Glenn “Buzz” Parsons

pragmatic

Buzz is a California-based graphic designer and illustrator. He loves collecting vinyl records of movie soundtracks.

Question:Hi Glenn! How did you hear about Mozilla and its call for General QA Participation Badge Design submissions?
Buzz: I follow Mozilla’s Creative Team on Twitter and one of the tweets mentioned it.

Question: Have you contributed to any other Mozilla projects in any other way?
Buzz: I have not but being a long time user of the software, I felt it was time to contribute.

Question: What was your thought process behind the designs you created?
[Design submission from Flickr user bot_mechanic]
Buzz: Mostly I was thinking in terms of something simple, that would read at a small size, and still be bold and have impact. Also designs that suggested examination and oversight. The blue color seemed to suggest a winning ribbon or show prize, to symbolize the hard work that all the volunteers put into their work for Mozilla. The QA folks deserve a first-place ribbon.

Question: How did you get involved in this kind of work? What’s your background?
Buzz: I have been a designer for over twenty years, with logos and lettering as a side specialty. My beginnings were around the music industry, that lead to many other parts of the design and advertising business.

Question: what is your favorite type of design to work on?
Buzz: Lettering design and logos for different businesses and clients is my favorite mostly because it’s a confined component piece that fits into a larger puzzle or concept. I get to focus on my small area that can have a large impact. When you’re overseeing a general design, like a brochure or book cover, there are many elements to organize visually. Logos are just very focused and distilled; it makes them special to work on.

Question: What serves as your design inspiration?
Buzz: Everything and nothing.

Question: What do you consider your proudest design moment?
Buzz: The next job.

Question: What advice would you give to someone who is new and interested in visual design?
Buzz: Know your design history and the people who made it, like Eero Saarinen who designed the TWA Terminal at JFK. It’s important to look around all the time.