Char Gladden’s Reasoned and Artful Boutique Design Studio!
"I believe beauty should be alive in the crevices – in design, but also in the small stuff like the nook of a home, or the arrangement on a plate. The accessibility of art is at the cornerstone of my studio practice – the pursuit of beauty, no matter how small.” - Char
By noissue — 04 March, 2022
Presenting our blog series featuring some of the incredible members of our noissue Creative Community. This Day in the Life series highlights one special creative showcasing their creative workspace and daily routine. Read on more to have a glimpse of “A Day in the Life” of a noissue Creative!
Char Gladden Studio is a boutique design studio specializing in reasoned, artful, & unorthodox brand, web, and printed matter in Los Angeles. They believe that design is the pursuit of truth and beauty and that it infuses meaning into form. With 15+ years in the design industry, they have extensive experience ranging from advertising agencies to boutique studios, managing teams in both LA and NYC.
Char has always had the impulse to make things and create fine art – this has always been a throughline. When she was younger, she would get up every day before her younger brother and sister and draw at a little table in their laundry room.
Graphic design wasn’t on Char’s radar up until college, when she discovered that she could weave art and typography digitally. Her studio practice informed her design practice and opened up a world beyond paint and charcoal.
“My dad used to take me to flea markets looking for car parts, which fueled my now deep love for old junk and printed ephemera. The beauty of an old handwritten note to a lover, old jeans, the smell of vintage books. I love the well-worn history of things – the library is, and was, my most inspirational spot.” – Char
Char loves to pore over typography publications and fine art; it’s what fuels her love of custom typography, honoring the artisans of yesteryear and reinventing forms in a fresh way. She has always been inspired by the many female designers who have come before her; Rebecca Mendez, April Greiman, Paula Scher, Jeri Heiden – and she’s continually inspired by her female contemporaries.
The orchestral nature of the whole practice truly fuels Char’s deep love for it – mixing art, type, and color. Char will always be grateful for having accidentally fallen into the world of graphic design!
“In the morning, I head out to my mini garden-shed-turned-studio in the backyard - the quiet, the drip coffee reheated a million times, and the natural light in there really gives me life. My default state is slow and introverted, and with 2 small kiddos my world is pretty frenetic most of the time – the contrast in my days is stark; they keep me going on every level, with my work simmering in the background all the time.” – Char
The deep contrast helps make Char’s work period all the more sacred when she finally gets to create the designs she has been ideating in her head since the evening prior. She also had her world opened up dramatically having come to the end of a 15-year period of chronic migraine (via new magic meds).
Char’s favorite step of her design process is the sketching of letterforms with a pencil, ideally on a Saturday morning and on her fourth cup of coffee! It’s her favorite part of her process as it spells freedom – the unbridled freeform, the blank page plus the loud music to accompany it all.
“All I can think of is what I can’t live WITH in my workspace; if it’s cluttered at all, with stuff, or bits from an exacto session the day before – I have to be in an open, near-empty workspace to create anything meaningful. The clearing of things, physically and emotionally, is important. Otherwise, I feel trapped.” – Char
Char first came across noissue when she was creating a brand identity for a florist shop a few years back. She was looking for a digital tissue company to really bring the branding to life. She was then introduced to noissue and has since been an active part of the Creative Community.
Wrapping up her special feature, Char couldn’t help but share this beautiful quote which she came across:
“Last week I was reading an article on the artist Elizabeth Cope, where she “…believes that art doesn’t answer any questions, (it) only asks them.” I love this. I feel like graphic design does this to a large degree; it asks questions, and puts a face to a name for my clients and their stories. I believe beauty should be alive in the crevices – in design, but also in the small stuff like the nook of a home, or the arrangement on a plate. The accessibility of art is at the cornerstone of my studio practice – the pursuit of beauty, no matter how small.” - Char
Be sure to check out Char’s magic firsthand by following Char Gladden Studio projects below!
Find out more about Char Gladden Studio here:
Creative Profile: https://noissu.co/community/creative/partner/char-gladden-studio