As one of the few Oklahoma design studios that doesn’t restrict themselves to the nothing-but-advertising attitude, Live4This has contributed some really solid work to the local scene and has been recognized nationally for their talents. These surprisingly young creatives describe themselves as “artists, art directors, advertisers, designers, photographers, and programmers”, and their website is full of work that shows they aren’t exaggerating their skills.

Who is Live4This?
Live4This is the collaborative between Darshan Phillips & Aaron Whisner.

How did you get started and what goals were originally present?
We started the studio because the two of us had enough freelance and contract work to do it. We have been friends for a long time and had studied art and design together.

As a multidisciplinary studio, how do you balance the differences between art and design, and what differences do you see there?
In art, we create without trying to appeal to any audience but ourselves. In design, we are trying to appeal to the intended audience. The rules of composition are the same in both art and design.

How do you find inspiration in Tulsa, Oklahoma?
Books, online, movies, and nature.

What are your thoughts on the art/design community of Tulsa and Oklahoma in general?
We are huge advocates of the Oklahoma art/design community. There is so much talent in our state regardless of our geographical location and it is growing. When we first started, we had a lot of people tell us that Oklahoma would never have a cool design community. Instead of fleeing to some state that did, we wanted to work on growing one. It is a huge frustration when someone we know, with talent, moves out of Oklahoma. Hopefully Oklahoma will continue to retain talent and grow its design and art community.

Any favorite projects so far?
Our last art show, Progress as Promised.

We saw you in Print Magazine a while back, what other awards have you won?
Best of Show / Ride Snowboard International Art Competition, 2005
2nd / Salomon Snowboard International Design Competition, 2005
Multiple Awards / Art Directors Club, 2007 & 2008
Best of Show / ADDYs 41, Best of Show, 2008
Multiple ADCT Graphex Awards, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

We have also been featured in:
ART 365 THE FILM
Art Directors Club, 2007 & 2008
CMYK Magazine, 2004
Corridorbuzz.com, 2008
FecalFace.com, 2008
Kern Newsletter, 2007 & 2008
New American Paintings, No. 78, 2008
Oklahoma Magazine, 2007 & 2008
OklaTravelNet, 2008
Print Magazine, RDA, 2007 & 2008
Tulsa People, 2008
Tulsa World, 2007, 2008 & 2009
Urban Tulsa, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009
Up Late with Ben Sumner, 2008
Steamboat Pilot, 2006 & 2007
WheatToast.org, 2008

What are your goals for the future?
We would love to have a show featured in the New York Times. We are also working towards having shows world-wide.

Anybody in Oklahoma you would like to work with but haven’t had a chance to?
We would love to be commissioned by one of the big oil companies to produce a body of work.

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