Meet Our Team: James Brundage, Creative Director

You might have received Public Goods products in a black box, but we don’t want you to feel like our company is one.

Our members and potential customers have a right to know more about our team, the people who are behind the vision and operation of Public Goods.

We realized that some faces and names on our Kickstarter page wasn’t enough information. To help you really get acquainted with our team, we decided to launch a series of employee Q&As.

This time we shined the spotlight on James Brundage, our Creative Director. If you like anything about our aesthetic — especially the website and emails — you can thank James.

Public Goods: Tell us a bit about your background. What led you to Public Goods?

James Brundage: I’ve sort of been a graphic designer all my life. My mom has really beautiful handwriting, and it instilled a belief that letters should be beautiful, even before I could read.

When I was a little kid, I liked to tape songs off the radio and then make mixtapes with special artwork. I tried to make all the writing really neat and interesting. In high school, I was really into punk, and I would make fliers and posters for shows and started teaching myself Photoshop in the computer lab at my school.

I moved to NYC for college and got my first paying work as a designer at a record label where I got to make album covers, t-shirts, press releases and other promotional materials. I moved to L.A. ten years ago and have been really lucky and honored to have worked on projects for many of my favorite brands.

I started consulting for Public Goods before they launched two years ago, and it was naturally a really good fit. As we grew it naturally progressed to a full-time job.

PG: What made you want to work at Public Goods?

JB: I get to be myself as a creative here. The entire team shares my values, from design sensibility to our stance on environmentalism and climate change.

My favorite quote about design is from Dieter Rams: “Less but better.” That’s really at the core of our ethos at Public Goods. Both the design and copy are meant to be straightforward, helpful and simple, qualities I strive for in both my work and personal life. I love our small team of fellow geeks who are obsessive about details, design and sustainability.

PG: What does sustainability mean to you?

JB: Doing your best but accepting imperfection. Climate change is a dire situation and also so difficult and complex. In many ways we’re at the mercy of poorly designed systems; from energy, to waste management, to commerce — there are so many pitfalls.

As a society, we need to be innovative and act with urgency. As individuals, we can start with small, easy things and build upon them. Just getting in the habit of being mindful of the connection between your everyday habits and the health of the planet is a great place to start.

On the bright side, sustainability can be really fun: a neighborhood stroll instead of a Lyft, cooking a meal instead of getting takeout in plastic containers, making your own compost… whatever. Have fun and be creative!

PG: What’s your desk like?

JB: Not as minimal as the Public Goods brand, haha! Lots of markers, pens, notepads, post-its. I keep a large design library and there are always a few books pulled out. I keep a few good luck charms and artwork from my friends around, too.