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Q&A with Matthew Carleton
I’m Matthew Carleton, I run a small studio that focuses on web/graphic design, branding and development.
How did you get started in design?
I’ve always had a passion for design, I grew up drawing action figures and mastering the bubble letter. I was in my mid-twenties drawing on my desk at a dead-end job and a friend of mine told me I should check out design school, so I did.
When I graduated I worked at headspace design, those guys taught me a lot about building sites. After working in the agency world for a couple years I decided to go out on my own and I haven’t looked back. I work with great clients and I get to choose to work from my couch or my home office (I’m on my couch right now). It’s a good life.
What are you working on now?
I am putting the finishing touches on a branding/design project I did for my wife, Naphtali Carleton. Sometimes the best projects are the ones that you don’t get paid for.
I’m also working on a site for a dog food company. I spend my day looking at images of dogs on a beach catching a frisbee, this is my job!
What tools and software do you use for your work?
I switched to doing all my web work in illustrator a couple years ago because of the svg support and it has been amazing. Now and then I’ll use photoshop or god forbid indesign for a print project.
For web development I use Espresso to write all my SASS/HTML/JS and my CMS of choice is Expressionengine.
What is your ideal work environment?
My wife and I recently bought our first home so I finally have an office to work out of. I am in the process of doing all the cliche design office things like painting everything white and hanging my bike on the wall.
When I am not at home I hit up Starbucks. Sometimes you just want to be surrounded by like minded people who want to avoid working and drink overpriced lattes.
Where are your favorite places for art?
I love walking around furniture stores, the good ones feel like an art gallery. I also have a long list of interior/architecture/industrial design blogs that I follow to keep the creative juices flowing. I like to think anything can inspire design. When in doubt I check out dribbble.
Who are the designers, artists you admire most?
The list could be so long but I’ll just name the first 10 that come to mind.