Artists of Theory - Jarrod Bryan

Artists of Theory - Jarrod Bryan

Sometimes you can know someone for a long time and still not know them, their accomplishments, adventures, and struggles. Sure you’ve shared skate and bullshit sessions, mutual friends and experiences. Then there is a sense of cluelessness when you read a social media post that opens your eyes and illuminates your perception of this person. You are enlightened years later, and within a few minutes, you are left dumbstruck. That’s how I felt when I found out that an old friend, Jarrod Bryan made the original TOA logo.

His design work started with the post Deluxe era of Rasa Libre and over the years has included in-house and freelance work for a diverse group of clients. His ability to produce quality gained him notice. His long standing collaboration with the legendary Atlas skate shop is iconic. Working on their projects with Spitfire, Vans, Adidas, Nike, and others. His contributions continued their timeless identity design that has made Atlas stand out from day one. One of his most impressive collections was the 35mm Nike Dunk capsule. The shoes themselves were instant classics, but it was the box, stickers and ephemera that accompanied the shoe that, “really tied the room together.” They continued themes from previous Atlas designs used on shop decks and products. The adaptation of the legendary Agfa film font for the Atlas branding was a continuation of their use of art deco and classic design work. Jarrod’s additions to their style and groove over their almost 20-year legacy has helped make them be a landmark shop in our world. 

Jarrod’s output is precise, meticulous and has a presence on skateboards and products that is both bold and subtle. He uses color to accentuate and different styles to give personality to his designs that add to the legacy of his clients. He has a deep reverence for the history of skate graphics and those that have made them influence his board graphics. There is something personal about his work, a thoughtfulness and care that go beyond two dimensional graphics. After our conversation, I walked away with a sense of rediscovery and renewed friendship. He is an thoughtful designer and genuine graphic rat, I can’t wait to see what he does next!

Interview and words by Isaac Mckay Randozzi

What's your name, age, and location?

Jarrod Bryan, time is an illusion, currently located in Fairfax, CA about 45 minutes north of SF.

So, how did you get into design work?

Mostly through just being inspired by skating when I started in ’89. Neil Blender had a really huge impact on me, the Driver graphic was my first real board. I think just being exposed to graphics and art around that time. It had a big impact and just evolved from there.

Do you think growing up in Texas had much of an impact on your design work?

I think it has because of how strong the skateboard community is, which always trips me out. So much amazing skateboarding has come out of Texas, and I think because of that community, I was able to have more momentum with skateboarding in general. I did a lot of hard labor work in Texas as a kid as well. Landscaping, construction, day labor, stuff like that. I think that definitely formed a work ethic that has really helped in my career.

So when we met in San Francisco, you were working at the DLXSF shop. Did you come out to San Francisco to skate or do design work? Both?

I was about 23 at the time. My friend had moved out to SF and I had the same dream as a lot of guys who move out to the mecca, you know. I used to watch Welcome to Hell (Toy Machine, 1996) and Non Fiction (Deluxe, 1997) every day for years. Non Fiction is still, to this day, one of my all-time favorite videos. Around 2003, it got to the point where I was sleeping on a pleather couch for like $125 a month in Texas and not really doing much with my life. My mom passed away when I was 9 in a car accident and always wanted me to go to art school, and I thought, I need to get out of Texas. I needed to clean my life up and do something, and I knew that there was the Art Institute in San Francisco, and I knew it would be good for me to get the hell outta there and reset. More than anything, I wanted to get out to San Francisco and be around skateboarding. My aspiration was always to somehow be involved in skateboarding as a career, even if I didn't know exactly what that looked like yet.

Did you complete your degree?

Yes, I got a bachelor's degree. Initially, I was only planning on getting an associate's degree, but I decided to keep going and earn my bachelor's. I'm really glad I did. What's crazy is that when I moved to San Francisco in 2004, I didn't even own a computer. In fact, I didn't have one the entire four years I was in design school because I couldn't afford it. I did all my work on the computers at school and spent the rest of my time skating and working at the DLX shop.

