Meet Josh: Our New Champion of Budgets and Defender of Timelines

Just when you thought we couldn't get any more productive or professional we found a way to one up ourselves. Boom! That's right. We've now officially installed the latest edition of design studio project coordination and it goes by the name Josh. With this upgrade we're now able to juggle 3X more schedules, 5X more complex deliverables, and we can do it while being 10% more efficient with your budget... okay, maybe this software joke has gone on too long.

Meet Joshua Yu, the latest species to join our team. He comes from a background in event and project management where he juggled budgets bigger than our annual revenue, timelines that make ours look lazy, and more vendors/volunteers/team members per project than people we've employed in our entire 8 years of business. Long story short, he can not only handle our crazy workload, but can also help us upgrade our processes and systems to scale more efficiently. Yay for Josh!

To welcome him to the team and to introduce him to you, we sent him our usual line up of newbie questions. Read below to learn more about him and then say hello next time you drop in or call!

When did you know you wanted to be a designer and what influenced your decision? Or why I’m a project coordinator?

Ohh, I wouldn’t call myself a designer. I had a brief history dabbling in the arts, but I’m really a novice that prefers numbers, deadlines and to admire from afar.

I discovered that I was a more proficient manager of projects and teams in my past life with an affinity for the visual arts. I’ve had a wide-range of experiences in my career, but my passion is systems and communication. So it feels like a project coordinator role in a design agency was made for me!

Who are your favorite designers and what do you like about their work?

I don’t think I’m going to pick only graphic designers. Lets explore out of the box a little bit.

Dr. Woo aka Brian Woo (https://www.instagram.com/_dr_woo_/?hl=en) - Is it alright that my first pick is a tattoo artist? His black-and-gray single-needle works of art are hard to come by now, but his style is intricate and refined. He mixes abstract geometric shapes with detailed renderings of well anything you can think of.

Saul Bass - Is it cliche to pick a contemporary great? What if I’m a film buff and a bit obsessive of artists that pioneer new mediums for their craft? Well he made awesome movie titles and some pretty iconic logos too.

If you had to pick 3 foods to eat every day, what would they be?

I’d eat just about anything that goes great with an ice cold beer, but if I had to pick 3.

Japanese Ramen - Can I get extra noodles with an endless supply of soft-boiled eggs?
Fried Chicken - Let’s just go with the dark meat (extra crispy) with an extra helping of hot sauce on the side!
In N Out Burger - I’m originally from Southern California so I can’t live without this stuff. I’ll take a #1 (that’s a double-double) with whole grilled onions on the burger with an extra toasted bun and chopped chilies. I’ll also take the fries light well. Please and thank you.

If you could take a vacation anywhere, where would you go and what would you do?

I think Peru or Brazil is next up on my list. I’ve spent the last decade visiting countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia, but I’ve yet to make a trip out to the other continents. It’s time to try something new for a change!

What is your spirit animal?

Pugs. Say what??

I got two pugs at home and they couldn’t be more different. One is a bit of a klutz that is always ready for playtime but is mostly non-compliant. The other only gets off the couch for meals, bathroom breaks and weekend adventures. 

They’re more than they seem and never back down from a challenge. So what’s next?

What book should everyone read?

I’m really more of a movie buff, but I really should read more…. If you haven’t already made your way through the Lord of the Rings saga (the books not the movie) you’re missing out. Read it. Memorize it for trivia. Remember thematic elements of the book and use it as a conversation starter at a cocktail party. You’re welcome.

How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

I guess we’d have to take average amount of wood an average woodchuck could chuck in a year and wait…let me google this. AND…wikipedia’s (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_much_wood_would_a_woodchuck_chuck) answer is, “about 700 pounds (320 kg) on a good day, with the wind at his back”. 

How many licks does it take you to get to the Tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

Uh…42? I feel like the answer to life and everything else should sufficiently answer this question.

Drop a wisdom bomb on us.

I think most of these can be found in memes on Twitter or Tumblr now, but here is one for you.

“Well, the fridge broke, so I had to eat everything.” -Joey Tribbiani