Jennifer Kowton
Display Magazine Editor/Creative Director
1. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in both Edmonton and Sherwood Park, depending on how far back you want to go. I have spent some time living overseas as well; however, I always end up back in Alberta.
2. Why did you and Charlotte start Display?
Charlotte and I met and bonded while I was working at Nokomis, an exclusively Canadian clothing store in Edmonton. We both knew that one another had studied design in some capacity and when she would come in to look around we would often end up talking about furniture, architecture, and of course clothes. One day when she came by for a visit she brought in a magazine that inspired the two of us to create our own. Looking through the stark white pages and drooling over the stunning photos, we decided that a project like that was exactly what we needed to stretch our understanding of Canadian design and to create a platform for other young Canadian creatives to showcase their work on a national level.
3. You are a graphic designer, part-time student, burlesque dancer, active Edmonton socialite, and now heading an 88 page design magazine. When do you sleep?
Believe it or not I do get close to 8 hours every night. If I didn’t have a decent amount of sleep every night I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the pace I am currently going at.
The magazine, especially during crunch time, is priority. I spend most of my time outside of work in front of my computer sending out email’s, packaging files, organizing content and designing the odd spread. I usually put in an other half days work on the magazine at the end of my work day. The burlesque troupe knows I’m a busy lady and while I am a committed full-time member I have yet to be in more than 4 numbers per show. That leaves me a little more time to wrap my head around essays and assignments for school.
It’s funny that you call me a socialite, while I do try my best to go out and be involved in the Edmonton arts community, I would say that my social life has taken the hardest hit in regards to time lost. Most nights, if I have time, I just end up on the couch watching cartoons with my boyfriend. Christiana Spens, I am not!
That being said, I love what I do. I am proud of every new project I take on and wouldn’t change that if I could. Every one of those things makes up so much of who I am and vice versa, so while I am still young and possibly crazy enough to do this, I will.
4.How important is the print industry to you?
This is kind of a funny question. As a designer you are faced with this question everyday in some form or an other. I think the importance of any industry would depend solely on it’s need. Meaning, designers are always looking for a more innovative and interesting way to gain the attention of their target audience. If they find a way to reach this market with the use of print and see that it is in fact an effective use of the media I would say that in that case print is very relevant. The face of design is constantly changing, even by it’s own definition design can never conform to just one thing and being able to see that is part of being a good creative problem solver.
In the case of Display, I think the print version of our magazine is very important. It has had the chance to reach over 2000 people across the country and the work showcased in it’s pages is going to remain relevant for years to come. Being that magazine media is meant to have a longer shelf life the work that is inside of it must be thought of differently than an advertising campaign or poster series. The length of time that Display sits on a coffee table is much longer that it would on a computer screen. Therefore it’s articles and message is far more capable of forming a lasting impression that a billboard or radio ad can not compete with.
As such, I believe that print is still a very important and very relevant part of the design industry. I wouldn’t disregard any form of media as each one has it’s own purpose. And in the case of Display magazine, print has a very important role.
5. Could you name some of your favourite designers/visionaries and what you like about their work?
I think right now I am completely inspired by Julien Vallée (the Montreal-based designer we feature in our current issue). His work is remarkable, he is the master of spacial design in print. The work he did for the Offf Paris Sponsors titles video is the epitome of his creativity. An other designer whose work always blows me away is London-based information architect David McCandless. He is so innovative! And as much as I admire anyone who can design information I am blown away at how well he is able to pull it off. I am also always looking to Matthew Lyons for illustrative inspiration. For such a young designer his work is so impressive. Lastly, I think I would say Eva Zeisel. Who doesn’t love a 104 year old woman who was not only falsely accused of trying to assassinate Joseph Stalin but is also still being featured in magazines and design shows across the world. Her ceramic dishware is timeless and the organic shapes she creates in all of her work is just as innovative now as it was 70 years ago.
