We both are pretty big fans of the work of Bradley G. Munkowitz a.k.a. GMUNK. So when we planned this trip we were pretty excited that Bradley wanted to make some time for us to meet up in San Francisco. He invited us to come and eat at a restaurant near the office of Autofuss where he currently works at on some projects. Not too long ago they released some (pitch) styleboards they worked on together for FOX channel. They didn’t won the pitch but we think it looks amazing! Recently GMUNK also designed the titles for the FITC festival in Amsterdam, it’s clear that he is on top of the game and one of the best designers out there right now!
(FOX MLB Kinetic Theory pitch by GMUNK & Autofuss)
We talked about our personal goals in this project and the reason for this big world-trip. It was pretty cool that he gave us some pointers and tips for the project and process. It didn’t took too long before we realized Bradley is a really down to earth guy; he just says what he thinks and believes! “Do you want to say something with your work or is there something you want to bring into this motion business?”. “With my work? No, not really.” Ok, that was not the answer we expected to be honest. But he quickly added that he believes his goal in life is to be a teacher and inspire others. “Just to be creative and make shit!”. As we said, Bradley is direct and skips the bullshit. It’s all about doing, making an being creative. Follow your passion and go for it!
But it doesn’t always come easy. “It’s a tough world out there!”, take the pitch for FOX for example. We (Jordi & Daan) as designers think it’s super cool and we personally can’t believe FOX didn’t pick it, but hey.. they just didn’t think it was right for them. Even when you deliver something top notch, if the client don’t like it.. it’s not good enough. That’s why Bradley always want to do a couple of projects a year “just for the love”. The FITC titles were just for the love, no money, no profit; just working from the heart and creating what you want to make. Without a doubt Bradley is one passionate guy!
He told us he is very focussed on his work on the moment. He likes to work from the studio of Autofuss, it’s more social than just working from home, so you’ve covered that! haha! He moved to San Francisco not too long ago because he really wanted to live here and loves the mountains. Well if you want to live in SF you should better love mountains because the city is freaking build on one! We found that out on our first day ‘walking’ (read climbing) through the city! No but we understand why Bradley likes it here, the people are all so relaxed and the vibe of the city is just inspiring and cool to be in.
At the end Bradley said the dinner was on him and he would go back to work again for an hour or so. We know the line is really thin between just being passionate and being a workaholic when your hobby is your job. But let’s just keep it at that he is one of the most passionate guys we met during this trip and he just loves what he does. And with that he really inspires us and many others!
Bradley thanks for your time, your tips, the dinner and for being simply awesome and inspiring the world with your creativity! We’ll keep in touch!
That’s also a wrap for San Francisco and the start of our road trip through California / Nevada and Arizona! But more about that in the next post…
To be continued!