I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college. That was a really special moment to share with them. It wasn't even so much about the degree itself. It was more about seeing that my life was moving in a positive direction and that things were finally starting to come together.

Do you have any favorite memories from working at the shop?

I’d say meeting Keith Hufnagel was huge. I just love that guy, forever. He’s such an icon to me. The first people I met in SF were Kieth and Chico at Fort Miley, and they were the nicest, just good people. That was my first skate experience in the city.

I felt really honored to have the opportunity to work at the DLX shop with such a rad crew. The Krooked Chronicles premiere, that whole store party followed by everyone walking from the shop to the Castro Theatre, meeting Gonz, watching the premiere. It was incredible. When the shop was being remodeled, I helped clean up and hold it down. Seeing it all rebuilt was special. Deluxe really shaped me, I don’t think I’d be here without their support.

At that point, had you done work for Upper Playground and Rasa?

Yeah, at that point most of my portfolio was Rasa Libre work. While I was working at DLXSF and finishing school, I started helping Matt Field with graphics for Rasa Libre on the side. What started as a few projects gradually turned into a much bigger role, and I ended up working pretty closely with Matt during those years. Matt and his family were incredibly good to me, and I'm really grateful they brought me in and gave me that opportunity.

After I graduated, I moved on from the shop and started working at Upper Playground. Jeremy [Fish] and Jon [Dragonette] were a big part of helping me get my foot in the door there, and I'm still grateful for that. They were both really instrumental early in my career.

When you worked at Upper Playground, were you doing a lot of art cleanup on Jeremy Fish and Sam Flores designs?

Yeah, I was doing mostly production design work. A lot of tech packs, flyers, catalogs, ads, and all the day-to-day stuff. Jeremy's work never needed to be cleaned up. He's a pro. Other files were pretty wild. I remember being super nervous anytime something was going to print in Thrasher or Juxtapoz. The thought of a production error making it into thousands of copies and letting down not only Upper Playground but the artists we were working with was terrifying. You could easily blow it. Working there made me pretty obsessive about production details, and honestly, that attention to detail helped me a lot later in my career.

The post Deluxe Rasa visuals referenced Michael Leon’s art direction pretty heavily. Now looking back on it, do you think it had to be that way? Rasa was only a couple of years old at that point, and keeping the art cohesive must have been key to keeping skater’s eyes on the company.

Absolutely. There was a lot of pressure to carry on the level of work that had already been established by him, Matt Field, and the guys at Deluxe. Looking back, the visual language they created was so far ahead of its time. The graphics, the ads, the photography, the team, the products, it all felt incredibly cohesive. I'd go as far as to say it was one of the strongest brands skateboarding has ever seen, both visually and culturally. IMHO.

With it on a second wave under Matt there was definitely a responsibility to maintain some continuity. You wanted people to immediately recognize it and feel connected to what they already loved about the brand. Looking back now, I can see how heavily some of those early visuals were influenced by what came before, but I also think that's a pretty natural part of the process. When you're stepping into something with that high of a standard, you're trying to honor what's already working while gradually finding your own voice within it.

What Michael Leon, Matt, Reese, and everyone involved built was special. There was a very high bar, and honestly, I think having that pressure pushed me to become a better designer. I've followed Leon's career since then. He's such a legend. 

When you moved to LA, did you have a job or were you just going to broaden your opportunities?

I had been in San Francisco for quite a while, and our friend Jon Dragonette was moving down there. I was also dating a girl in LA at the time, so the timing just felt right. I was freelancing and had the flexibility to make the move, which made it a little easier. I went from North Beach to Burnside and Wilshire which was quite a visual shock. That took some getting used to. It was an exciting time though. There's this magical layer of old Hollywood history woven into everything in Los Angeles. I can't really explain it, but it felt like I had Roy Orbison playing in my head everywhere I went. Coming from San Francisco, it was a completely different energy and with a really broad design industry out there. 

