Jarrett Fuller is an independent designer, writer, podcaster, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s worked with clients large and small, including Instagram, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Wondermade Confectioners. He currently teaches in the graduate Communication Design program at Pratt Institute, in the undergraduate graphic design program at The New School Parsons School of Design, and is a Senior Lecturer at The University of the Arts. He previously was on the adjunct faculty in the undergraduate graphic design department at Maryland Institute College of Art. He hosts the weekly podcast, Scratching the Surface, where he interviews designers, writers, critics, and researchers about the intersection of design criticism and practice. Previous guests have included Michael Bierut, Alexandra Lange, Steven Heller, Experimental Jetset, Jessica Helfand, and Michael Rock.
From 2013 to 2015, he was a designer at Facebook on their Business Marketing team where he worked on a range of interactive, branding, and environmental projects. Previously he was a designer at Warby Parker and helped develop the brand through a range of web, print, and retail projects. In 2016, he was an intern at The Whitney Museum of American Art. He was a 2016 participant in Triple Canopy’s Publication Intensive, a two-week workshop that explores the history and future of publishing. Jarrett received his MFA in graphic design, with a critical studies concentration, in 2017 from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his BFA in graphic design in 2011 from Kutztown University.
A small exhibition designed and curated by Jarrett Fuller surveying contemporary graphic design discourse.
How did you get into design? Was there a defining point in your career, and if so, how did it shape you as a designer?
I’ve always liked graphic design before I knew what it was called — as a young child, I was fascinated by typefaces, books, and advertisements. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I realized people made these things and I could make a living doing it. That was fifteen years ago and it’s all I’ve done every since.
Branding and publication design for MICA’s 2016 First Year Juried Show, featuring selected works by first year graduate students, curated by Lumi Tan.
Outside of other design and illustration, what sorts of things inspire and influence your work?
I read a lot of books, watch a lot of movies, and listen to a lot of podcasts. These influence how I think about design as much as looking at the work of other designers.
Forthcoming website archiving the writing of Brooklyn based writer Kyle Chayka, designed and built by Jarrett Fuller.
What tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design?
Be curious about everything. Design is conduit through which you can learn about all sorts of subjects and the best designers I know are relentlessly curious about the world around them.
Jarrett hosts and produces the weekly podcast, Scratching the Surface, where he interviews designers, writers, curators, and educators about the intersection of design criticism and practice.
