Tazzu Blog

There is a saying that goes like this… “what you see is what you get”.

This is true if you don’t take the time to look closer at what you see. Today, as I begin taking a closer look at our next Tazzu spotlight member: fractal - I realize there is much more to him than meets the eye.

I was curious to see just when exactly fractal had joined Tazzu, so before writing this article I clicked on Tazzu’s membership list link. Did you know that fractal is officially Tazzu’s very first Charter Member? I admit I’m embarrassed because I didn’t really notice this before, I’m also greatly honored. It is with much pleasure that I introduce to you Paul Dwyer - aka fractal.

I would describe Dwyer as a mild mannered, intelligent, kind, unassuming guy, who (in the Tazzu forum) comes and goes like the wind, and who seemingly conforms to no-one, save the artistic patterns of his own life. I see this very clearly now by observing the subtleties and listening to his story.

As a Tazzu member, I’ve always been curious about Paul’s nickname and avatar and today finally did something about it. After a bit of research on Fractals I came across this: a Mandelbrot set. (If you want to be amazed, scroll down to the zoom sequence, its truly fascinating.)

The Mandelbrot set is not only Paul’s avatar in the forums, but also the logo of his web, print and identity design company, aptly named fractal design inc. fractal design inc by the way has no upper caps, and no “dot” after inc - purely intentional, but easy to miss if you don’t take the time to look at what you see. Paul explains “there really is no reason to not have a “.” after inc other than it looks better without it”. So goes the artistic nature of a fractal!

On to the interview…

Paul Dwyer 42 years old, is married 17 years (very cool) has 2 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 cat - now that sounds like fun!! He loves music, family and friends “preferably all 3 concurrently” and describes himself as “a drummer, a dreamer, a soccer coach and a Philomath.” Yeah, I had to look it up.

Among his many achievements (you may read about some of them below), others that continue to bring him great satisfaction are “being a good father, husband, and friend”.

I asked Paul about the name of his company fractal design inc. He explained “The idea for the name fractal design came from my Architectural prof who was enthralled with self-organizing, vernacular villages where people had to build to the challenging constraints of their site (among other factors). He showed how that approach is reflected everywhere in nature and then he broke down the math of self-organizing behavior and non-linear equations.” His prof then showed the images a computer could generate based on that math. Dwyer was dumbfounded by the beauty of it.

As to how architectural studies led to graphic and website design, Paul explains “I was studying Architectural Design in 1990 after being an almost-successful drummer in an almost-successful band through the 80’s.” - !! STOP the horses !! - I must interrupt here for a moment… yes, that was all he said about this topic - modest fella! If you want to know which 80’s band Dwyer is eluding to, you may have to PM him to find out. Also, I know he won’t blow his own horn, but rumor has it he may be booking a Spring ‘08 gig at the Railway Club. Uh huh!

Let’s continue…

Paul goes on “There was no drafting/design work in the early 90’s in Vancouver due to the recession so we moved up north where we could afford to live. I got a contract drafting forestry maps by hand and later convinced the mill to computerize the process. Once I saw what a computer was capable of - or rather, that I could consolidate so many of my interests and passions into one little box (and this was Windows 3.0) - I knew I wanted to use it in a creative way.”

That was it. The computer had cast its spell on Paul. “I taught myself DOS and Windows and then MicroStation. I also had to learn to troubleshoot hardware and software as the nearest service call was 500km away. Over the years I built the mapping business up and converted two of BC’s largest Timber Supply Areas from manual drafting to CAD. I integrated the Sawmills’ Planning, Harvest and Silviculture with the Ministry of Forests’ own mapping data and was just about to invest in a full-blown GIS system when the mill went suddenly bankrupt. My meal ticket gone, I had to decide whether to try and pick up other forestry contracts, or just move on.” Incidentally, it was during this time that Dwyer had been teaching himself PhotoShop and Illustrator for fun. Not surprisingly, he chose to move on and admits “my heart wasn’t really into the whole mapping thing. I naively decided to become a Graphic Designer!”

The journey…

Paul describes the first couple years of that new journey as really tough. “We were isolated and there was not much work to speak of”. Paul and his family then moved back down south in 2000 to try and make a go of it, basically starting over again but closer to a larger center. “We couldn’t bring ourselves to move right into Vancouver, so we settled on the Sunshine Coast.” It was another tough first couple years for the Dwyer family. Paul adds “its amazing my wife has stayed with me”. Kudos to Mrs. Fractal for hanging in there! Fortunately, Paul managed to get enough good contract work to pull them out. “Things are rocking along now. I’m so busy I haven’t made the effort to update my own site (fractal.ca) for over 2 years!” Dwyer adds “I have been doing a lot of identity and branding work that will be up on my soon-to-be revised website”.

Sweet! I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy happy endings.

In conclusion , I was curious about how Paul overcame the obvious obstacles in his life. He shares “perseverance (some would call it bull-headed stubbornness), playing music and playing with my kids is what got me through”.

Paul comments on life further… “I think it’s important to try and be creative in everything we do. I’ve written a bunch of HTML and CSS “poetry” trying to bridge my inner geek to the real world.” Paul calls them “Hackoos” and depending on the tag names chosen, he believes they can trump Haikus as the shortest literary form… this is his favourite:

Paul’s dreams for retirement reflect his ‘make-life-count’ attitude. He sees himself hopping back and forth from Smithers to the Coast depending on the season. “I’d love to do more fishing, writing, recording, snowboarding, and music with my family and friends.”

Such is the artistic pattern of a fractal. At first, glance, a unique and interesting shape. Upon closer examination… complex artistic patterns of life circling and swirling infinitely by its own simple design.

Congratulations Paul on the success of fractal design inc! All the best in 2008 to you and your family, and with your home’s new studio and suite!

Thank you for sharing the best of times and the worst of times. It is an honor to have you with us at Tazzu.

Technorati Tags: fractal design inc, paul dwyer, fractal, mandelbrot set, architecture, haikus, hackoos, poetry, tazzu, networking forum