Name:
phillip christopher dwyer

Age:
26

Location:
nyc, well...brooklyn to be more precise.

Mac or PC:
mac

Site(s):
www.apt13.com

Work:
as little as possible.

What was the inspiration behind Apt13:
i think what WAS the inspiration and what IS the inspiration behind apt13 are two entirely seperate things. first and foremost, apt13 is my job. i do it to pay the bills and keep me fed. originally it was just a "design company." like most other young designers today, i perpetuate the myth that apt13 is a thriving company pulling in high dollar clients. but in actuality, it's just me in my apartment, goofing off on the computer all day. so that's how it all started. but now it's become alot more. i grew up writing zines and being in punk bands, and as those started to pass by, i needed an outlet for ideas, and in a way apt13 has passed beyond being a bread winner and has started to fill the void left by the zines and bands i was involved with in the past. it has become simply an outlet for whatever i want to do. whether it's working to pay rent, expressing ideas, or releasing an album, i have the luxury of doing it all myself. and i think thats the kind of luxury i've always wanted.

What direction do you see Apt13 going in the future:
well, i need to actually sit down and finish what i intended with the apt13 site. it's been sitting like it is now throughout the entire summer. but as far as long term goals, i can't really say. i guess i just want to make a difference somehow, you know. i'd like to just keep doing what i enjoy doing and make a living out of it. i'd like to make my family proud. i just want to make things that people enjoy having. i'm primarily a print designer with little to no interest in commercial "web design" so i hope that the new blanket that the internet has put over the design community doesnt suffocate me.

Where did you get the idea for those awesome multiple popup's:
i guess it just came out of my head. it seemed perfectly logical to me. when i moved to new york, i was kind of lumped into this whole hipster-web-community and i was learning all these new things. i'd hang out with matt (volumeone) and lee (destroyrockcity) and see what they were doing with flash and narratives, and then i'd see things like jodi.org with wierd windows dancing all over your screen. i just thought it would be cool to do both and have them interact with eachother. i wanted something different and interesting. it was surprising to me that it seems to be something not too many people have thought of. or perhaps they thought of it, i just beat them to it. the problem, however, was that i had no clue about html or javascript. so i built all the flash parts and everything and i sat down with matt and just showed him and said, "dude, this is what i want to do...how can i do it?" and it was pretty cool because we were both kind of figuring it all out one night and it just came together. i have to give credit to matt though, because without him, it wouldnt have happened. i think its an interesting step. i wanted there to be interaction between the individual windows and not just between the user and the screen. i think for a first try it worked pretty well. hopefully the next step will be even more interesting.

What is your main source of design inspiration:
i guess its the heart, or the gut. there has to be a feeling before i do anything. i guess its the same as writing poetry, or doing paintings, or any kind of fine art. thats the way i like to treat design, as an art form, rather than a commercial product. sure its extremely difficult, i mean it is a "business." and of course the things that pay the bills are the soul-less bits and pieces we churn out on a day to day basis. but when it all really comes together, and people arent only liking what they are seeing, but what they are feeling, then it makes it all worth while. and its that feeling which inspires me to keep doing it.

Your style is quite unique...do you agree:
as compared to most of the people involved in this small web community, i guess i'm a little different than the norm. but whether we like to admit it or not, we have all "borrowed" ideas from one source or another, and i am no exception.

You seem to have worked for a lot of major clients, do you find that work as enjoyable as your personal designs:
absolutley not. if there was a way i could live off of my own stuff, i would do it in a second. but thats not really how the game works. you have to survive. and surviving means you have to work for clients. i guess i'm lucky in the sense that alot of my clients come to me because they like what i'm doing with my personal stuff. especially with the music related projects like album covers and flyers, it's pretty much a "do whatever you want...just as long as its cool" kind of thing. and thats the best damn client to have! i just want to make cool stuff, and if the client wants to have cool stuff made by me, then there are no problems.

Are you working on any new web design projects:
not really. i'm working on a few experiments that will be up on my site whenever i get around to updating it. right now i'm finishing up a project for the codexseries2 cd-rom. i'm also putting together some large format posters to be shown at some art shows here in the city, trying to get back to the designer as artist scenario i was speaking of earlier. other than that, i'm just doing the usual, designing album and book covers, along with a few other odds and ends.

[Standard boring question] Give us a few of your favourite URL's:
wow, this is a tough one. i feel somewhat obliged to mention my friends. but if i leave someone out, they are sure to be upset. but here are a few:
www.volumeone.com - what fave list would be complete without the myth that is matt owens. in many ways, matt is the one who got me into this web stuff. and i think what he is doing with volumeone is pretty outstanding. he's got the techie know-how of a webgeek with the eye of a print designer, and that combination is very hard to come-by nowadays. i think it is strikingly obvious when we see a slew of his imitators on a daily basis.

www.destroyrockcity.com - lee is a damn fine illustrator, and even though i see him almost every other day, i still keep checking his site to see if he's put any more draawwlings up. i think what he is about to do with superteamup.com will be a great thing. now if he can just get out of the corporate world, he'll be a-ok. (since this writing, lee has joined forces with matt owens and warren corbit at one9ine, hooray for lee!!)

www.threecolor.com - what spencer is doing is purely beyond my reach and very interesting. i am somewhat mesmerized by the whole thing. i'm not quite sure what it is about the site which draws me to it. it's just different. i think i look at it in the same way i looked at jodi or e13 a couple years ago. it just boggles my mind.

i have to be honest with you, though. i really dont frequent the cool-kid sites very much. i pretty much still use the web for communication and information. i use it to keep in touch with friends and look up movie times, thats about it.

Any final comments:
go outside more.
fall in love.
be happy.
go vegan.

Thanks Phil!