DESIGN & CRITIQUE
This week’s lecture involves interviews with Darren Wall of Read Only Memory (ROM)
DARREN WALL
Darren Wall is a solo entreprenuer, designer, publisher, and founder of Read Only Memory. While he’s currently located in Spain, his business model allows him to be flexible in location. Wall’s interest in design stemmed from an early love of vinyl records, video games and devout following of design agencies focussed on the music industry. His friendship with the band Hot Chip garnered him his first freelance assignments designing bespoke album designs. From there, he was able to set off and create his own independent agency.
Wall’s current approach to design is to create truly unique books for audiences to cherish and keep for years to come. His passion for the design of video games created a unique entry point for a niche audience of rabid video game fans. It all started with a Kickstarter campaign. WIth his first book was able to turn something like video games — often seen as low culture — to something elevated and sophisticated.
Self-publishing has afforded Wall to fully own his approach and execution of vision for his pieces. He does not need to compromise that vision as one might with through a collaboration with a traditional book publisher. That said, taking full ownership also means inheriting all of the responsibilities and risks. Wall runs every aspect of his business from ideation and research to execution and promotion. While he serves more as an art director these days, working with freelance experts in each area of design, development, and production, Wall leans on the trust built with each project to bring the next to life.
The success of Read Only Memory has landed Wall project collaborations with Sega, Sony, and the makers of Final Fantasy. Wall credits his commitment and initial naïveté with the success he maintains today. He recognizes the pitfalls of his first Kickstarter campaign in the level of customer service that must be maintained as well as ongoing updates and promotion.
The advice he offers anyone interested in becoming a book publisher or creating and self-publishing any product is to be a mentor and advocate to those in your community. He states he was too shy to interact with his community experts on his first book leaving him to figure it all out the hard way. He says, to “reach out no matter how big or remote those you are seeking to engage.”
REFERENCE:
Lewis, A., (2016) So You Want to Publish a Magazine. London: Laurence King
Chapter 01. So you want to publish a magazine?
Chapter 02. Choose your own adventure
Chapter 05. Ink and Pixels
Ambrose, G., (2015) The Layout Book. London: Bloomsbury
Falmouth University (2018). Design & Critique | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)