The Marma Spot:
Introduce your flavor in a couple of words, as far as your vision for your design, and what you stand for.

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Clean, smart, clear and fun.

Justin Kay: 60’s Swiss modernism meets NYC in the early 70’s meets
Upnorth Wisconsin. TYPOGRAPHY ABOVE ALL ELSE.

The Marma Spot:
That said, what are some affiliations you’re supporting right now in your personal work, as far as possible collaborations and the like?

Upnorth:
Justin Kay: As always Steve. But also all my other buddies: Black Marma
of course, Kimou/Grotesk, Pete/pkmlta, Dan Funderburgh, Matt Morgan, Mike/12carpileup, Greg/Werkburo/Xrtions… basically anyone that’s not an asshole and takes the time to craft their shit I’m down to support.

The Marma Spot:
Justin, what about your professional ties right now? Tell me a little about Complex Magazine, as well as your goals and tasks around that office.

Upnorth:
Justin Kay: Really I just want to produce a magazine that doesn’t suck.
My focus is obviously type. I try to do new things and push shit. I like to blur the lines between designer/editor/art director/etc… I think that it works best when the team just works together and doesn’t subdivide themselves into specific categories of what their title is supposed to entail. It’s What keeps
me motivated.

The Marma Spot:
Steve, what about your professional ties right now? I know you use to work
at Ecko and Triple 5 Soul but more recently just scored a nice new job at Akademiks. What do you hope this new venture has in store for you?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: I hope to work with and be inspired/motivated and pushed to do good work by those around me, so far the team here is really amazing something Triple 5 Soul is highly incapable of.

The Marma Spot:
Where is all of this style coming from? Where did you go to school and what was that education like?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Style? Thanks! I don’t know – didn’t come from college I’ll tell you that. I went to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & design, where I basically taught myself, since the instructors were incapable of being teachers.
There were 2 or 3 that new their shit, but overall, skateboard graphics and magazines did more for me than their teachings…I learned about computers, which was nice haha.

Justin Kay: I agree with Steve. School provided me with the means to teach myself. I had 4 teachers out of 6 years that taught me something. But I was focused. I knew what I wanted out of school and used it to further my own personal growth. That doesn’t mean the 400-dollar a month payments were worth it though.

The Marma Spot:
Who are some people that you look to often for inspiration?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Pete and Kimou a.k.a. Truce Design. Justin pushes me.
My friends  - Thursday nights at the Hat and the Fish can’t be beat – all that energy and good vibes is what inspires me. People watching at union square
or riding my bike around the lower east side of NY. More abstract things in daily life than specific people I guess.

Justin Kay: NYC has changed everything about the way I work. You can’t describe it. It’s just a team vibe we have out here. All of my friends are amazing people and some are designers. Being friends first helped me realize that first and foremost that is the most important thing. They inspire me.
This city inspires me. Current and the history of this place. You can’t
describe it.

The Marma Spot:
Drop some knowledge on ONEONENINE and what the intentions are for that project and any other projects you are working on personally right now.
Oh, and I’d like to “discover-Upnorth” but it’s been under close guard,
would you care to shed any light on what this is?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Oneonenine is a zine we put out to have some fun and put our friends and others in an affordable interesting forum. Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream! – As for Upnorth – well that’s many years of Justin and I planning on launching a studio, which has finally come together. We have some great projects in the works, but one of our main clients who have been great to work with is Counterflow Records and Blood is the New Black clothing.

Justin Kay: Oneonenine is a community thing. Basically the graphic design equivalent of a DIY punk zine. Upnorth is my blood, sweat and tears. Literally. Its hard coming home to work after working all day, but I have been amazed by what happens when Steve and I collab. It’s more rewarding than anything else I have ever done from a design standpoint.

The Marma Spot:
Steve, what shows or publications do you have either under your belt,
or coming up in the future?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Nothing planned – I had some of my vandalism shown in a book and some art shows – but that’s another story. I’m not real into putting that stuff in a different context outside the original intention. Maybe Upnorth will appear in a book… coming out soon?????

The Marma Spot:
What CD’s are you listening to at the moment, what CD’s are you looking forward to in the last five months of this year, and what one movie of two-thousand and five inspired you the most.

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Music right now is kinda boring so I’m not real syked on anything to come out - this band Wolf Mother is kinda dope, Doomriders released their record which rules, and I’m waiting to pick up Curumin
this Brazilian samba funk group - best movie so far??? Hmmm Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was real dope – so was Corpse Bride – I’m looking forward to seeing Mike Mills’ Thumbsucker.

Justin Kay: Black Sabbath, Motorhead and anything Justin Broadrock.
That’s all I care about right now, music-wise. And Tommy Gurrero live. Movies? Shit, I never keep up with that stuff. I have really bad taste in film.

The Marma Spot:
There are mad haters, biters, and riders. What do you think of these people and what if any words do you have for them?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Cheer up!

Justin Kay: I don’t care at all about any of that stuff. I don’t do what I do to impress anyone. I design to solve problems and also for personal fulfillment. Equal parts of both. “Haters’ and “biters” don’t even factor into the equation
at any point.

The Marma Spot:
Bananas or apples, iPod or iriver, Cheerios or Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, Packers or Giants, Brewers or Yankees, Nike or Adidas, Knuck or Buck, Iced out grill or Ice in your cup, Flashy or Chill, Hip-Hop or rock, New York
or Milwaukee?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Apples, iPod, Cheerios, Packers, 1982 Brewers, Nike, Buck,
Iced cup, Chill, Soul, New Waukee.

Justin Kay: Bananas, Cassestem Walkman, Golden Grahams, GREEN FUCKING BAY, 82’ Brewers, Buck, Ice cold Diet Coke, Chill, 60’s Chicago soul, NYC. I’m never moving back to Milwaukee. If I moved back, I’d move to Superior.

The Marma Spot:
Lastly is there anyone you want to big up?

Upnorth:
Steve Green: Libations crew, Truce, Akanyc, frank in SF, Momar, Ian Brown, Mr Marma, Mom and Dad, Kate and Damian, Mike and Julien, the Turf (rip), uncle Kevin and Dave for the inspiration, Motorhead, West Allis, Nyc.

Justin Kay: Karli, Mom, Thomas Edward Kay, Gorman Thomas, Justin Broadrick, Truce, Move, Raza Uno, NYC.