Artist Interview: Matt Owens
Matt Owens is a designer, entrepreneur, and creative innovator based in Brooklyn, New York. His personal passion for experimental design took shape through Volumeone.com, a self-published quarterly that ran from 1997 to 2009 and is now part of SFMoMA's permanent collection. Mostly self-taught in digital tools, he embraced the web as a space for innovation and self-expression, exploring experimental intersections of motion, graphic design, and code.
A graduate of UT Austin’s BFA program and Cranbrook Academy of Art’s renowned MFA Graphic Design program, Matt is currently the Chief Design and Innovation Officer at Athletics, a brand studio he co-founded in 2004. Over the years, Matt has explored zine culture, experimental publishing, and multimedia projects, in addition to creating projects for clients like Major League Soccer, IBM, Google, and Stripe.
We asked Matt about his art, creative process, and inspirations.
Can you tell us about your background as a digital artist? How did you get started in this field?
I started my own website of personal digital work in the Spring of 1997 when I was 26 called volumeone.com. It was a way for me to do more experimental things that combined motion, graphic design, and code. Largely self taught on the digital side of the thing!
Volumeone.com is part of SFMoMA’s permanent collection — that’s such a milestone! Can you tell us about the project?
I did volumeoone.com for 12 years. 1997 - 2009. For most of that time I published projects 4 times a year and in the later years made them larger and fewer doing one or two big projects a year along with an interactive piece, video, and a print component. The work was largely born out of my interest in zines and self publishing and mostly combined with the personal work I developed in graduate school at Cranbrook Academy of Art.
I’ve heard that preservation has been a significant issue for Volumeone.com. Can you elaborate on the challenges you’ve faced in keeping the work accessible and how you’re going about tackling them?
I've moved over, edited, updated and catalogued the work about a half dozen times over the years. I archived all the work in the cloud, on external backup drives and did screen recordings of the Flash work which you can find at Volumeone.com still. The original backups were on 100 meg zip discs, then I burned them on DVDrs. In the past it has been a big battle to keep everything together but now I have the collection in a pretty good spot. Now with AI, I will be spending part of 2025 looking at old files and up-resing low res assets and generally making sure the primary files can be seen and are working. I've more installed a Flash emulator yet but I'm interested in finding a way to get the old Flash files to work.
Let’s talk about Athletics. How did the idea for the studio come about, and what’s the story behind turning it from a collective into a full-fledged creative agency?
I started Athletics in the summer of 2004 with my partner Jason Gnewikow as a collective of like minded designers and creatives. At the time I had run a small studio called one9ine for almost 5 years and wanted more flexibility. For the first 5 years or so of Athletics it was very loose and we each took it upon ourselves to find work and then hire one another under a common name. Eventually as the scale of the project grew we naturally evolved and adopted new skills and ways of working. Having grown at our own pace has helped our longevity and has allowed us to evolve with the moment.
You’ve worked on some incredible projects with brands like Google, Stripe, and Nike. Is there a particular project that stands out as a favorite or one that pushed you creatively?
My own work for myself is always the hardest for me personally. For Athletics as an agency, our work with IBM, Google, Turf, New Museum, and many other amazing clients have all allowed us to grow and improve. The best projects are the ones that have a real creative trust and openness to possibilities. As projects become larger, it becomes even more crucial that you push beyond one's comfort zone and to see our work as a larger more versatile brand operating system.
Looking back on your career, from your early days to now, what’s one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?
The time is now. Do not wait. Find collaborators and trusted friends. Always seek feedback.
What is a profound childhood memory?
Learning to draw!
What is a fun fact about you?
I'm a twin and my wife Amy is also a twin.
What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects, ventures, or collaborations you’re particularly excited about?
We just launched the new athleticsnyc.com. Check it out!
