My Process is a new interview series we’ll be doing where we interview people who work in the music industry, but not as musicians. These will be artists, tour managers, label owners, and other various career paths that don’t get hyped as much as they should. 

This interview is with Charlie Wagers, a photographer and illustrator who has done work for Me Without You, Gifts From Enola, Anberlin, Toddland, Lomography, and many more.

Click “Read More” to read the interview and check out some of his work.

This interview is with Charlie Wagers, a photographer and illustrator who has done work for Me Without You, Gifts From Enola, Anberlin, Toddland, Lomography, and many more.

Name: Charlie Wagers

Occupation: Graphic Designer www.charliewagers.com

Location: Akron, Ohio

Current computer(s): One iMac and two Macbook Pro’s

Current mobile device(s): iPhone

One word that best describes how I work: Impulsive

What’s a typical work-day for you?

I try my best to maintain basic work hours, 9-6’ish, but it usually doesn’t work that way. I start my

day by handling e-mail, and organizing my current projects into a queue, based on priority. Then

I spend most of my day working on those projects. I’ll take breaks to play my pinball machine or

walk to get a snack, just to clear my head every few hours so I don’t get drained. But “typical”

days really only happen about 50% of the time, because inspiration seemingly often strikes at

night for me. Or sometimes I’ll spend a day at the screen-printing studio.

What’s your workspace like?

I have a three story-house, so I use the entire third floor as my studio. I’ve got a big iMac set

up on a wrap-around desk, which is where I typically work. I bought a Herman-Miller ergonomic

Aeron chair last year, which I can’t imagine living without. I’ve also got a huge drafting table that I

use for drawing, some flat-files to store prints, and a foosball table. Sometimes I’ll take one of my

laptops to work in another location. The walls are covered with posters for inspiration.

What apps/tools/software can you not live without?

I use Teux Deux to manage my projects – I love how it syncs across the mobile & web so I can

update it frequently. There’s the obvious Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign &

Dreamweaver, mostly). And I really hope I never have to use a Windows operating system again.

What do you listen to while you work?

I find myself mostly listening to ambient, electronic or folk music while I work. I can’t seem to

focus if it’s something too distracting. Some examples would be Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Emeralds,

Efterklang, Four Tet, Smog, Stars of the Lid, Tycho; things like that.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I’ve always been very inspired by these two quotes:

“The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will,

desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with

those characteristics grows.” – Milton Glaser

“Design is an expression of the purpose, and it may (if it is good enough) later be judged

as art; design depends largely on constraints and it is a method of action (there are always

constraints and these usually include ethic).” – Charles Eames

What hobbies do you have outside of your job?

Lately I’ve been photographing & writing articles for Lomography (link: http://

www.lomography.com/homes/charliewagers). I spend a lot of time traveling, and on my farm in

Kentucky. I also am pretty into collecting records (link: http://www.charliewagers.com/records/).

Check out more of Charlie’s work along with his blog @ charliewagers.com