The first time Joel’s art teacher asked him to paint a still-life, it was…an old saddle, a work boot, some fruit, and a lamp. He describes this as the exact moment he decided to be a Graphic Designer. “I have always had a fancy for the depthless instant fruition design problems pose,” says Joel. “Indubitably there’s more to the answer than a witty retort, or a heedless color solution. But if you’re short on time and clever, you can always fake it. And I don’t mean calling a toilet in the middle of a gallery ‘Art.’” As if Joel’s six years of pursuing a degree in design weren’t enough, he also pulls creative ideas from his experience in scaling mountains to fight forest fires, making snow, and jumping out of planes. (Staring your mortality down at 1,500 feet doesn’t make designing good Wall Art any easier, but it’s far less dangerous.) Joel considers a healthy mix of the thoughtful, clever and funny to be the most important elements in a design. He also enjoys graffiti, wall shaking dance music, the Hammond organ, any jazz instrumental done by the Beastie Boys, Spanish art and snowboarding, all of which influence his edgy and eclectic designs. Rather than boring Joel with the usual "ten questions" interrogation, we decided to challenge him with a backwards interview. Here are Joel's questions to the 10 answers we provided him. Like Joel’s designs, some of it makes sense, most of it will just make you giggle.

1. A: My favorite topic of intellectual conversation at the dinner table.
   Q: What did you do today? (Asked to my 3 year old son Detroyt)

2. A: For my designs, this is the greatest source of inspiration.
   Q: What is street art? What is motorcycle, hot-rod culture? Who is Curtis Mayfield? Who are the Chemical Brothers? What is disco house? What is mowing the grass? What is old album cover art? What are vinyl records? What is graphic design before the Mac? What are things that make people say "cool.” ? Who has two thumbs and likes bacon cheeseburgers (this guy)?

3. A: What I see myself doing in 20 years.
   Q: "Welcome to the Art Department here at the University of __________". "We've all read your flipbook... fascinating stuff".

4. A: Design Ideas products that most reflect my artistic style.
   Q: What spans the vast spectrum of design from "meat magnets" to shopping bags?

5. A: This Design Ideas product was the most challenging to create.
   Q: How many completely different labels with witty one-liners are in the ShelfLife series?!

6. A: The most valuable piece of advice I ever received.
   Q: What is Rule #1 in the Army's grenade training handbook which states: "If you drop the pin, throw the grenade.”? (Bonus Q: If you’re not yourself, then who are you?)

7. A: Items that would never be found in my refrigerator.
   Q: What are beers that cost more than $7.00 per six pack or don't incorporate some type of hunting pattern on their cans once a year?

8. A: My favorite decor item(s) in my house.
   Q: What are my late grandmother's 50's era red velour lounge chairs?

9. A: According to my wife, this is my worst habit.
   Q: At the risk of embarrassing my wife, I will pass on this one.

10. A: This Missouri born author once said that cauliflower is nothing but cabbage "with a college education." *
    Q: Who is Mark Twain (who I believe also came out of the womb with a thick mustache)?

    *This question taken from Jeopardy show 4565 aired Friday, June 11, 2004.

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