or www.foodists.ca, but I'm perhaps most proud of the work I don't get paid for. Google me, you'll see.
