The Soft Labor Questionnaire: Andy Pressman
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The Soft Labor Questionnaire, is simply that: A brief series of questions we’ve asked comrades in the field to answer about their own working experiences. Would you like to respond to the Soft Labor Questionnaire? Go right ahead and do so.
Today's respondent is Andy Pressman. Andy is currently a designer in the Brand Studio at Figma. Prior to joining Figma, Andy was founding principal of Rumors, a design and technology studio; and the first design director of Verso Books, the renowned radical publisher. He has taught, lectured, and given workshops nationwide; been included in design magazines, festivals, and exhibitions internationally; and been awarded by organizations like the AIGA, Print, and the Society of Publication Designers.
Tell us about the first job you ever did for money.
My very first jobs were babysitting and lawn mowing, but I was bad at both and remember little. The first time I remember thinking “I have a job!” was when I was fifteen and spent the summer working as the chicken pit boy. This was at a farm outside of Washington, DC, which exclusively hosted corporate picnics. They were mostly known for their barbequed chicken, the grills for which were arranged in long rows in an old wooden pavilion. There was about two or three feet between each row, and my job was to walk up and down the rows and squirt the chickens with vinegar. I’d squirt the chicken, the vinegar would hit the charcoal and sharp, acidic mist would erupt up and onto my face and body. Then I’d squirt the next one, and the next, until finally I’d finished the last row and would have to begin again. I thought it was wonderful, how they let me wear headphones.
Is your current work related to what you studied in school? If so, how? Or, how not?
Yes. I went to the Cooper Union School of Art, which does not offer majors or focus areas. I would take all the typography and design classes offered, and then fill my schedule with drawing, film, sculpture, and so on. My career owes as much to this lack of a single, professionalized design track as any of the design courses I took.
What cultural touchpoint—music, art, literature, etc.—has informed your practice the most? How?
Is ‘editing’ a cultural touchpoint? The way albums are assembled and ordered, and movies are cut together, and texts are revised and restructured and trimmed, etc? At some point I started thinking of myself as an editor, or a translator, rather than as an author. It was liberating.
What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your industry? The most challenging?
The most rewarding aspect of working in my industry is learning about everyone else’s, because you can’t design something you don’t understand. The most challenging aspect is that sometimes those industries are dreadful.
Has AI impacted your work? How?
I’ve used Figma’s AI tools to prototype interactive ideas quickly. Claude has become my go-to resource when I’m thinking of a concept but I can’t remember the exact terminology—I think chat is the ideal interaction modality for fuzzy queries. Overall I’m excited about AI as a production tool that can automate some of my labor, but (very) unenthusiastic about it playing a role in my conceptual and creative work.
What advice would you give to someone starting a career in your industry?
Meet people, talk to people, work with people. This is the advice I always give students and younger designers, many of whom balk at having to “network” to develop their career. But it’s the only way to grow your community and find your people.
Other than that eternally-relevant advice: we’re entering a period of standardization, where AI-generated outcomes mostly just reinforce existing creative norms. To develop a career that subverts this it’s in your interest to be a sicko, making work for other sickos.
What are you obsessed with that has little-to-nothing to do with "work"?
Games. All of my creative time that’s not spent working is spent designing and playing roleplaying games. Actually, maybe this is the cultural touchpoint I should have called out above. A totally different design space. Game design is system design, but for funsies.
