:: designy :: A man for all seasons

+ Jim Bolek over at Design Observer interviews the International Symbol for Man. Here's a taste:

Q: You are quite versatile. What other attributes do you bring to your work?

A: Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ve always been active. It’s been a challenge, trying to balance this head on little round feet. But, through perseverance, I did lots of outdoor activities. Originally, they wanted to use me as just some sort of icon, you know — here, identify the men’s room. I said that I’m much more than that. I told them that, despite our initial meeting, not much good comes from hanging out at men’s rooms. I mean, look at George Michael. So they had me do some other activities like “crosswalk." Later on, I did some work with the National Park Service and then I really got to shine — “bike riding,” “archery,” “swimming." It’s very hard to be expressive when your face has no features. Sometimes people don’t even know if I’m facing them or looking the other way.