GRAPHIS DESIGN JOURNAL AMERICAS 356

Bill Thorburn, The Thorburn Group: Design & Passion

Bill really taught me so much about

finding the soul within a project and
focusing on that before anything else…
I really believe in Bill’s talent as someone
who can connect with the nuances of
the journey at its core.
Patrick Miller Artist

What Bill does well is he pushes up

against the visual zeitgeist of the time,
or he amplifies it. By definition, Bill’s work
is ephemeral. He designs in a language
that will work well now and will work 20
years from now.
Brian Collins Chief Creative Officer, COLLINS

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 Jon Jay: Introduction

The ’80s were the decade of discovery. While much

has been made of the excesses of the era, it was both
the best and worst of times, making boredom the
ultimate sin. Minneapolis was emerging quietly on
the creative front, helping to fuel a strong regional
influence ranging from Advertising and Graphic
Design, to retail marketing. Young talent was often
nurtured from within, and Dayton Hudson (the par-
ent company of Target) began to lay the ground-
work for a lot of new talent that would later migrate
to other companies, industries and cities. As Cre-
ative Director of Bloomingdale’s in New York City,
I recruited from the community of talent in Min-
neapolis, and became very aware of its best people.
Even so, Bill Thorburn’s conceptual stylebooks for
Dayton Hudson’s Oval Room caught me by sur-
prise. His attention to detail and global sensibilities
made him more than a designer. His sense of craft
was supported by ideas, and he always gave a very
jaded fashion audience the joy of surprise. During
my early months after joining Wieden + Kennedy,
I invited Bill to join the agency in Portland. He
almost made the migration to the Northwest. We had
him until he discovered that there was no ice fishing
in Portland. He would have been quite the catch.

