If you don’t know or haven’t been there lately, Philly’s community center has come a long way since its humble beginnings as the Penguin Place. On any given night at the William Way LGBT Community Center, you can watch a film or a play, hear a concert or attend a lecture. There are weekly programs for queer Christian youth and for LGBT seniors. Feeling literal? There is a great lending library, a weekly book club and a queer writers’ collective. There are support and social groups, counseling services and LGBT archives. I don’t have enough room to list all the programs at Way Gay University starting in October but, in past years, they’ve taught everything from homeopathy to homorobics, from Spanish to swing dancing. There’s an art gallery, a cyber center and, thank heavens, a new elevator. The center also has a brand-spanking-new look, thanks to designer Ed Hall, who rebranded the old logo to give WWCC a fresh face and sleeker appearance. PGN spoke to the designer, who has been putting his own brand on Philadelphia companies.
PGN: Tell me a little about yourself. EH: I moved here six years ago from Pittsburgh, but I’m originally from Toledo, Ohio. I went to the International Academy of Design and Technology in Pittsburgh and then moved here for work and have been here ever since.
PGN: Anything I know about Toledo came from Cpl. Klinger on “MASH.” What was life like there? EH: [Laughs.] Well, I left when I was 18, if that gives you any indication! Actually, it’s not bad: It’s a very blue-collar town, kind of like a small town that got big. It was just a little too slow-paced for my taste. It was more designed for people who wanted to slow down and start a family right out of high school.
PGN: What were you like as a kid? EH: Completely different than I am now! I was shy and kept to myself. All I wanted was a pencil and some paper and a quiet place to draw.
PGN: Family? EH: Very small: Both my parents were only children, so it was just my brother and I, no cousins or much extended family.
PGN: Was your brother quiet like you? EH: No, we were complete opposites. There was also just enough age difference not to be really close. Just as I was entering middle school or high school, he was finishing and already had his friends, etc.
PGN: Did you participate in any activities in school? EH: I was mainly involved in the arts but I played tennis for a while and also ran cross-country, until I got bored with that. I was in marching band, concert band, jazz band and orchestra.
PGN: You’re a musical geek! EH: Yeah, I played drums in marching band, alto saxophone in concert and jazz, and in orchestra I played double bass.
PGN: Was there much of a culture shock moving to Pittsburgh or — both being blue collar — was it similar? EH: No, it was very different. Pittsburgh gave me a first glimpse at city living. It was a city in transition from blue collar to white collar so it was perfect for me.
PGN: And what did you study? EH: I have a BFA in graphic design and an AST in visual communications.
PGN: So you were always an artsy kid. What was the silliest project you made for your mother? Papier-mâché ashtray, etc. EH: I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that. [Laughs.] I think I’ve always been a minimalist! I never wanted my excess stuff cluttering her house. I’m still like that.
PGN: When did you come out? EH: Well, I came out twice. Initially when I was about 19 and I got my heart broken, and so I quasi went back into the closet for about five years. After that I came out officially and haven’t looked back.
PGN: So you started out with a revolving door instead of a closet door? EH: True! Heartbreak will do that.
PGN: Well, now you’re healed and involved in all sorts of things in the LGBT community. Tell me about some of them. EH: I work as a freelance designer and a lot of my work is for LGBT organizations. I design for William Way Center and do a lot of their visuals as well as rebranding their look. I also work with Action AIDS and just redesigned the whole Dining Out for Life campaign look, if you happened to see that. I work with Philadelphia Fight designing and rebranding, and I’m about to start working with DVLF and Mazzoni.
PGN: We hear the terms “branding” and “rebranding” a lot — explain. EH: Branding is creating a look and feel for a company or particular product or campaign. Rebranding is if they already had a look but it’s gone out of style and you need to refresh it or come up with something new.
PGN: Ever have a “New Coke” situation, where it just doesn’t go over? EH: I’ve been really lucky that, working in the LGBT community, I’ve had nothing but good experiences. It’s been a dream. Prior to that I worked with a lot of Fortune 500 companies and it happens a lot there. It was frustrating because you’d work many hours on something and really invest in it and it would get approved, approved, approved until it reached the person who should have been the first one to sign off on it, like the president or CEO, and they state that they never wanted a change from the beginning. It’s like, why didn’t you start by asking them about this?
PGN: Do you get emotionally invested in your designs? EH: Yes, as an artist you put so much of yourself into the work. For me, I bring a lot of passion to my work because I would never want to give someone something I didn’t care about. So yes, it was crushing when it got rejected. It wasn’t about the money, it was just sad to see it go to waste because the designs were catered for each company, so it’s not like you could just use it somewhere else.
PGN: What’s gratifying about your work? EH: I just love creating things and I love when someone is happy with the work that I’ve done — when they tell me it’s just what they were looking for. It’s also cool to have your creative talents seen by thousands of people.
