dress code Does Design. And This Interview.
Andre Andreev and Dan Covert have most likely been welcomed into your homes already; their work for the VMAs (above) was beamed around the world in 2005. Andreev and Covert started working together at California College of the Arts, then, with stints at Karlssonwilker, XLARGE, and Odopod under their collective belt, the two took jobs at MTV while building a design empire at night. Equal parts big name branding, silk-screened concert posters, and renegade art projects, dress code is an impossibly prolific firm for two designers who’ve yet to turn 25.
What is dress code?
dress code is a design shop headed by Andre Andreev and Dan Covert.
How did you come up with the name?
We got it from a book we never read called dress codes by Noelle Howey that an ex left at the crib. Some other names we considered were: Earl and Associates, Three, Viva!, Strategies of Desire, Ghetto Blaster and Fancy Dan. Dan wanted to choose a name that sounded more “foreign,” but he can barely speak English.
Where might we have seen your work?
Most likely on MTV–less likely in I.D., STEP, CommArts, Print, some design books, some exhibitions and one lecture–even less likely in Andre’s Mom’s basement.
What inspires dress code?
Art: its the easiest to “appropriate.”
Music: it makes time pass faster.
Our Students: we learn too.
The OC and SVU: we like shows with names that stand for things.
How is dress code contributing to the greater state of design?
We thought a lot about this in school . . . these days we are just focusing on doing fun, challenging and paying work. We balance our time with big clients, tiny clients and self-initiated projects. We also pride ourselves with teaching a “very hard” class at Pratt. We try to participate in lectures and shows, we will take part of “Spoken With Eyes” exhibit at the Design Museum at Davis. Hopefully someday someone will say “Hey, your work contributes to the greater state of design, would you like a free Pantone book?”
What are you currently working on?
We just finished the show package for MTV’s Direct Effect. This is what’s next on our job list:
– A lecture series that we are organizing
– A wedding invitation
– A few small CD-packages
– A top-secret book project
– Some tee shirts for Definitive Jux
– Branding for a company called Westminster Social Club.
– A magazine called GoodHuman
– Branding for another company who makes underwater sonar
– More MTV work (our day jobs that we love)
What is dress code wearing right now?
The dress code is pretty casual today. Andre is wearing pink Nike Air Max 90’s, white socks, blue APC jeans, yellow XLarge shirt that Dan designed and a blue LeTigre hoodie. Dan is wearing purple and black Nike sb’s, Diesel jeans, no socks (damn you, laundry), and a 4 Star “california love” tee.
P.S. Yo, Nike, send us some kicks for the shout outs–Andre is a 13.5, Dan a 13.
