Name:
michael cina

Age:
28

Location:
minneapolis, minnesota, usa

Mac or PC:
macintosh

Site(s):
www.trueistrue.com (main)
www.iorepublic.com (side)

So, you just split from the infamous Test Pilot Collective, why:
i was feeling a 'tug' to go and do my own thing. it was a hard decision because test pilot was my baby, but i know i did the right thing. i wanted more time to do my own projects and do more social activities, like help out young kids or do social work. design is great, but when you look at life, does it really matter?

How do you think that the TPC gained such massive support and respect:
i find this still a suprise. it is hard for me to see how other people view TPC. i did all the TPC contacts via e-mail and have a lot of good 'friends' via the internet. i guess a lot of people respect my work from the cinahaus and design posse (www.chank.com/posse) days. test pilot collective creeped up and just kept going, rather than blowing up. we all (matt, joe and i) worked hard doing firstpages every day-that helped. i hope they do well in the future, i am sure they will.

True Is True is your new project, what is it about and what are your plans:
i have all these ideas that fill up five simpletext documents for true is true. true is true means so many things to me, it is an object of knowledge. i am still working on what i am going to do with it. right now i am just explaining what it is built on, so that people know where i am coming from. i am putting a lot of thought into it. the term 'trueistrue' was built on; boolean theory (calculus of thought),language, math, God, using words in equasions, science, motion, etc. i am sketching a lot of ideas for the cosmetic look of the site, but i should figure out what it is first.

Is this a long term project or just a sideline to bigger things:
i believe this will be a long term project and plan to develop it into a small agency. i have big hopes for trueistrue, but right now it is hard to see what it can become.

Will you still be designing typefaces and if so where will they be available:
i am still designing typefaces, i have a lot in-progress right now. they are very much old-school flavor. it takes a lot of time making typefaces consistant and solid, so they will stand the test of time. my fonts are all very precise. i don't care too much about trendy faces, even though i do some of those. hopefully my typefaces will have the timelessness of helvetica and eurostile.i am still deciding if i should sell my fonts through test pilot collective. it is a hard decision.

Your design style is to my mind very unique, how did you grow into this style and what/who were your influences:
thanks. i have developed it from working non-stop on design and reading about it. a lot of my design manifests from my interests in other fields and professions. i love the movements that were going on in the 1910-1930's. plakatstil, futurism, dada, constructivism, de stijl and the whole new typography movement. i admire; el lissitzky, herbert bayer, siegfried odermatt & rosmarie tissi, moholy-nagy, the designers republic, emil ruder, wim crouwel, josef mueller-brockmann, tanaka ikko, ken miki, cahan and associates, tolleson design, karel martens, schmidt rhen, charles and ray eames, vaughan oliver... for starters. there are so many peoples work i love. a lot of people say i have a style, but i don't see it. maybe it all falls under the minimal umbrella. music plays a large part of my inspiration.

What do you know about Australian design/designers:
i know about marc newson. isn't that all you need to know? JUST KIDDING. but honestly, the man is on point. i know of emme elephant from way back in the days. she is great. i featured her years ago at the design posse. justin fox goes back deep. i have visited the australian infront several times. a lot of great designers there.

Any final comments:
word!

Thanks Mike!