PGN: What’s the biggest project you’ve done? EH: I’ve done work for DirectTV and did the CES [Computer Electronics Show] exhibit for them. The CES is a huge electronics show every year in Vegas. People from all over the world fly in to see what’s new in the world of electronics. I did the exhibit for DirectTV and it got a lot of buzz. People were blogging about it. And the Dining Out for Life campaign this year was really nice to do.
PGN: Do you get “creator’s block”? EH: Oh yeah, all the time. You really have to work through it. I’m always looking for inspiration, whether I’m walking around the streets of Philly or cruising the Internet. I’ll snap pictures of things outside or save images online to help me get jump-started.
PGN: And you’re also a member of the Radical Faeries. Tell me about that. EH: Yes, I’ve been a member for about four years now. Chris Bartlett introduced me. I started following him on Twitter and he’d mentioned them a few times. It sounded intriguing so I met with the group and fell in love with the faeries.
PGN: On the website it states in part, “The Radical Faeries are a queer tribal nation sharing affinity in the spiritual underpinnings of non-mainstream sexuality and heart-centered relationships. We welcome all queer spirits, straight, gay, bi, trans, two-spirited or searching. We welcome people from all walks of life who want to share and nurture their essential fabulosity. We’re decentralized, and no one person is ‘in charge.’ Our shared values include feminism, respect for the Earth and individual responsibility rather than hierarchy.” What spoke to you? EH: Definitely the individual responsibility and the heart-centered relationships. And of course respect of the earth. I’m also a bit of a feminist.
PGN: What was a favorite moment as a Radical Faerie? EH: Going to Short Mountain for the first time for the Spring Gathering. It’s a Faerie sanctuary in Tennessee and was an eye-opening experience. It was fun meeting so many people from different backgrounds, different trains of thought, mixing, loving each other and having a good time — people who may not have necessarily come together in the real world.
PGN: Are people surprised to find out that you’re a Faerie? EH: Probably. I think sometimes there’s a misconception of what the Faeries are. I don’t necessarily fit what those conceptions are, so when they find out that I am one, it piques their curiosity to find out what we’re about.
PGN: Are you a single Faerie or partnered? EH: [Laughs.] I’m single.
PGN: What do you look for in a partner? EH: Anyone who can deal with me. My work schedule is very hectic, plus they’d have to deal with my Faerie life. I also have kidney failure, so I have a lot of health issues that keep me occupied. It’s a lot for me to deal with, mood swings and all, and to bring somebody into that would be unfair. It would have to be somebody who wouldn’t get angry or try to change things. PGN: Anything else going on with you? EH: Well, I just got recognized as one of Philly’s Best Dressed.
PGN: So you’re a fashionista. EH: I do like to dress up a bit.
PGN: What’s a favorite piece of clothing? EH: I like anything asymmetrical or unbalanced — like zippers or buttons that go across diagonally. Or if an outfit has décor on one side but not the other, I really love it.
PGN: What’s the oldest piece of clothing that you still wear? EH: I have a sweater vest that was my grandfather’s that I still like to wear. It’s older than me!
PGN: Random questions. If you were a traffic sign, what would you be? EH: Warning: Bump ahead.
PGN: Would you want free skydiving lessons? EH: Oh yes, definitely. I’m all about embracing the moment and living life to the fullest. I think it would be really exciting to jump out of a plane. PGN: Have you gone back to Toledo and how has it changed? EH: [Laughs.] It hasn’t! Last time I was back there was for my 10-year high-school reunion. I was home for two days and I was like, OK, I’m done. I remembered why I left.
PGN: Were people surprised at how much you’d changed? EH: Actually, I think they were surprised at how much I hadn’t changed. Everybody else was overweight and had really let themselves go and I was still … well …
PGN: Fabulous? EH: [Laughs.] Pretty much!
PGN: My first music player was a …. and I listened to … on it. EH: A Sony Walkman cassette player and I listened to mix tapes, of course. It’s what we did back then!
PGN: Looking back, which of your parents’ rules do you appreciate the most? EH: Neither. I was too rebellious and free-spirited to adhere to any of them, having to be back home at certain times, etc. I’m not one to agree with a lot of rules. PGN: Last item you bought online? EH: Mustache wax.
PGN: Since you brand things, what would your name be if you were a pro wrestler? EH: Hmm. Shenanigans.
PGN: Anything you collect? EH: A friend of mine and I drove across the country and stopped in a good number of the states, and I started getting a postcard at each stop. Now I collect them from every time I travel.
PGN: People would be surprised at … EH: The range of artistic work I do. I paint, I do illustration, I do computer graphics, photography — all things visual. And a lot of people don’t know that I act and sing and dance as well as doing fine art. I’ve designed a line of art prints that are available on my website, www.eddidit.com. You can get the prints on hoodies, iPhone covers, stretched canvas, T-shirts and cards. I don’t always share these things. I guess I am now!
To suggest a community member for “Professional Portrait,” write to [email protected].