Meet Kyle Switzer | Motion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kyle Switzer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kyle, how does your business help the community?
Recently the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources contacted me to design an animated piece for their Sea Islands Shorebird festival—a two-day event to educate on the issues surrounding the shorebird population decline.

When you look at the numbers it’s a real monumental tragedy what going on to the US Migratory Bird population. In only 50 years over 2.9 billion breeding adult birds in the US and Canada have perished—equaling a 30% decline in the species. Shorebirds, particularly ones that nest in the Arctic, have experienced a harsher decline due to climate change and human interference. In only 50 years, 70% of all shorebirds across North America have perished.

I was supposed to make a piece on the issue for the Sea Islands Shorebird festival. The problem was I didn’t know much about shorebirds, and I didn’t have a place to create from. As a designer, you’re always trying to find something that will give you something fresh. It’s like that Hemmingway quote “you can never create from the outside in, those stories always have a stench to them.

I used to be a journalist before I moved into motion design, and I’ve always loved the way good journalists like Jacob Lawrence or David Gilkey report with boots on the ground. Especially when you’re working with a misrepresented community, you have to visit them. I think there’s a difference between interest and empathy—you can really create something beautiful if you have empathy.

I talked to Felicia Sanders, an incredible ornithologist out of Mcclellanville South Carolina, I expressed my idea to spend a day with these birds. Surprisingly she was thrilled to invite me out, loved the idea. The next weekend I accompanied her and a group of Georgia Department of Natural Resources ornithologists for a day of fieldwork. I think really anything is possible if you have a genuine interest. The piece turned out great, and everyone was very happy with the outcome, but to be honest, I think a part of me just wanted to get outside and spend the day walking around in the mud.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I always try to create from the streets, or the mud, or the armrest of a bus. I try to get as far away from the laptop as I can before I make the thing. Henry Miller used to say he’d write a whole book in his head while taking the metro. Don’t let your education get in the way of your learning, I always try to live with that in mind. I always try to get to this place of learning hands-on, it’s where I feel most youthful and open. Miles Davis’ brand was built on this persistence of youth, and he’s an idol for me. I would like to have a 40-year career like him. This place, a place of youth and openmindedness to experience is always where I have found success. I had this great drawing teacher, who said you have to draw the eyes, they are the windows into the soul. I’d say that’s a good introduction to my brand.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Between me and you, this is the local tip, there’s this hole-in-the-wall chicken shop called 520 Wings. Best lemon pepper 10-piece combo you will ever try. The lobby ambiance is incredible, rich with savannah culture. Thank me later!

There’s this place 20 minutes south of savannah, close to Tybee, called bubba gumbo’s. They don’t own a freezer, what you eat was caught that morning, and they usually run out at the end of the day. There is a waiter who has a vendetta against the neighboring crab shack, he repeatedly calls attention to their freezers in the back, and even went so far to say their shrimp was imported from china. Very nice Ambiance, close to a beautiful estuary where you can watch the boats come in.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe everything to my brother, he taught me how to survive in the streets.

Website: kyleswitzer.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylesmalls/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-switzer-11411a231