Arts & Communications: Graphic Designer
Arts & Communications
Graphic Designer:
Brian John Sabate
by Mike Yoshiura
"If I weren't running Bütigroove I'd probably be starting something else," says Brian John "B.J." Sabate, who's using music as a form of inspiration for his clothing line, targeted to men, women, and children between the ages of 13 and 30.
B.J., 30, earned a degree in graphic design from the University of Washington, and returned to Hawaii in 1999. "When I returned home all my friends were playing music. Guys like Ho'onu'a and Three Plus were my age, and everyone was away at college, homesick, and writing music. I decided to start a clothing line, and I gave it to all the band members to wear. They wore it to all their concerts, and the whole concept took off from there."
A "BüTIFUL" IDEA
The concept of Bütigroove stemmed from attending art school with students from Japan. "This guy would tell me…Hawaii is sooo 'butiful', and I took it and elaborated on it. The two red dots on the logo stand for the two chambers of the heart, everyone has them, and it's a universal thing to us."
How B.J. Got His Groove
Playing music helped B.J. get through the rainy days in Seattle, Washington. Over the Christmas vacation his freshman year, Sabate flew home to visit his family, and returned to Seattle with a remedy for warding off his homesickness. "I took my dad's ukulele up there after I returned home for Christmas. I really wanted one because everyone had instruments. I learned everything by ear, and Willie K. really inspired me because he learned the same way," he says, "We actually started playing music in the washrooms. That was fun because all the Hawaii guys would go wash clothes together. When you're learning how to play (music), it sounds better in the washroom."
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY
"The hardest part about getting adjusted to Seattle is coming to grasp that much of your time there is spent indoors. It's a night and day difference coming from Hawaii. One year we had 90 days of straight rain, and playing music with friends really helped me get through it. When it rains everyone's all depressed, but when it stops, you're a completely different person."
A New Era Of Design
According to Sabate, computer technology changed the face of graphic design over the last 10 years. "When I went to the University of Washington the Internet just started, which was kind of cool, but there were two computers shared between 20 kids. The same year I left, Bill Gates donated about 30 million in computers so everyone had a computer. I went back two years ago and now everything's digital. If you are looking into a career in graphic design computer literacy is a skill you must have. You'll never make it without it."
It's Just Like Music
"I get most of my inspiration from music, and by all the redundancy from the other stuff out there. If everyone liked my clothes I probably wouldn't be happy. Sometimes I print stuff that I know I wouldn't wear. I was never a fashion person, which is actually pretty funny," says B.J., as he cracks a smile, casually dressed in a tank top and short pants. "As long as they (customers) like it that's all that matters."
Welcome To The Jungle
"My advice to any teen is to go away to college! It's like releasing an animal that has been in captivity back into the jungle. Hawaii being so small and secluded we don't see much of the world. If you throw a monkey (from captivity) back into the jungle, it will mingle with the other animals, but find security with the other monkeys. I chose to mingle with the mainland folks, but the Hawaiians (Hawaii crowd) always kept me grounded. My advice would be to venture into the jungle, and don't be afraid to hang out with the mainland folk or the Hawaiians."
The Little Things…
"What I missed the most in Seattle was the birds chirping in the morning. Music is so natural and pure, it's a universal language, and for some reason birds don't chirp in the rain, only in the sunrise. Why? I don't know, but that's definitely something we take for granted."