from left to right: me, Wolfgang Weingart, Hans Allemann

It might not look like it but this guy (above) is an incredibly influential graphic designer. The summer before my senior year of college, I was lucky enough to study with him at a typography workshop at Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. For those of you who don’t know, Wolfgang Weingart is the creator of New Wave aka Swiss Punk typography (trust me, it’s a big deal!).

The last evening of the workshop (as with most of the other evenings!) we all went out for drinks. But this time, Wolfgang joined us! At one point in the evening, Wolfgang was talking to Hans Allemann (another renowned graphic designer). With two of my graphic design idols in one place and with a little liquid courage, I interrupted to ask to have a photo taken with them. Out of nowhere, Wolfgang grabbed my camera and snapped a self portrait. I blurted out “I want to be in it….” and managed to squeeze myself into the frame. This photo (which is way better than any posed shot would have ever been!) is one of my prized possessions and has been in a frame on my desk ever since.