What can you tell me about the Barracuda ramp sessions?

The best ramp. It was in the back of the shop on the corner of Fairfax and Melrose, owned by Miguel García Larios, who is a rad guy and skater himself. For a while that was the daily routine: grab a coffee, head over to Barracuda, hang at the shop, and skate the ramp. A lot of heavy people rolled through there. Elijah Berle was always there, absolutely crushing it. I ended up helping Barracuda with some graphics during that time as well.

Were you doing side freelance odd jobs when opportunities were available?

Between Rasa and Podium, I was mostly doing Rasa Libre and some random freelance work. I was doing some work with Broadcast Wheels, actually—yeah, that was a really sick wheel company. 

I also connected with a creative agency down there and ended up working on some pretty interesting movie marketing projects. At one point I even did some design work for Call of Duty, which felt completely random at the time, but it helped pay the bills.

Having lived in SF for so long, how was LA? Was it easier to find design work?

I had a really good mindset when I moved to LA. Everything I had experienced in San Francisco gave me a lot of confidence and optimism about what was possible. It wasn't necessarily easy finding design work, but I was out all the time, meeting interesting people, skating, going to shows, and working on projects.

Was it while you were at Podium that you did one of the first Theories of Atlantis logos?

No, that was after Podium. I started freelancing full-time again and made the TOA logo. I moved to Marin County, just north of San Francisco, around 2011. I was always a fan of the Static videos, the whole Theories of Atlantis subject matter, and Josh Stewart's work in general. If I remember correctly, I just reached out, shared some of my work, and asked if he'd be interested in collaborating on a few graphics. Thankfully, he was into it, and that's how it all started.

That’s awesome—it’s iconic now. When you see that logo, you know it’s Theories.
Thanks, man. Yeah, that's definitely one of the logos I'm most proud of. I'm really grateful that Josh saw something in it and had the vision to turn it into the identity for the distribution. At the time, I honestly just thought it would make a cool T-shirt graphic and be versatile enough to work across stickers, pins, embroidery, and other stuff.

What was your inspiration for it? There have been comments about its similarity to the Deadly Hallows symbol in the Harry Potter books.
Honestly, I had no idea about the Harry Potter symbol. I never read the books or watched the movies, so that wasn't on my radar at all. At the time, I was really into symbology, marks, and monograms. A good monogram is a great design puzzle, and when it works, it really works. The T, O, and A fit together naturally as shapes and locked up nicely. Turning the A into a triangle felt like a no-brainer because it simplified the form and created a stronger relationship between the letterforms. It was really a design decision more than anything else.

The most important thing to me when creating something is making sure it has the potential to stand the test of time. I've always loved design that can outlive trends and still feel relevant years later. As for the Harry Potter connection, that was completely unintentional.

Was that right around the time you did Nate Broussard’s first board graphic for Roger?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure we did one of Nate's Roger graphics while I was still living in LA. It was the Ouroboros snake with the all-seeing eye in the middle. Some pretty esoteric stuff. I'm stoked Sieben was down with it. Nate and I made it together. We did a shirt and a board. 

Nate was one of the first people who turned me on to Theories of Atlantis. He showed me the original website years before it became what it is now. Nate and I lived together for a while in LA and watched a lot of Project Camelot at the time. 

So, after you moved back up here, was it all skateboarding?

Yeah, primarily freelancing for skateboarding. Most of my work was for Adidas, Element, Deluxe, and a handful of other brands. Around that same time, I also started doing some in-house work at Landor. That was a completely different world from skateboarding. Landor was pretty intense and exposed me to branding at a scale I had never experienced before. I met some incredible people there and learned a lot about brand systems, consistency, and how global brands operate. It was definitely a challenge, but in the best way. Looking back, it expanded the way I thought about design and made me a better designer.

