Creativity in Design – An interview with Matthew Griffin

I was stumbling along on the net and up popped this blog called Mirificampress.com and an article called, ‘Show and Tell: A Christian Designer’s Guide to Faith in the Workplace’.

So, being a designer myself and what’s more a Christian one, I though I better check this out and well – I was very pleasantly surprised – someone had put together this great article, so I decided to ask him some questions. Ladies and Gentleman: Matthew Griffin.

Background…

Ant: Where did you grow up, what you did as a kid – any interesting things?

Matthew: I grew up in Austin, TX. As a child I always enjoyed building things, drawing—just about anything that involved creativity. When I was in eighth grade, before anyone knew what a website was, I started programming video games in GW BASIC. That’s where I got my first taste of computer-aided design. I was hooked. I haven’t stopped since – I did however, eventually figure out that I didn’t have the patience for video game development and the web seemed like the next place to go. Fortunately, through all of my searching and learning in my teen years, I had great Christian parents who constantly made me think about what I was doing and how it related to the big picture.

Ant: Did anything that happened to you while you were young influence you into your career choice?

Matthew: Yeah, my father was an architect and I loved to watch him work at his drafting table. Architecture is actually pretty close to web design in essence. They both involve a unique mixture of open creativity and precision that few disciplines require. I was always attracted to that and I’m pretty sure that if the internet revolution had never taken place, I probably would have taken the same route as my father.

Ant: Where and what did you study?

Matthew: Well, after I graduated from high school in 2000, I started my search for a college with some kind of degree in web design. Tough luck. No such program existed.

At that point I knew enough to freelance, so I did that and worked a regular 9-5 job for a few years until I was making enough to design on my own full time. During that period I focused most of my attention on learning the tools of web design: Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, etc. It wasn’t until I was out on my own that I really got serious about studying traditional graphic design principles.

Ant: At the moment are you working in a company or are you freelancing?

Matthew: I own my own studio called 6House Design. Right now it’s me and a couple of independent contractors doing the lion’s share of the work.

Ant: What are the benefits of working like this?

Matthew: I think the primary benefit is flexibility. I believe very strongly that men and women in the workforce should be able to spend time with their family. I do have a separate office where most of my work is accomplished, but I have the opportunity to spend extra time at home with my wife and kids for lunch and other stuff. I also like to involve my wife in my business.

The concept of a family working together as a single unit to make a living has long been forgotten in out culture, but historically it was an important model for Christian living.

Fortunately, though, modern technology is making it more and more and feasible and I think we can all be thankful for that. I’m pushing toward that model and I encourage the guys that work for me to do the same.

Creativity…

Ant: How old were you when you found your creative streak?

Matthew: Wow! I’m not really sure. As far back as I can remember, I was creating things and showing them off to my parents.

Ant: Do you think that people are born with creativity or that it’s inside us all?

Matthew: This question hits on a controversial idea that I think is very important for Christian creatives. We’ve been told by modern psychologists and scientists that humans are either right brained or left brained – reducing us to machines, fit only for specific labor. And while I agree that we tend to favor one side or the other, none of us would be able to function without both. As we create, we mimic the true creator. This is a part of the image of God stamped on our being, and it exists in us all.

Ant: Where do you get inspiration from?

Matthew: I tend to go through phases, but I can find inspiration just about anywhere: God’s creation, DVD covers, magazine. Recently, I’ve been perusing a lot of design and typography from the 16th century. It’s interesting to see how it was done when efficiency was much more of a consideration.

Ant: What has design/your creativity taught you about yourself?

Matthew: If anything, it’s taught me to be humble. The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.

Ant: What has design/your creativity taught you about God?

Matthew: For sure, the process of creating has brought my awe of God to a greater height. Creating forces you to take a closer look at the world – God’s world. As a Christian, I can’t help but compare my attempt at design and creation to the things designed by God. And when I’m faced with the unmatched beauty, immensity, and complexity of it all, what can I do but fall on my knees to worship. There is no design by any human that could ever evoke that response from me.

Ant: What fields do you work in?

Matthew: I work almost exclusively in web design. Although I do a little print design from time to time.

Ant: What are some of the best things you have had the opportunity to work on?

