New York City: Q&A with Rob Trostle of Mother New York

by Caitlin Dover

Rob Trostle of Mother New York was the art director for this identity for the Webby awards. The system was a winner in the New York City section of Print's 2009 Regional Design Annual.

What's your favorite thing about being a designer in New York?

Being able to ride a bike to source anything from plastic to paper to rubber bands.

What was the single greatest challenge or obstacle in making this piece, and how did you overcome it?

No budget. We shot everything ourselves. We shot ourselves.

What’s the backstory for this piece?

I did a fantasy shoot at two in the morning about me going different places with the Webby trophy. I pulled images of outer space, underwater, on an island, etc., tiled them large on a wall, and took photos of myself and the trophy pretending we were having fun at all these places.

What was the process like for this piece? Did your client give you a lot of leeway, or were you sticking to a strict brief?

The Webbys always come to us with an idea. We showed them some insane ideas, they loved them all, but the award show is all about generating entries, so the final look and feel had to compel people to enter, first and foremost.

If you could do one thing differently in creating this design if you had it to do again, what would it be?

Different model.

What does winning a place in the Regional Design Annual mean to you?

It means I have to work harder.

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