Advice So Good You Could Swear By It: The Story of Good Effing Design Advice*

Synopsis //   In September of 2010 GFDA was launched as a joke on whim. Before they knew it, Co-founders Brian Buirge and Jason Bacher were were plunged headfirst into business selling shirts and prints from the basement of their rental property. During the past three years they rose to C-List Internet Celebrity fame all while dividing their time between earning their MFAs, teaching courses part-time at Kent State University, maintaining the GFDA site, doing client work, and staying up all night packaging merchandise. Consequently, such a division of time results in lots of mistakes and fuck-ups and they're eager to share those more than anything. As their favorite saying goes, "experience is that thing you get the moment after you need it." They take great pride in showing the audience the dumbest things they've screwed up and how starting your own business, doing what you love, doesn't require a business education, venture capital, or a whole lot of experience. It requires heart and a little bit of crazy (okay maybe a lot of crazy). 

Check out more info on GFDA here!

Bios //  

Brian Buirge - Whenever there’s a storm in Brian Buirge’s general vicinity, he is the quiet calm at its center. Brian is the fulcrum, he is the laughing buddha, he is the friendly voice reminding you to breath. His expertise in martial arts lends him patience, and focus, and his advanced education in design helps him never cease to be curious about the world around him. Brian’s greatest talent is keeping his balance. Anyone who loves equally making sushi, setting type, and getting punched in the face by close friends, really has to be comfortable with himself. His placid surface and flowing depth are what make Brian Buirge a successful designer. He doesn’t force, coax, or coerce; he wills a thing to happen. Oh, and if you enjoy chicken wings and bad kung fu films, you may just have a new best friend.

 Jason Bacher - Jason Bacher is a vehicle for hard work. He goes 100 miles an hour and runs on his own special blend of high octane motivation. His destination: Get-shit-done Avenue. When he was ten years old he was carrying buckets of paint around his family’s business, at sixteen he rodded out a 1984 Pontiac Fiero, at twenty-five he co-founded GFDA in his basement while in grad school. Whether it’s grilled cheese sandwiches or mid-century industrial ephemera, he has a penchant for the spartan. His personal tastes and professional work lay in intelligent, highly functional design. Jason Bacher is a man possessed by a rare tenacity, and there’s nothing he enjoys more than savoring the fruits of his labor. (Whatever you do, though, never get between him and a jar of hot giardiniera.)

*PROFANITY DISCLAIMER: This event will have language that may not be appropriate for everyone. If you prefer not to hear cursing, we recommend that you check out another one of our events that is suitable for all audiences.