November 12, 2016

Meet Downtown Graphic Designer: Scott Fuller

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Fuller.

Scott, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Like a lot of kids, I had a fascination with drawing and painting, but for me, I fell in love with more mechanical subject matter. Trains, cars, engines and the like; those were the items I was drawn to. The first logo I really remember was the CSX identity, and that has really stuck with me my entire life. As a kid, I worked with my dad in his machine shop where I learned more about design (without realizing it) than I ever would at school. Dad always stressed attention to detail and respect for every single person who walked through our door. Weird how you go from drawing to a machine shop, but it would be a huge turning point for me.

As I got ready for my first year of college, I declared Mechanical Engineering as my major. I’d complete a lot of physics, chemistry, trigonometry and calculus course in high school, and with the machinist background, it seemed like the perfect fit. Something just wasn’t right, though. With that in mind, I visited my college one last time, but spent all my time in the art department. Just before graduation, I changed my major to Graphic Design, and realized I’d been doing this my entire life! For me, design wasn’t just building a logo, it was a way of life. My whole outlook, really. I set myself apart by thinking in the simplest terms possible. What could I say, not with the least amount of design, but with the right amount? That’s still my mantra to this day.

After quite a few ups and downs (told in more detail below) I found myself in the back of an old sign shop in my hometown of Newnan, GA, in the winter of 2012. At the time, I was the Director of In-house Design at Global Parts, an Atlanta-based trucking company (quick rabbit trail: I got that job by selling a computer to the right person at the Apple store I was working at). I had just been handed an identity project for a local restaurant, and I called in sick to work just to help build the restaurant sign. Bob, if you’re reading this, I wasn’t sick, and I’m definitely not sorry! After working with this old sign painter, we worked out a deal where I could use his workroom as a studio after he went home for the night, and I spent the next year doing just that.

My first night in that old workshop, I called it The Studio Temporary, just as a joke. After hearing an interview with one of my favorite designers, everything changed. The designer, Alan Fletcher, was asked what the most important tool in his studio was, and he responded, “My head.” THERE IT WAS. Right then and there, I made The Studio Temporary my official name, and adopted the mantra of “Good Design Wherever I Happen to Be.” Four years down, and I’m still enjoying every moment!

Has it been a smooth road?
Absolutely not! I don’t think there’s any such thing, especially in this industry. It’s a constant struggle from day to day, but I NEED THAT. I know it sounds a little off, but that constant unknown drives me in so many ways. Will this be the last logo I design? My final poster? It’s always on my mind.

If I could go back before all the struggles, financial hardship, eviction notices and sleepless nights, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Crazy, right? I wouldn’t wish what my family and I went through on my worst enemy, but it made me into the person I am today. I work my tail off for what I have, and remembering what God brought me through makes my work that much more enjoyable.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Can’t just give you one, sorry! Here goes…

01. The day I walked out of my full-time job in 2015 and started cold calling prospective clients. Landed 3 meetings in 30 minutes.
02. My first talk at a design conference, Creative South 2014.
03. My design painted on the front of the Switchyards building in downtown Atlanta (where my studio is located). I cried like a baby the night it was finished.
04. Seeing one of my USA tee designs at the Rio Olympics. Twice.
05. Every day I walk in to work.

Every story has ups and downs. What were some of the downs others might not be aware of?
There’s a few, for sure. It took me 2 years out of college to get my first design job, and I was just giving work away during that time. I didn’t care, I just had to DO something. During that 2 year period, Julie and I had to move in with my parents because we couldn’t afford rent. 2 years after landing my first design job in Atlanta, I was let go, and 6 months later there was an eviction notice taped to our apartment door. We had to move back in with my parents AGAIN, this time with our 2 year-old son. However, getting let go from my job in 2015 was the greatest thing that could’ve happened to me.

One thing that constantly keeps me excited is whenever something crazy happened, the next job/living arrangement/place we found ourselves in was so much better than what we left behind.

What’s your outlook for the industry in our city?
Atlanta has always had a strong design scene, but so many of these incredible little design shops are being developed just outside the city limits. However, their impact is being felt all over this city. I grew up in Newnan, so I do my best to bring that small-town flavor to my work.

Earlier this year, one of my best friends called me a Southern Modernist. For me, it’s about shaping my craft, a policy of simple, straightforward design and function, to work with any person from every walk of life. Atlanta is giving me the opportunity to do just that. With a little southern flair.

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