DAVID STOYAN WOOTERS
STOYAN DESIGN
David Stoyan Wooters is principal and creative director of the Orange County CA-based Stoyan Design. He has worked with a great variety of successful companies over the last 20 years. Soon after earning a B.F.A. in graphic design from Cal State Long Beach, Wooters founded his firm, Stoyan Design, in 1986. A full service design agency, Stoyan Design specializes in annual reports and has produced award-winning work for a diverse group of clients such as Quiksilver, Wet Seal, Calaway Golf, K2, Oakley, Sappi, Pacificare Health Systems, Weyerhauser, Spicers Paper, The Broad Foundation, The National Association of Home Builders, Southwest Gas Corporation and California Water Service Group. Stoyan Design's work has been featured in virtually every major design competition nationally and internationally. Wooters is a frequent juror for many of the country's top design competitions and is an avid surfer, snowboarder, golfer and club soccer coach. (Stoyan is his middle name and the first name of his uncle, Stoyan Christowe, a Macedonian immigrant who authored six acclaimed novels, was a war hero, served as a senator from Vermont and of whom Wooters is very proud.)
Was graphic design your first career path?
As a kid I was a good artist, and I knew I wanted to pursue something art-related. While taking a typography class in junior college, I began to understand what a graphic designer was, and that's when I knew what I wanted my career to be. I loved the fact that graphic design was a great mixture of illustration, photography and typography. After failing on my first try, I worked hard to put together a portfolio good enough to get me accepted into the design program at Cal Sate Long Beach. Even in college, I knew I would soon start my own graphic design firm, because I realized early on it would be rewarding both creatively and financially. My father, an entrepreneur, was very skeptical about me making a living as an artist. I think he assumed that after graduating from college I would realize my mistake and end up selling alarm systems for him. My mother, on the other hand, was always very supportive of my career path. Once I achieved some success with my own business, my father came around.
What talents do you wish you possessed?
There are probably a lot of things I could be better at. I imagine that if I really wished I possessed a certain talent, then I would figure out a way to be good at it. Except for singing. I really stink at singing.
Which project in your portfolio are you most proud of?
I'm very proud of the annual reports my firm has done for Quiksilver over the years. The CEO of Quiksilver completely understands the power of an image and has been extremely receptive to our ideas. The reports have consistently been designed and produced at a very high level and in doing so have been rewarded with many prestigious awards. To continually design fresh and unique reports year after year for the same company — even a company like Quiksilver — is a big challenge. I'm fortunate to have hired some very good designers over the years to work with me on the Quiksilver reports, and I feel we helped raise the bar for annual report design in general.
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