Design

Designer of the Day: Russell Greenberg

The RUX studio founder, whose designs for Stickbulb feature in a just-opened installation at The Future Perfect, discusses the importance of a killer team, looking for bugs in Central Park, and his affection for Willy Wonka.

The RUX studio founder, whose designs for Stickbulb feature in a just-opened installation at The Future Perfect, discusses the importance of a killer team, looking for bugs in Central Park, and his affection for Willy Wonka.

Here, we ask a designer to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.

Age: 37

Occupation: Founder of RUX, and creative director and cofounder of Stickbulb

Hometown: New York City

Studio location: Long Island City

Describe what you make: Earlier this year I restructured RUX from a creative agency serving clients like Unilever, Samsung, Pernod Ricard, and Mozilla Firefox into a platform for building RUX-owned projects exclusively—Stickbulb being the first. This is the start of a new creative chapter for me that is focused on making responsible products, telling meaningful stories, and building ethical brands.

The most important thing you’ve designed to date: A killer team. It is the foundation that supports everything. Without it, you build on quicksand. I’ve been collaborating with RUX’s managing partner Christopher Beardsley, who is also Stickbulb’s cofounder, since our undergraduate architecture studio days.

The problem your work solves: It enables me to live in the moment.

The project you are working on now: Renovating a 10,000-square-foot office/shop/showroom in Long Island City that will be the new headquarters for RUX, Stickbulb, and whatever is next.

A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I’m working on two new brands. One is a jewelry company built around a wedding band I made for my wife and myself in 2008. The second explores new perspectives on time.

What you absolutely have to have in your studio: Good company.

What you do when you’re not working: Look for bugs in Central Park with my wife and two boys.

Sources of creative envy: Paul Hindemith, Louis Kahn, Willy Wonka, and most of all, kids.

The distraction you want to eliminate: Ego.

Concrete or marble? Concrete.

High-rise or townhouse? High-rise.

Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.

Remember or forget? Forget.

Dark or light? Dark.

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