If you aren’t familiar with Aaron Draplin, I suggest checking him out on Instagram. You won’t regret it. His posts are stimulating to the eye and soul, as he presents vintage-style aesthetics accompanied by hearty prose.
Aaron Draplin is a designer, but also much more. I had the pleasure of seeing him present at the UCDA Design Conference in 2018. We met briefly as I eagerly purchased some of his amazing swag. He’s a genuine character. A true delight.
There are many things to learn from Araon Draplin, but here are three highlights I’ve realized through my brief in-person interaction and my years of online trolling.
1. Hugs are better than handshakes
Aaron makes it very clear that he’s a hugger. He hugged me when I met him and let me just say, this is no ordinary hug. It’s a bear hug. Draplin is a thick man, which I’m certain he will admit gives him an advantage when it comes to hugs. For a split second while we embraced each other I disappeared into his jacket.
Aaron meets thousands of people as he travels and he practices what he preaches when it comes to love and peace. You can feel it in his big, bear-hug embrace. The world needs more of this. There’s a different outcome when we two people hug versus shake hands. It’s powerful and it’s positive.
2. Framing matters
On Aaron’s Instagram account you’ll notice that every post has the same rounded-corner border. This differentiates the most ordinary content. It adds a retro flare to every single post. The takeaway is simple: how you frame something makes a big difference.
We can take this a step further and say the way that we frame our problems also makes a difference. If we approach every situation from the same frame of reference we introduce consistency to how we deal with the world. This is good if that reference is positive, not so good if it isn’t.
Aaron sees the world through a lens of sensitivity and empathy. He’s an emotional guy with a loving heart, despite his intimidating look. Again, his frame of reference is peace and love; something we should all strive for indeed.
3. Making cool stuff is a career
One of the swag items I purchased from Draplin at the UCDA Conference is a patch of an illustrated pretzel, with text underneath that says, “pretzels.” The inspiration for this item was, you guessed it, pretzels. Simple, but so cool. And funny.
I put the pretzel patch on a coat and people ask me all the time what it means. I tell them it means pretzels. I like pretzels, so why not have a patch?
Draplin’s pop-up shop at his events has stickers, hats, sketchbooks, patches, shirts, posters, and more. It’s a smorgasbord of cool stuff decorated with cool, iconic designs created by Draplin himself. Everything has a vintage style, and a common theme is fun-loving. There’s a dove that says “peace” and there’s a pretzel that says “pretzels.”
The most noteworthy part of this display is that Aaron Draplin has made a career out of creating cool stuff. I wonder how many high school guidance counselors are telling creative students about this career trajectory. Draplin is a graphic designer who does work for clients. He does presentations. But all those things feature work of the same nature. There are blurred lines between his “work” and his “play.” Blurred lines between his designs and his art. That’s encouraging, inspiring, and just plain awesome. So, if you’re a kid who likes to make cool stuff, you’ve got a role model that is making a good career out of doing the same thing.
Hop on Instagram and follow Aaron Draplin. It will be worth your while.