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Friday Five with Kristin Moses of DesignGood

Austin, Texas-based Kristin Moses spent 10 years in Houston where she owned her own award-winning design agency before heading in a completely new direction. Wanting to do more good on a daily basis, Moses founded DesignGood, a platform that connects and inspires creatives to contribute and do more work with purpose, while also allowing them to share stories of those making a positive social impact via their work. She simultaneously runs DesignGood Studio which lets her go back to her roots by continuing to produce creative, identity, and branding work for clients, all with a purpose. Let’s take a look at her beautiful, design-centered choices in this week’s Friday Five.

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1. My Space in Austin, Texas
Austin is an amazing place, creatively. There’s a huge community of artists and designers, so the city is always pushing me as a designer to better my work.

I live in a ranch house that was built in 1958. It’s a light, airy space that opens up to my yard which is so important to me – I’m really inspired by nature, and I have a mastiff named Duchess so she appreciates the outdoor space as well.

I believe your space is representative of who you are so I consider my home to be another canvas to create on. Even as a child, I tended to decorate and accessorize everything and I still do that today. My home represents both the city I live in and who I am as a designer and as a person. I just love that.

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2. Things That Bling
Metallics have always interested me as a designer. To me, they represent another dimension of both color and texture which is perfect for print work as it often feels flat and two-dimensional. Aside from using metallics as a tool in design, I gravitate towards them in my personal life as well. The use of a metallic forces you to think outside the normal color and material spectrum, so – in my world – gold makes everything a little better.

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3. Symbols of Spirituality
Religious and spiritual symbols fascinate me. When I travel, I always visit old cathedrals, churches and places of worship because of their ornate qualities and the attention to detail. One of my favorite places in the world is the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

Across all religions and beliefs, there is a strong desire to visually communicate devotion and reverence. I’m drawn to crosses, candles and other symbols of the human expression of hope, love and faith in something beyond us. It’s fascinating that every culture has designed and developed a system that represents this for them.

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4. Love And Hip Hop
I’ve always loved hip hop. I go to shows, I collect and I support. And I love how hip hop pushes design. It makes everything a little more interesting, a little more over the top and a little more F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S (rap reference, in case you missed it).

Specifically, I’m drawn to designers who are inspired by the hip hop industry, like Jay Shells, whom we featured on DesignGood. One of my favorite creations is Pop Chart Labs “Grand Taxonomy of Rap Name” – it’s the perfect mix of hip hop, data and design.

Portland artist Nathan McKee also has such a great style. I’m always impressed with people who incorporate something they love with their talent. That’s one of the reasons why we started our site – I’m so inspired by people who truly embrace their craft.

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5. Sensing A Pattern
There’s a blog I stumbled upon years back called My Marrakesh. It’s run by a woman named Maryam who owns a hotel in Morocco called Peacock Pavilions. I love the ornateness of the hotel, the colors and the patterns. Maryam worked with Royal Design Studio on the custom paint treatments used at Peacock Pavilions, and I have almost every stencil in this line. In fact, I stenciled my previous house so much that I ran out of space. I’m obsessed with intricacies. If something is over the top, but done with taste, I’m usually all over it.

Maryam’s book, Marrakech by Design, goes into detail about the influences of the culture in Morocco. This book really brought it all together for me – it’s such a beautiful culture with design at its heart. We’ve seen a Moroccan influence on design in the States – it’s elaborate, it’s detailed, and it’s so beautiful. Definitely a source of inspiration.

Photos by Nick Simonite.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.