Interview with Paul Richards

Do you come from a creative family?

No, and I’m the first one to try and make a living from being a creative – it’s a work in progress.

How about your entry into the industry, what was your first job?

I started in editorial design, working as a junior designer on a monthly newsstand magazine. I always loved magazines, and I got to work on them when they still enjoyed healthy sales and massive circulations. Starting work in the mid-nineties was an exciting and transitional time, straddling the cultural and technological shift from analogue to digital. It shaped me tremendously, and I’m lucky to have experienced this unique period.

What is the most exciting part in the process of your work?

Getting lost in stuff – wandering creatively without direction, letting things unfold.

Was there a point in your life when you decided you had to take a big risk to move forward?

Yes. It was almost 18 months into my first job. I wasn’t happy for many reasons, but especially creatively. One evening, I made a very rash decision to quit my job. I had no plan, no savings, no contacts. I had no idea beyond needing to change.

You live in London. Do you think the city has an impact on your work?

Everyone is a product of their environment. You can’t help but be shaped by where you live, what is around you, and the things you become exposed to daily. London is a bustling hive of audio/visual stimuli. So many areas of the urban environment carry different messages, a culture clash of corporate and personal messaging. I find this exciting, but I’m more interested in the process of decay and renewal of these messages and symbols – the spaces where they get jumbled into a mixture of old and new. Despite the influence of London, being submerged in a city can make it difficult to really see what is around you. I value travel for the different perspectives it brings, plus the ability to see things afresh when returning to London. It allows a system reset.

What does success mean to you?

Enjoying what you’re doing, wanting to show up every day and be challenged. Finding fulfilment in the process.

Which are mistakes you are doing over and over again?

Not having a website.

What are you working on right now?

Lots of things! There’s never enough time, so it’s hard to focus and prioritise everything I want to do. I’m currently learning type design, having spent so many years as a typographer. Working and playing with others’ typefaces is a joy, but I’ve always wanted to design my own fonts. Now is the right time.
And of course, I have other ideas for 100for10!

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