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Q&A: Bill Thorburn
What is your work philosophy?
Design is a passion. You have to feel something in order to
have someone else feel what a designer puts into their work.
I have to feel what the audience is going to feel. That’s how
we address everything, and I believe it’s what elevates our
work and creates connections with others. In this day and age
the emotional connection is what elevates great brands from
brands that probably won’t be around in 5 years.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
It’s the ability to find and inspire really great talent and create
an environment for them. After 15 years of running a firm, I
have had some of the most amazing designers pass through
here. No surprise that so many have gone on to create their
own remarkable destinies. I’m really proud of them.
What part about your work do you find the most demanding?
You have to be there completely. What is it that makes some
things special and others not so much? You can always tell
when something has someone who cared about it behind it.
Someone that was willing to find something a little more in-
sightful, a little more magical, a little more crafted. That’s
design. It doesn’t happen without showing up every day and
pushing yourself a little harder, and that’s not always easy.
How do you deal successfully with your clients?
By making them successful and being true to what they need.
What satisfies you most in your work?
It’s the passion that we have toward the work. I am more pas-
sionate to get into the studio today then ever before. This is
such an amazing time to be a designer. The respect it has to-
day in the trade and in the business world has been a catalyst
to a whole new generation of designers. They are taking their
intuitive understanding of the new visual language and the
technology to redefine design so that it creates an impact and
an emotional connection through all the chaos out there.
What motivates you the most?
A blank sheet of white paper is the most inspirational thing
I can think of. It represents unlimited possibilities and free-
dom. It’s what motivates me and gets me excited every day.
It’s why this business never grows old. There is a blank piece
of white paper awaiting us every day.
Who influenced you in your career?
Young designers. I think as the boomers are pleading the fifth
for the problems on Wall Street, this generation has found a
new internationalism and is using the Internet as their vehicle
of collaboration and communication. Art and design have be-
come the universal language of how they connect. I think this
synthesis is what will drive the future of communications.
Technology and media will be a huge part in challenging de-
sign and how designers create meaningful messages. As we
have traditionally been the keepers of the brand flame, we
will be challenged to create larger, more robust platforms for
our work. Experiences vs. product is the next frontier. It is the
younger designers that understand this better than any of us.
What was your most successful job?
I hope I haven’t done it yet.
What is your definition of good design?
Something that inspires and connects with someone. It’s the
experience of the relationship with the brand, regardless of
the media.
Where do you seek inspiration?
I love the book by Paul Smith, “You can find inspiration in
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everything…and if you can’t, look again.” I think that inspi-
ration is everywhere, always unfolding in front of you, you
just need to pay attention. There are so many opportunities
today to hitch yourself to something and get inspired. Many
people look, but designers see. That’s what makes them so
valuable: The way they see the world.
What was your most important professional achievement?
Learning how to manage the people and not the work. It’s
funny, if you inspire the team they will drive great work. It’s
really counterintuitive to how you design because it really
means changing your focus to one thing in order to achieve
something else.
Tell us about the hard times you’ve had to overcome to gain
your success?
Continuing to believe when no one else did.
What would be your dream assignment?
I would love to do a runway show where the clothes are made
out of nothing but leaves, and to work with the Scottish artist
Andy Goldsworthy.
What is your greatest insecurity?
I have been running a design firm for over 15 years now. I
want to, and have been, a big part of the business, but I try to
avoid the shiny shoes and briefcase thing.
What philosophies or advice do you impart to students?
Stay humble. It seems the best designers are the most hum-
ble. They are more open to a sense of wonder and have an
uncanny way of translating it into a powerful solution.
If you had it to do over again, what would you change?
Nothing. The mistakes have been as valuable or even more so
then the successes.
How do you define success?
I’m not motivated by power or money. What I am motivated
by is having an inspired day every day…I guess that’s what I
would call success.
What professional goals do you still have for yourself?
The last time I was in Manhattan I went to the MET Museum
to see the Jasper Johns show. Afterwards, I did my favorite
thing—I got lost. I stumbled through Mesopotamia, Byzan-
tium, ancient Greece, bumped into Paul Klee, turned left and
saw the revolution that was called Impressionism, and wound
my way through the ancient tombs of Egypt. It is so appar-
ent that creativity has been a universal and timeless need of
mankind. I think we all realize that this is a special career to
have. I’m just grateful to be connected to the infinite nature
of this and would some day like to share a few of the crumbs
I’ve picked up along the way by teaching.
Who do you admire in the profession, from the past and/or his ability to translate that into the work. I’ve been surrounded by the most incredible women in my
present, and why? Where do you now seek inspiration? life. Grandmothers, mother, sister, wife, daughters.
Wow, where do you begin? This industry has such a rich Lick the bowl… everything, all of the time. Travel, galleries, What do you value most?
heritage of incredible talent. Alexey Brodovitch, for one, and art, the street, fashion, editorial, books, music, the web, con- My Family.
how he brought the avant-garde into the mainstream. His versation. It’s such an amazing time right now, inspiration is What is your life philosophy?
choices of people that he collaborated with is a who’s who all around us—lick the bowl and enjoy it all. What blesses one blesses all.
of art history…especially with photography. Currently, I love What is your life philosophy? What is your greatest personal achievement?
the young designers that have built a bridge from the street to After Nolan Ryan pitched a no-hitter, he was asked by the Being a dad (I hope).
the galleries. Faile, Ryan Mcginness, Geoff McFetridge, Da- press how he did it… he said he left his brain in the locker What personal goals have you set for yourself?
vid Ellis. They have been so instrumental in creating a new room. Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way. Why let a goal get in the way of doing what needs to be done?
visual language of the times. Flat, remixed, post-graffiti. Who are your heroes? What is the biggest personal risk you have taken?
Who were your professional influences? Buckminster Fuller, Issey Miyake, Alvin Lustig, Tapies, Jo- I opened my business when my wife was four months preg-
John Jay, I have known him for 20 years or so. I have always seph Campbell, Paul Klee. nant. Talk about a gun to your head.
admired his energy for being on top of the cultural now and Who has been your life mentor(s)? If you were to invite 1-5 people for a dinner conversation,
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who would they be?
Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammad, Chief Seattle. I think
they would all agree quite a bit.
What is your most valuable possession(s)?
Passion and persistence.
What interests do you have outside of your work?
I went to art school and studied painting; ironically, I’ve nev-
er taken a formal class on design. Art (at least the way I do
it) is a great way to freely let an idea gurgle out of your heart
without needing to have it lead anywhere, and that’s incred-
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ibly liberating. I have an art studio, separate from work, that
I go to and try to stay connected with that.
What is your greatest insecurity?
Slowing down.
What would you change if you had to do it all over again?
Nothing.
The Thorburn Group: thethorburngroup.com
706 N. First Street, Suite 121, Minneapolis, MN 55401,
United States / Tel 612.886.3489
John Jay, Wieden+Kennedy: www.wk.com
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Credits&Comments
Page 230 Aura; Client: Benjamin Moore; Photographer: Mark Laita; Design
Director: Bill Thorburn; Designers; Ben Levitz, David Schwen; Writer: Dan
Rupper Kahn
Page 231 Bill Thorburn Portrait; Photographer: Charles Viet
Page 232, 235 Golden Age; Client: Children Health; Photographer: Bill
Phelps; Design Director: Bill Thorburn; Designer: Chad Hagen
Page 236 Burn, Regenerate, Repeat; Client: AIGA Minnesota; Design Direc-
tor: Bill Thorburn; Designer: Jessie Kaczmarek; Writer: Riley Kane
Page 237 Cayenne; Client: Porsche; Photographer: Supplied; Design Direc-
tor: Bill Thorburn; Designer: T. Scott Major; Writer: Glen Fellman
Page 238-239 Touch Me Baby; Client: Appleton Coated; Photographer:
William Clark; Design Director: Bill Thorburn; Designer: David Schrimpf;
Writer: Jonathan Graham
Page 240-241 Hospitality; Client: Formica; Photographer: Scott Dorrance;
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Design Director: Bill Thorburn; Art Director: Michael Skjei; Designers:
Charlie Ross, Ben Levitz; Writer: Dan Rupper Kahn
Page 242 (top) Hummingbird; Client; Benjamin Moore; Design Director:
Bill Thorburn; Designers: Ben Levitz, David Schwen; Writer: Dan Rupper
Kahn; Motion: Login / (bottom) Awakening; Client: Appleton Coated; Pho-
tographer: William Clark; Design Director: Bill Thorburn; Designer: David
Schwen; Writer: Jonathan Graham
Page 243 (top) All the Better to See You With; Client: Harley Davidson; Pho-
tographer: Morgan Silk; Creative Director: Brock Davis/CL; Design Director:
Bill Thorburn; Art Director: Bill Lee/CL; Designer: David Schwen; Writer:
Ryan Inda/CL / (middle) Poetry; Client: Indiga Palms; Photographer: Peggy
Sirota; Design Director: Bill Thorburn; Designer: Travis Olson; Writer: Riley
Kane / (bottom) The Club at Sur Mer; Client: Ginn Resorts; Design Director:
Bill Thorburn; Art Director: Michael Skjei; Designer: Steve Jockisch
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