Aaron Aalto
Q What do you do?
“I’m a designer that searches for and identifies the opportunities that most people see as problems and then turns them into elegant, beautiful designs”
I can design anything. I am an industrial designer by trade but do everything from UX design to illustration."
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design and studied industrial design. From there, I worked in Copenhagen as an industrial designer and then worked as a UX designer for a coworking startup in NYC.
But then I decided to take my business online. Throughout the past couple of years, I’ve been an independent designer who has launched educational products and also worked with several clients such as Nouns, Balaji S. Srinivasan, Bang & Olufsen, and David Perell. I’ve designed book covers, launched a webcomic, illustrated social assets, and more.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I’m comfortable with ambiguity and when things aren’t clear-cut. I’m able to elegantly describe my thinking.
And I can design anything. I can design furniture. Make a website. Design an app. Paint a mural. Prototype electronics. I love working with my hands and because of my drawing skills and industrial design background, I can bring anything to life.
Q What are you working on right now?
I’ve working on a webcomic for Nouns DAO. We just launched Chapter 1 and are now working on the next chapters. And I'm also training in classical drawing techniques.
I am also designing a mural for my friend's ceviche restaurant in Mexico City.
And I write about art and design for my newsletter, Still Life.
Q What’s your style?
Everything starts with a drawing for me. I will draw out what I’m thinking about and I’m ultra-collaborative. I have strong opinions but I’m a good listener. I like working asynchronously but still involve people throughout the process .
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I want to keep doing more design, period. I want to create more beautiful things. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2D or 3D. I want to work more on the early stage of things. I want to be there in the conception of what people are trying to build so that I’m just not inheriting the thoughts of someone else. I want to guide the people who have visions and work closely with the people making the decisions, not with a middleman. And I would like to focus more on projects solving problems that most people don’t know they have.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Keeping track of all of my ideas.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
I'd give them an idea and ask them to generate more ideas from it and surprise me. And I’d have them research things I’m interested in and then present their findings to me. For example, I’d like to know more about the relationships between artists and patrons during in the Renaissance.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I would tell my recently graduated self to not try to fit your portfolio to anyone in particular. Focus on what lights up your soul. And learn about the importance of business and marketing.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would love to talk to a mathematician and have them give me the story of mathematics from the beginning to where we are now. And I’d like to talk to fashion designer Junya Watanabe and learn about his process and maybe tour the studio.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I’m looking for projects that are bettering humanity in some way. Projects that aren’t common now but will be common in a few years. Products that are bridging the future with today.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My ideal collaborator is someone who trusts me, but who challenges my thinking. Not for the sake of challenging it, but because they have strong opinions. But they still let the best ideas win. And someone that has excellent taste.
I want to work on tools for creatives, projects involving books, learning institutions, web3 projects, and artisanal products. They need to be meaningful products that have a great origin story.
And I don’t like having bosses. I like having collaborators.
Q What is your rate?
My rates range depending on the project, so send me an email with more information so I can send you an an accurate rate.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Email is good. And then ideally from there, we’ll move on to Discord. GIFs are always welcome.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Sandy Sanchez / Copywriter
Jack Butcher / Designer
Jalil / Developer
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
I’m a 24/7 research machine.
This member profile was originally published in November 2022.