Studiomime feature in Candy 5.
David Donohoe interviewed by Richard Seabrooke.
The magazine can be downloaded here

Whether in his design (done under his Studiomime name) or in his music output (which is mostly self-titled) David Donohoe’s work has a beautiful confident rhythm to it which guides the viewer/listener through it simply and seamlessly. Always looking for new ways to question and reinvent, his output is laboured over until it is just perfect. Style wise it seems to be that he allows himself the freedom to find the result quite organically. Sometimes his work can be simple, sometimes textured, sometimes a mix, whatever it needs to do in order to communicate, David ensures this happens. Working closely with the likes of minimise’s Donnacha Costello, D1’s Eamonn Doyle and a wide range of other multidisciplined creatives we feel we’ve only got the front page of a rising talent’s book.

01. What is Studiomime?
Studiomime is me, my work and the process involved in realising that work. The name evolved from the fact that I have worked from a number of different locations and in different disciplines. So for me there was a parallel with the idea of the mime artist defining the space around him/herself through gestures. My work is my gesture by which I define my space, this work being Design (for Print, Web, Exhibition), Typography/ Type Design, Handmade Books, Video, Sound, Music, Poems and any other stuff that comes my way. Except mime!

02. What do you feel are the benefits and downfalls (if any) of working for yourself?
The obvious benefit of working for yourself is the control over what you do, when you do it and whom you deal with. The downside used to be the niggling insecurity, but I have come to realize that insecurity is just as relevant for the employed as well as the selfemployed, so I’m not really sure. I think if it suits you personally, the whole experience (including the downfalls) is a very positive one. It certainly gives me a determination and independence.

03. Your work encompasses print, multimedia, motion and music, all which you do to an exceptional level. Why do you feel you need to be involved in so many media, what do you get out of it, are there things you need to say but can’t do so through some media? Discuss.
The reason is perhaps a flaw: I don’t really perceive much difference between media. There is a huge amount of crossinterpretation, emotion and crossed intentions for me in media in general. Perhaps I’m not analytical enough to be able to discern sharp divisions. I’m definitely not well enough versed in any media to be able to do so. So maybe, yes, I can’t work some processes out in one media so I turn to another. I never really thought about it like that, what I do has always come from an intuitive place. This is the side of life that interests me the most, the instinctive, the wondrous. It is this that allows me to remain open to all questions and all results.

04. In all of your work your meticulous attention to detail is more than apparent. Do you have a set approach to projects, from brief right through to ensuring that the final piece is perfect?
I don’t really have a set approach to projects. The nature of the work dictates that to me, and obviously there are subjective levels of perfection in a designer/ client relationship. So I generally try to bring things as close as I can to my idea of a relative perfection. I never get there. But the results are sometimes quite close. Meticulous attention to detail has always been the most important thing to me in anything I do, work or otherwise. I am very influenced by natural life systems and as such my view of life is very holistically detailed. This is true also of my attitude to work. Work that I consider valuable must be holistic. It must be a self contained, interlocked arrangement. And this must be its beauty (or ugliness). My best work can be seen as an intricate unit suspended in air, like a mobile, whereas my worst work may well be in the air, but it needs a scaffolding to hold it up!

05. Working independently how do you ensure your work continues evolving and diversifying? Where do you get your inspirations?
My main drive is the need to record and document. It fills me with absolute hunger for designing, photographing, writing, making music, drawing, …everything. Change is the main flux of life and as long as I keep documenting my own changing patterns I will evolve and diversify. I am inspired by limitation, structure, texture, method, tradition, craft, stillness, belief, animals… lots of stuff.

06. Heroes...
I don’t think I have any ‘heroes’ as such but I like these… Samuel Beckett, Morris Fuller Benton, Charlie Brown, Kate Bush, Sophie Calle, Noam Chomsky, Peter Gabriel, Allen Ginsberg, Kim Hiorthøy, James Joyce, King Crimson, Zuzana Licko, George Maciunas, Julian Morey, Gabor Palotai, Arvo Pärt, Paramahansa Yogananda, Peter Saville, Sri Yukteswar, Cy Twombly, Yes… amongst many others.

07. Collaborations are another side of your work that seems very important to you. What is it about them that makes them so appealing to you?
I collaborate with various people in various capacities, for various reasons. It affords a sharing opportunity to learn and teach at the same time, which is a dynamic I value. I am involved in a studio sharing design partnership with Space.ie and Fuel which allows me to be involved in a wide range of projects. I work with Space.ie on exhibition design and with Fuel on website/ online-shop design. In one day I can be involved in the carpentry, lighting, painting of a room and on the other hand the design of a navigation bar. So this gives me the chance to deal with idiosyncrasies of scale, which is very educational. And then when that’s all finished I go back to making my little books! I’m also involved in Serverproject with Donnacha Costello, Peter Maybury and Dennis McNulty. It’s a very interesting structure, each of the other members having absolutely different approaches, but there seems to be some common area generated by these. It’s an audio improvisation project and it’s fascinating to hear something so intense develop organically around you while being only one source of it’s input. I find it quite inspiring and often moving.

09. As the world gets smaller through technology and also technology allows for more and more people to dabble in creative media (either making music, cutting up motion, designing, etc.) what do you believe creative people need to do in order to ensure they are noticed and excel?
I think too many of us vigorously protect our status as professional/ educated/ trained/ qualified. I am all of the above but I more so think of myself as a dabbler! In terms of life and existence I think we are all dabbling. ‘Noticing’ becomes simply a matter of how our own dabbling has evolved in relation to everyone else’s. As our society becomes ever more superficial and obsessed with the inane, it’s easy to be noticed. Be vulgar, be hollow, be inflammatory, be idiotic … that should work! Seriously though, I don’t know. The idea of ‘being noticed’ has been done to death by the advertisers hasn’t it? It has helped facilitate a culture of spoon fed ignorance. I am more interested in people searching for what they feel they need rather than noticing what they may need. This may be a moot point and marketeers will fit me neatly into the ‘anti-marketing’ market but there you go. As far as excelling goes, I know the answer to that one… Go with your gut.