I know Justen from back in the day when he was a vis comm graduate student at OU and I was a sophomore. During critiques, I think we all trusted his advice more than our regular professors because of his keen eye for design as well as his awesome Brooklyn accent. We were all blown away and inspired whenever he showed us any of his work. What a class act.

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in New York City (mainly Queens) and came to
Oklahoma for college.

What do you do?
I teach graphic design at Oklahoma State University where I’ve
developed a program focusing on motion and interactive design. My
design work encompasses motion graphics (video, typographic animation,
etc.), printed work (including posters, logos, custom typography,
etc.), interactive work and illustration. I have also enjoyed making
sample based music for many years.

Who or what do you use for inspiration?
My son, Hudson and wife, Holly. My grandparents, Anna and Arrigo
Ghedini (both artists) were huge inspirations for me. A laundry list
of assorted inspirations would include; Hipgnosis, R. Crumb, Ralph
Bakshi, Jack Kirby, Ghost, Saul Bass, Tehching Hsieh, Ivan Chermayeff,
Herb Lubalin, Weegee, Futura, Francis Bacon and old lady Pray. In
general, I am motivated by a sense of life being very short.

What artists do you respect right now?
I respect all the artists and designers I know. I’ve actually found
myself having a deep respect for scientists like Vilayanur S.
Ramachandran. Maybe it’s interesting because it’s outside art theory.

What are you sick of?
Joylessness disguised as professionalism.

What music are you listening to recently?
Bodega System, J Dilla, Thelonious Monk and the Odd Couple theme song.

What is your first creative memory?
I remember inventing the Star of David being a huge breakthrough for
me (I was playing around with triangles and thought I had invented a
new star).

What is your favorite food/drank spot in Norman?
The shag carpet room at Opie’s.

Anything else?
Shout out to the Renyer, Ghedini and Dirickson families. Thanks for
checking out my work.
http://www.behance.net/JustenRenyer

Preliminary type design and character study for upcoming motion design inspired by Justen’s home borough of Queens (NYC).

CD cover concept. Image and layout created in 2004, type designed in 2009.

Self-initiated project. Lunar phases. Birds.

Promotional video for Oklahomans For Reproductive Justice.

by Asia Scudder

On January 21 the City of Norman hosted the second in a series of water related forums. Kyle Arthur of the Oklahoma Water Resource Board spoke about how Oklahoma has gone through “boom and bust” periods of water availability since the mid-1800′s…

Greetings to our Founders and Supporters! Many exciting things have happened and are being planned. Contents: (1) FCC Ruling; (2) Founders Party; (3) Web Magazine; (3) Grants; (4) Program Proposals; (5) Mission Statement; (5) Founders List…

by Gene Perry

Tate James found inspiration for the Norman bike co-op from near and far. He’d seen the bike library and community garage at the OKC Infoshop in downtown Oklahoma City, a similar program in Atlanta where his cousin worked, and, on a recent trip to Israel, a communal bike shop at a Kibbutz…

by Nina Flannery

In a recent conversation with my old friend Tod Langford, I learned that the Cleveland County Teachers Association the Daughters of the American Revolution had erected a monument in 1932 commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Washington Irving’s trip through Little Axe. The famous author of “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” passed through the spot on October 31, 1832, during his tour of the prairies…

The Apache House is our latest addition to the Voices of Oklahoma Blogs. Tate James has been running the site at his own place since April, in collaboration with Seth Clark and Jared Flaming. As Tate describes it: The Apache House was born out of the wonderful Oklahoma creative community, and that community continues to be our focus…