Freshly Laundered 010 / Adé Hogue

Adé Hogue (pronounced ah-dae) is a young Chicago based graphic designer. While his time in the design world has been short, he’s had no problem coming up with ideas for how to get his creative ideas out into the world. Click through to learn more about this up-and-coming designer.



CB: How did you get on the path to graphic design? Your personal site lists a background in engineering & drafting; did you originally go to school to be an architect?

AH: I originally went to school to become a civil engineer. Growing up, my dad was a computer/electrical engineer, so it felt natural to go in that direction. After studying engineering for two years I realized I wasn’t ever going to be happy doing it (and the fact that I failed Physics), so I decided to change majors. I’d never even taken an art class in high school before, but for some reason, I felt like it was the right direction. I ended up becoming a pre-Art major, and eventually landed my way into the BFA program at UNC Charlotte!

CB: Wait, what?! You’d never taken a formal art class until you were halfway through college? That’s amazing to decide to just leap in a totally different direction. Were you nervous?

AH: Well, I took one in elementary school, does that count? Haha. It was pretty nerve-wrecking to make that transition. When I told my advisor, she looked at me like I was a little crazy. Maybe I was!

CB: Seems like it turned out just fine! How long have you been in the graphic design world now? Do you feel like you’ve figured out your own style/voice?

AH: I guess technically I’ve only been in the graphic design world for about two and a half years now. Although I had a few legitimate design jobs while I was a student, those years don’t really count! I honestly don’t know if I have found my style/voice yet. When I pick up a brush pen, yes. But for anything else, I feel like I’m still searching for it! I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing!

CB: Are you doing anything to stretch yourself/try new things? What kind of stuff do you work on “for fun”?

AH: Yeah, all the time! Both of my Cotton Bureau shirts were random designs that I created for myself. I was lucky enough to have other people like them as much as I do! I work a lot with type now, and it all started with a small, 30 day personal project I did. I did it just to learn how to work with type, and now I’m able to do it full-time. Recently, I started a new personal project (Letter On Me) because I wanted to get more practice doing type on objects! Hopefully, I will have some more personal projects in the near future. Those are the kinds of things that are fun for me!

CB: Letter On Me looks super awesome! What a creative way to turn things people may not have a use for/be tired of into beautiful art. One last question, are you still searching for good sweet tea in Chicago, or have you finally found some?

AH: Thanks! Chicago is an amazing city full of so many awesome things, but sadly, sweet tea is not one of them! Can’t find a quality glass to save my life. The search continues!!!

CB: Good luck on your search, Adé!

If you’re familiar with any good sweet tea haunts in Chicago, reach out to Adé via his twitter, dribbble, or instagram accounts.