Emigre: I should say, honestly, that you have moved into an area that goes way beyond my expertise. I was surprised and impressed to read your resume and see how much you have moved into the multimedia area.

Gromala: Multimedia is such an ugly word, isn’t it? It’s come to refer to pretty simplistic point-and-click projects. Let’s call it cyberspace—more inclusive. Yeah, I guess it makes me difficult to define.

Emigre: For yourself too?

Gromala: Yes, but that doesn’t bother me so much—it’s just an external definition. People are so ready to put one into convenient boxes. I’m not really sure what to call myself. I’m a designer, I’m a computer artist, I’m a writer, a researcher—there’s no one term that encompasses all of that.

Emigre: You are not what one would call a multimedia artist then?

Gromala: That’s close, but writing and research isn’t covered by that.

Emigre: Do you still do any traditional professional graphic design work?

Gromala: Somewhat. I’m beginning to collaborate with Mark C. Taylor, a philosopher, on a book about surfaces and the body. It asks what it means, for example, that so many denizens of subcultures wear black, get tattoos? It’s a philosophical question and it’s a visual question. But, and I’m not being snide here, I really don’t know what “traditional” graphic design means. Are we talking about Assyrian priests, medieval copyists, the Gutenberg guys, or designers since the 1940’s? The definition has always been a slippery one. Too, I’m really more concerned with what design can be than the status quo. It’s important, though, that before everyone leaps into their trenches, that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think the profession needs to have people practicing design traditionally, but there also needs to be room for other people who do more entrepreneurial work, who push at the fringes to see what’s possible.

Emigre: That’s curious, the word “entrepreneurial” came up in your resume, but for some reason I believe you think of entrepreneurial differently than I do.

Emigre: I should say, honestly, that you have moved into an area that goes way beyond my expertise. I was surprised and impressed to read your resume and see how much you have moved into the multimedia area.

Gromala: Multimedia is such an ugly word, isn’t it? It’s come to refer to pretty simplistic point-and-click projects. Let’s call it cyberspace—more inclusive. Yeah, I guess it makes me difficult to define.

Emigre: For yourself too?

Gromala: Yes, but that doesn’t bother me so much—it’s just an external definition. People are so ready to put one into convenient boxes. I’m not really sure what to call myself. I’m a designer, I’m a computer artist, I’m a writer, a researcher—there’s no one term that encompasses all of that.

Emigre: You are not what one would call a multimedia artist then?

Gromala: That’s close, but writing and research isn’t covered by that.

Emigre: Do you still do any traditional professional graphic design work?

Gromala: Somewhat. I’m beginning to collaborate with Mark C. Taylor, a philosopher, on a book about surfaces and the body. It asks what it means, for example, that so many denizens of subcultures wear black, get tattoos? It’s a philosophical question and it’s a visual question. But, and I’m not being snide here, I really don’t know what “traditional” graphic design means. Are we talking about Assyrian priests, medieval copyists, the Gutenberg guys, or designers since the 1940’s? The definition has always been a slippery one. Too, I’m really more concerned with what design can be than the status quo. It’s important, though, that before everyone leaps into their trenches, that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think the profession needs to have people practicing design traditionally, but there also needs to be room for other people who do more entrepreneurial work, who push at the fringes to see what’s possible.

Emigre: That’s curious, the word “entrepreneurial” came up in your resume, but for some reason I believe you think of entrepreneurial differently than I do.