Like Knows Like

As mentioned previously in this post, I love to watch documentaries and inspirational videos when working. Whilst watching Ted Talks on Netflix has becoming a daily ritual, I recently came across Like Knows Like. Described as an independent side project, Like Knows Like makes short documentary films about inspiring creatives: photographers, illustrators, designers, entrepreneurs and bloggers all over the world. Though famous for their work, Like Knows Like goes beyond this to share personal stories that otherwise remain untold from these creatives. It delves into their inspirations and personalities, exploring their flaws and who they really are as people. "With these films, we tempt to make your social media experience more meaningful."

Geffen Refaeli


Geffen Refaeli is a freelance illustrator from Israel. Uploading her first "Daily Doodle Gram" on Instagram in May 2012, Refaeli selects elements from different images appearing on her photo stream and combines them into a doodle. This idea of creating something new each day and posting it on social media is something I have been wanting to do as a challenge.

What I found really meaningful about this mini documentary is the way Refaeli speaks about her path. "Given the chance to go back, I think I would become a veterinarian." Freelance design is a lonely business and Refaeli touches upon this, explaining that she would love to be an illustrator part time, and have a career alongside, which allows her to be more sociable and work amongst others.

Jessica Walsh


Jessica Walsh is a well known name within the design community. A designer, art director and illustrator in New York, Walsh is a partner of design studio Sagmeister and Walsh, and teaches at the School of Visual Arts. Most recently, Warner Bros. has acquired the film rights of her side project "40 Days of Dating." This project was a relationship experiment between Walsh and her good friend Tim Goodman, within which the two, dissatisfied with their dating habits and the prospect of being single, dated each other and documented it. With rules of seeing each other every day, going to couples therapy once a week, taking one weekend trip together and not dating others, the project was documented through videos, questionnaires, photographs and typography. Walsh speaks openly about the project within this documentary, explaining how in many ways her art actually saved her, and the aftermath of the project, moving on.

James Victore

James Victore is a designer specialising in poster design. Based in Brooklyn, New York, by the time he was 30 years old his work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. He has continued to expand his work and now has permanent collections in museums in Paris, Washington DC, Zurich and Amsterdam, and has also produced for the New York Times, Time Magazine and Esquire. Victore talks of his childhood and creative influences, and describes how many told him not to pursue a career in this field. Following his success he became a commercial designer and disliked how he wasn't doing the kind of work he enjoyed, no longer designing something that "stirred people's souls." Commercial business is compromise and it was here he realised that he was a better teacher than a designer. Now speaking regularly around the world, Victore is a professor at the School of Visual Arts, lecturing at RISD and teaching through his own events such as "The Dinner Series" and "Take this Job & Love It." I found his talk inspiring, as he raises many points about how design is such a broad subject and though one area may be right for you, others may not: that doesn't make you a bad designer. That makes you human.

I find it difficult to work in absolute silence. It's necessary for my concentration and my motivation to have background noise: I often find that I get distracted by music, so having something inspirational and influencing in the background is a better alternative. It's also important to look past a designers work and understand who they are as a person, and what made them create in such a way: hence why Like Knows Like is a valuable documentation.