At work with: Alex Breuer, The Guardian
In the first of a new series of Monday morning interviews, recently appointed Guardian creative director Alex Breuer looks at his week ahead.
Where are you today?
Sat in my office at The Guardian, Kings Place. Which is slowly being turned into a project/war room for a of key new project. So the walls are covered with elegant type and grid explorations... and a whiteboard full of mathematical calculations. Do you know what its is yet?
What can you see from the window?
I look out over the ever-changing landscape surrounding Kings Cross. The perpetual chaos of ongoing construction work in among the constant flow of people and public transport.
How many emails are waiting in your inbox?
I have about 15 mails and about 200 unread. Invites to meetings, and missives covering everything from eager enquiries for employment, bulletins, and countless links I have shared with myself waiting to explored. That will never be explored probably.
What's your favourite magazine/newspaper this morning?
The Manual. The beautifully designed, illustrated and produced hardbound book-form magazine published by Andy McMillan. Intelligent & critical thinking on digital design. Somehow more tangible because of its analog form than Mashable, Fastcode and numerous other sites and blogs.
What are you most excited by about the day's issue of The Guardian?
I am still relatively new to my role as Creative Director at The Guardian, so every day's issue is still very much about looking for opportunities for refinement and development of the print form. My Guardian day usually starts with the iPad to at home for top stories then to iPhone on the tube for morning updates, OpEd in print at my desk first thing. In print these pages are much more elegant and imperative than digital. Evening is for features and culture.
What was the last thing your editor said to you?
‘This is a very exciting new way to discover The Guardian…’ (watch this space).
What are you looking forward to this week?
I will be heading out to Austin on Friday for SXSW. Am hosting a panel on Responsive web design with Dan Gardner form Code and Theory and Dave Rupert from Paravel. The goal, to explore solutions for design systems that go beyond bendy and begin to evolve into scalable and enhanced narratives across platforms. Hopefully enjoying 2-3 days among inspiring people and ideas, and maybe eating a lot of barbecue.
What will you be doing after this chat?
Heading off to a brainstorm for an exciting new interactive storytelling/data visualisation project. Two hours of whiteboard scribbling and interaction paradigms. Me an editor and a designer/animator. But first an espresso boost.