How I Work: Aron Fay, Founder and Creative Director, FAY
Aron Fay has a vision for his dream studio. Image: c/o Aron Fay Design by Barbara Cadorna.
Aron Fay’s namesake studio FAY has been working at that sweet spot of elevated design and emerging technology, and exploring new ways for consumers to experience and interact with organizations, such as MIT, Yale, and KAYAK. In every step of their process, FAY leverages technology to enhance design work. That can take the form of dynamic identities that engage sight, sound, and motion as well as custom-built generative design tools that make implementation more efficient, and design that evolves with brands as they grow.
Outside the office, Aron can be found tinkering with his decade-spanning collection of synthesizers and electronic music gear, seeing music, and experimenting with new emerging technologies and generative design software. Read how these passions factor considerably into how he works, from his electronic music playlists to dream studio filled with walls of speakers.
Rise and Shine
I’m not a morning person. I usually wake up as late as (responsibly) possible, and walk to my (amazing) local coffee shop, Bittersweet, for caffeine. From there, I either walk or bike to the studio. I feel very lucky to live very close to a beautiful park (a precious commodity in NYC!), Fort Greene Park and get to go through there every morning on my way in. It’s spring here now, and the blossoming trees are a nice contrast to the surroundings of the city. I use my short commute as a meditation on the day ahead, which to me is a super important part of my day. I’m usually in the studio by 10am depending on the day, fully caffeinated and ready to go.
A photo of a Vitsœ clothes rack with black tshirts and black work jackets, hung neatly in a row on minimal black metal hangers, against a concrete wall. c/o of FAY via MidJourney.
Work Uniform
About ten years ago I read an article presenting research that the average human adult makes upwards of 35,000 decisions over the course of one day — it blew my mind. I decided around that time I would evaluate where I exercise my decision-making power in the pursuit of being more intentional and mindful (something I think about a lot). As a designer, and now business owner, I’m constantly making decisions all day long — is this the right strategic decision for my client, does this typeface A or B work better for this project, do we need to hire a new designer in order to take on a few cool new projects? Be they aesthetic or business decisions, I’ve come to learn over the years that I’m more creative when I set constraints for myself. I ultimately decided I was going to limit my decision-making around clothing choice and use that energy elsewhere. I now (very literally) only own black clothing. These days I usually wear a black t-shirt, black work jacket, black jeans, and all black Converse to the studio. When I’m feeling WILD, I do have one grey (70% black for you design nerds reading) work jacket that I occasionally wear…
How I Structure My Day
Running a small studio has meant wearing a lot of hats, so I don’t have a set routine that’s the same day-to-day. One of the reasons I enjoy running a small studio is that it keeps me on my toes and engaged with my ever-changing day-to-day. I like to learn, explore, and try new things, so I intentionally try to make time for myself each day to do that in some way, shape, or form. When possible, I do my best to structure my time by grouping similar types of work together — for example, if I have a few proposals to write, or a few client meetings, or reviewing progress on a few projects with my team, I try to group those similar activities together so that I can maintain a more focused headspace for a period of time. Of course, it doesn't always happen that way, but for me it helps feel like I’m not being pulled in many different directions all the time.
Playlist Favorites
Where to start…I’m a huge electro nerd and spend most of my day (when not meeting with clients or my team) with headphones on listening to new and old releases. Rather than tell you some of the favorites, I thought it’d be better just to put them into a mix. [Editor’s Note: Fay graciously created an exclusive mix for Creative Factor, in addition to sharing some of his favorite tracks. Listen below.]
Tools of the Trade
Ideas. A pen. A notebook. A computer. A printer. A cutting matte. An exacto knife. A camera. A Kinect. A soldering iron. An Arduino. Many software applications. Many paper swatches. Many hardware synthesizers & drum machines. Many speakers. Many sensors. Many circuit boards. And cables, lots of cables…
I’ve always been interested in both design and creative technology and as the world continues to evolve, the ways in which we communicate will continue to do so as well. We see a lot of potential in using new, emerging technologies paired with smart design work, to help create, and hopefully better, the ways people experience, interact, and communicate with the world around us. For that reason, our studio is somewhere between a science laboratory, electronics prototyping space, design office, and music studio. The hope is that bringing all these tools and disciplines together will yield exciting, dynamic, and forward-reaching work.
A photo of a fully glass square office in the middle of a quiet, remote, dense green forest, with moss, mist, and massive music speakers at two corners, with a single minimal modern desk and a single Hans Wegner Wishbone chair. c/o of FAY via MidJourney.
A photo of the Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility at NASA, with massive speakers covering the walls, concrete desk in center, small Japanese garden in the center with a bonsai tree and raked white sand. c/o of FAY via MidJourney.
Dream Studio
A beautiful tsuboniwa (small Japanese garden) open to the sky, in the center of a brutalist concrete bunker (see the second of the two AI-generated images above). A glass box in the middle of a quiet, remote, dense forest, with a spatial sound system and massive stacks of speakers. A space filled with walls of speakers — think Nasa’s Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility vibes. I have a lot of ideas. My best work comes from places of tension so hopefully one day I’ll be able to design my own space with that in mind. For now, my team and I are enjoying our space where we can design, play music (we have a full DJ setup along with a range of synths and drum machines) and make/prototype interactive work.
A photo of the Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility at NASA, with massive speakers covering the concrete walls, concrete desk in center and a small Japanese bonsai garden. c/o of FAY via MidJourney.
A photo of the Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility at NASA, with massive speakers covering the walls, concrete desk in center. c/o of FAY via MidJourney.
One Unique Thing About My Work Process
I find that the cross pollination of different stimuli (think: any of the 5 senses) together in different ways when working often leads to more interesting work. I try to do this as often as possible, not just at work, but in my daily life. For example, I find that I create more interesting design work when my headphones are on and I’m listening to music, I find I make more interesting music when I light a scented candle or incense, I find the food I’m cooking for dinner is more interesting when it also is presented beautifully. Over the past few years, we’ve been exploring this idea in our self-initiated LAB projects at the studio, considering how the combination of different senses can help us communicate in richer ways in the future.
Mantra
がんばて！(A Japanese phrase that means ‘Do your best!’)
My Bright Idea that Never Saw the Light of Day
There are many — but I’m not sure how bright they actually are! The first thing that comes to mind is an interactive installation we were working on last year. I won’t say too much about it other than we developed some interesting technologies that allow for the real time manipulation of 3D visuals, a 3D environment and spatial sound, controlled by humans in a physical space — it’s pretty exciting stuff. We need a bit more time to flesh out some small bugs and finesse some of the visual elements a bit more before debuting it. Stay tuned…
To-Do List Item That Keeps Me Up At Night
Knowing you haven’t yet found the right solution for the client. I feel it in my stomach, when I know I haven’t cracked the code yet, and I really dislike that. When that happens my body kicks into hyperdrive and there’s no getting me to sleep. In general, I’m not a good sleeper — I always wake up in the middle of the night with ideas and thoughts from the day before or for the day ahead. I’m not sure if part of that is living in a busy city, or just how I’m wired. Who knows, maybe that glass box in the middle of the forest is the answer…
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