Matthew: That’s a difficult question to answer because every project is so unique. But usually the best projects are the ones that blaze a new trail. For example, I recently worked on website called QuickSchoolPix.com that will completely change the way school pictures are taken. It’s those kinds of projects that are the most exciting for me.

Ant: What influence does God have in your work?

Matthew: Well I already talked about how God’s creation affects my work but my work is more specifically influenced by his Word, the Bible. It’s an ongoing quest for all Christians in every vocation to learn the principles in God’s word and extrapolate those principles out into a worldview that permeates every aspect of life. That’s my goal, and because of that, God’s influence is undeniable in my work.

Ant: I see you do a lot of work on Christian websites; do you believe that even your time and profession should be tithed?
Matthew: I believe that Christians should be known as generous people. That’s a principle that can include both the fruit of labor and labor itself. But I also believe that the primary way Christian creatives can give back to the Lord is by spending time supporting the Christian creative community. That’s where our work should be—passing down knowledge and encouragement to the next generation of creatives. There are a lot of ministries who expect creative work to be done for free or at a discount. I think this attitude is indicative of the widespread belief that ministry work is a high calling and everything else is “other” work—what has to be done to get the bills paid. I couldn’t disagree more. Both ministry work and “other” work are necessary for the building of God’s kingdom and they should both be held as sacred.

Mirificam Press…

Ant: Please tell us more about what this is all about.

Matthew: I starting writing Mirificam Press because it seemed that there was no one attacking the issues of web design from a Christian worldview. As Christians, many times we forget that we have in our possession a truth that brings order even to “secular” vocations. The internet is the knowledge conduit of the future and it’s being built around evolutionary psychology and other such nonsense. I wanted to encourage other Christian designers to think like Christians and start taking back the playing field.

Ant: On the website you have a verse from Romans 11:20, “Be not high-minded, but fear…” Why this verse, what is the significance to you?

Matthew: Romans 11:20 is the verse that appears on the personal seal of Robert Estienne, a brilliant Christian designer from the reformation era. It’s a warning to Christians to be humble about the grace that has been given them by God. It’s a great verse to remind Christian creatives to give God all the glory.

Ant: You say “There should be no contradiction between theology and work philosophy.”  What do you mean by this?

Matthew: It’s easy to compartmentalize our faith apart from our work. And most of the time when we do think about how our faith affects our work, we only think in terms of business ethics—don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t cheat. But Christianity is a whole worldview. If it only has relevance in the area of ethics, then it’s not really relevant at all. We have to step back and take a God’s-eye-view of our work and ask ourselves what we’re doing, why it’s relevant to our purpose as human beings, and how our activity should be developed and channeled to bring God glory. This pragmatic attitude of Christian creatives, that what ever works is good, is corrosive to the Christian community.

Ant: Do you think what you do as a job is linked with your calling for God?

Matthew: No, actually I would take it a step further and say that what I do as my job is the very essence of my calling. Whether I’m designing for a commercial business or a church, I see my work as sacred—the highest calling possible. I was created with talents and interests that have driven me to my vocation. Those talents and interests are God given and they bring him glory when they are used to do so.

Ant: Do you know of any other design/creative websites with a Biblical Christian worldview.  Why do you think there are so few?

I don’t know of anyone writing about design from a biblical worldview but there are plenty of Christian designers out there. I know because they contact me all the time to thank me and discuss design and worldview issues. The problem is that most designers don’t know how to inject their faith into their work. In short, they have a broken worldview. I struggled through the same issue and it took a lot of reading and thinking to get where I am now. That’s by no mean an announcement of my arrival. I still have a long way to go and I hope to encourage other Christian creatives to take the same journey and step out of their shells.

God…

Ant: Where do you feel God is taking you?

Matthew: Honestly, I have no idea. But I know what he’s commanded me to do and I know that wherever it leads will be wonderful because I’ve been adopted by grace as his son.

Ant: Do you think you can make a Kingdom impact through your design?

Matthew: Absolutely. But I want be be careful to stress the excellence of my design as a kingdom building work as much as the content. I heard someone once say, “Shoddy holy work is still shoddy”.

Ant: Any message to the designers out there?

Matthew: Never stop reaching for Christ in your work. And never accept the world’s philosophies as truth.

Check out Matthew’s site at http://www.mirificampress.com