Was that during the period Juice Design, when they were doing all of the Adidas skate and snowboarding visuals?

I think it was the same time. I know Juice worked with Adidas for a while. Matt Irving is an absolute legend. I was working directly with the creative team through my friend Ben Hirsch at Adidas Skateboarding, primarily on the apparel side. As far as I know, Juice was handling a lot of the higher-level campaign work at the time—things like advertising, video, and larger brand initiatives. My role was much more focused on graphics and apparel for the skate program.

When did you meet Ryen Motzek from Atlas?

One day I just emailed the info@atlas address and basically said, "Hey, we have a lot of the same friends. I really like what you guys are doing. Want to make some stuff together?” A few days later Ryen got back to me and we set up a call. We ended up having lunch in the Mission around 2013, and the rest is history. Ryen and I have some pretty interesting parallels. When I worked at the DLX store in San Francisco, there was also a DLX store in San Mateo where Ryen worked. We never actually met during those years, but we shared a lot of the same friends and existed in a lot of the same circles.

When did Ryen and Mike come to you about redesigning their logo?

That was actually the first project we all worked on together. It was a great way for us all to get to know each other and for me to deep dive on the brand and its history. 

What was that vision like?

Atlas has a very specific aesthetic—it’s very classic and sophisticated. It leans heavily into modernist design as well. Ryan wanted to elevate the logo so it felt more durable and less ornate, something more timeless. I came in to help execute and refine that, which is where the new type treatment came in.

When someone comes to you with a project like that, do they usually bring examples or references?

It depends. With Ryen, Mike, Patrick, and Atlas, their aesthetic is already set, and Ryan is a creative director himself, so he knows exactly what he wants to see for Atlas. 

What about other clients?

Other clients often come to me without a clear direction. They might just know they need a logo or branding, but don’t know where to start. In those cases, I take them through a process to understand their product, positioning, tone, and personality. It’s not overly extensive, but it creates clarity so we both know what direction we’re going in.

So you work with both established visions and projects that start from scratch?

Yeah, exactly. I’ve helped people and companies from the ground up, starting with strategy, and I’ve also worked with people like Ryan who already have a strong vision but need help bringing it to life. In those cases, it's more about collaboration. Building on ideas together, refining them, and finding the strongest way to bring them to life. Honestly, I enjoy both. Every project is different. Sometimes you're helping create the vision, and other times you're helping evolve and expand one that's already there.

Which do you find easier?

They’re both challenging in different ways. The most important thing I’ve learned as a designer is to be a really good listener and to truly understand the client's, brand's, or person's needs. My job is to set them up for success as best I can and hopefully enjoy the process along the way.

Does having a clear vision make the process faster?

Not necessarily. Having a clear vision definitely helps, but it doesn't always make the process faster. I’ve gone through plenty of rounds on projects over the years. Even when you know where you're trying to go, it still takes time to get the details right and make sure the work is living up to the idea. I've also had projects where there was almost no direction at all and things came together surprisingly quick. 

Do you have any upcoming projects you can talk about?
Right now I'm working on a new version of my website and refining how the work is presented. I'm also adding a few newer projects that haven't been featured yet. I've got some new Atlas projects in the works, and I'm also putting together a small graphic based apparel collection of my own. Mostly tees, hats, pins, and a few other things. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. It’s called TheSuperNow. It finally feels like the right time to do it. More to come on that.

Any last words or thank yous?
Mostly just gratitude. I'm incredibly grateful to have spent so much of my life around skateboarding and to have had the opportunity to contribute to something that's given me so much in return. Honestly, skateboarding changed my life and, in a lot of ways, probably saved it. And a huge thank you to all the people who opened doors, took a chance on me, shared their knowledge, and helped me along the way. I wouldn't be here without them.

Thank you Josh Stewart and Isaac for having me!

 jarrodbryan.com
 @jarrodbryan @thesupernow