Welcome to ‘10 QUESTIONS for…’ a series of 10 interviews with 10 designers from around the globe, where I get to share with you their answers to 10 important and interesting questions related to their artistic career in the Surface Pattern Design industry. I hope you find these interviews informative, fun, creative and inspiring.
This week’s ‘10 Questions for…’ interview is with the extremely popular and wonderfully creative Brook Gossen. I think you’re going to like reading this one.
So grab a cuppa, sit back and happy reading. Enjoy the third interview in this series of ‘10 Questions for…’ Surface Pattern Designer interviews.
Brook working and creating on her iPad Pro.
Brook Gossen is an artist, surface designer and illustrator who works from her home studio in Meanjin/Brisbane, Australia. She creates fun, colourful, feel-good artworks and simply hopes to brighten the day of anyone who may see her work.
Brook is prolific in her artwork creation. She shares her joyful work constantly on instagram and does so authentically, connecting with her audience. She has I believe, a truly identifiable design style. Brook includes beautiful and harmonious colour palettes in her artwork, and organic shapes and she has a talent for illustration work that lends itself to editorial and publishing work. Brooks’ designs have repeatedly been included on bright and fun women’s apparel from the beautiful Brisbane fashion label Jericho Road Clothing, bright and bold active wear for the body positive brand Mama Movement and even on delicious looking packaging for Chocolate with Godiva Chocolate in Australia.
And if that isn’t enough, Brook also has a selection of print designs on fabric by the metre available exclusively through Nerida Hansen Fabrics. I know a lot of small business makers and sewers love Brook’s prints on Nerida Hansen Fabrics and they are always in demand.
I met Brook in 2020 at a small gathering of Brisbane based artists and designers who came together to celebrate the launch of Rachael Kings’ design book Pattern Pulse: The Art of Australian Surface Designers. (Side note: Rachael was actually the first interview in this series and you can read her answers to her ‘10 Questions for… ‘ here).
I was a little starstruck when I first met Brook. I had followed her creative career on instagram for awhile and I was a big fan of her work. After I got to speak with her I found Brook to be the real deal. Creative and kind. She is 100% natural, authentic, very career-wise (as you’ll read from her answers below) and she has a great attitude and when you meet her you’ll find an ease is felt in her presence. Brook also has a love for hot chips, as do I, and that makes her immediately likeable as far as I’m concerned. :)
Q1. How long have you been actively pursuing or have established a career in art/design/art licensing?
Brook: I have been working as a designer for almost 6 years and full time for the last 2.
Q2. What are your favourite tools of the trade?
Brook: My ipad pro hands down. It was a game changer for me and is really what got me back creating, because I could do it on the couch after my kids had gone to bed.
Q3. What are some time saving tips you use in your workflow when designing?
Brook: I use adobe programs on my ipad when I’m creating client work so that I can work seamlessly between it and my desktop. It really saves a lot of time, because I am now working in the exact file type I need for the project.
Gorgeous stripe design. Copyright Brook Gossen.
Q4. Who are your design idols, past or present and why? You can name 3. :)
Brook: Bernard Villemot designed some of the most iconic art deco posters of his time. His work epitomised elegance and sophistication yet was simple and colourful.
Henri Matisse is so inspiring and he was revolutionary! His use of form and colour is incredible and his paper cut collages are perfectly simple yet abstract and expressive.
AM Cassandre was another legendary art deco poster designer. I was obsessed with the poster movement during design school and did a project on it many moons ago, hence another poster artist for an idol. His style was graphic and stylised, and often used geometric shapes to create sleek and futuristic artworks.
Q5. What’s your favourite colour palette?
Brook: Rainbow! I tend to use a LOT of colour in my work. It evolves and changes over time though.
Flower flow - Copyright Brook Gossen
Q6. How do you deal with rejection if a pitch you made to a client with your latest work doesn’t get picked up?
Brook: I don’t take it personally. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea and I accept that. I also know that it’s not personal. It doesn’t mean that they may never wish to work with me. Sometimes it’s all about timing.
Q7. What’s your proudest design achievement in your career to-date?
Brook: I have 2. Firstly, having my design on some dungarees with Lucy and Yak was pretty awesome! They’re a huge UK brand and I love what they stand for. Secondly was designing a full packaging range for Ivy & Wood Candles. I was given a great brief, had full creative direction, and am so happy with how they turned out.
Lucy & Yak + Brook Gossen collaboration.
Brook’s packaging design and artwork for Ivy & Wood
Q8. How do you find clients to show your work too and how much does knowing your design aesthetic and ability impact on who you approach?
Brook: Mostly brands come to me, and I need to get better at reaching out. Like everyone though, I just come across clients via scrolling my feed, or picking something up in a store. There’s some brands I’d love to work with, but realistically I know they we’re not truly aligned. That’s a tricky one to work out – and I really put in the research to see if that’s the case or not. On the other hand, sometimes I take one look at a brand and even though I love them, know that my design aesthetic doesn’t suit them. And that’s fine by me. It all comes back to not being everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s ok.
Q9. What is a typical and honest day in the life of @brookgossen look like?
Brook: Eeep! It’s really boring from the outside I think…I check my Instagram and emails while I’m having my morning cup of tea while the kids are getting ready for school. Once I’m in the studio I always try and set aside just a little time to play and create just for me. Sometimes it’s 5minutes, other times its 30 or more. I find that it helps set the tone for my day. Then I reply to emails (which sometimes can take aaaages), check in with Cali, my VA and work out if there’s anything that needs priority.
Once that’s sorted, I get started on my tasks for the day. I use a weekly planner (it’s from Bon Maxie and I love it!) and every Monday morning I set it up so I know what my week looks like. Generally, my day can be either (or a mix of) getting an existing design ready for a client, choosing a range of designs to submit to a client, or creating art for a client. Other times, it’s creating some content for my newsletter, or linked in. Adminny stuff can take up so much time, can’t it?
Once we’ve all eaten and the kids are hanging out in their rooms as teenagers do, I either binge watch a tv show or draw on the couch. And then off to bed to do the same thing tomorrow!
Q10. What are the top 2 things you wish you knew when starting out in your career, or what would be 2 pieces of advice you would share with new designers to the industry?
Brook: Firstly, if you’re starting out, just show up, create and keep on creating - make a LOT of art, try different methods and mediums and really try and find, and then hone your very own style. It can take time to really refine your craft. Be patient.
Secondly, try not to stress over an algorithm you have no control over. Just create what you want to create, to please yourself and not a computer program.
We Scream for Ice cream. Copyright Brook Gossen
Find out more about Brook Gossen and follow her for her uplifting, colourful designs here:
Thanks for your time answering the ‘10 Questions for…’ Brook. I love that you’ve implemented a virtual assistant to help you schedule and prioritise work. That must be a huge time saver. I also think my iPad pro is a game changer in my workflow, so that’s great advice. Now, when are we going to go eat hot chips again?
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Next week we’re heading back to the UK!