Office Hours’ practice is all about trying to capture a little bit of “undesigned” charm

Roy Fleeman, founder of the Atlanta-based Office Hours studio, was introduced to the world of creativity in the basement of his childhood home. His father, who owned a sign-painting business, would work the hours away in the lower part of their house, and often Roy would sit alongside him, drawing pictures of Ninja Turtles, space shuttles and X-Men. “Soon, I started adding my own letters and phrases to my own drawings,” says Roy. “This was probably my first dabble into graphic design.”

But Roy recalls one specific moment as really igniting his passion for the discipline – buying Pearl Jam’s 1994 album Vitalogy aged ten. “I was fully engrossed by the design. The embossed gold foil cover, the way the inside was made to look like a medical book, the strange illustrations, the scribbled text, it all flipped a switch in me,” says Roy. “The fact that someone orchestrated this whole visual experience amazed me.”

Prior to this, Roy wasn’t aware design could even constitute a career, but from this point onward, he knew wanted to be a designer. Roy bounced around a few small advertising and branding agencies after graduating, but in his heart of hearts, he always knew he wanted to work for himself. The designer eventually made the venture in 2014, since working with an array of clients, mainly in the hospitality industry. Though, since 2023 he ended up going full-time with one his clients, Vacation® Sunscreen, where he’s now VP of design.

Roy tells us that a key part of his work is trying to capture “a little bit of undesigned charm”, this might account for the retro feel that infuses all of Office Hours work, with elements harking back to the simpler, less-digitised design of the late twentieth century. We have to say, we’re also pretty enamoured with Roy’s dedication and attention to detail when it comes to mock-ups and presentations. Take his work on the Vacation Chardonnay Oil, which sees him incorporate printing lines on the mock-up, making it look like an ad from an old school beauty mag.