Ida Marie Bjørge Dyrøy | Graphic Design + Fashion

Grafiske Ida

JK Magasinet

I met the bold and chillaxed Norwegian, Ida Marie Bjørge Dyrøy in Northern California and became great friends with her as we traveled to South Africa the same year. She is one of those women whose fearless, contagious style draws you in. She is an excellent designer for print, and curates her fashion choices with the same playfulness and ease. Ida resides in Oslo, Norway.

GM: Tell us about your present creative expression(s).

IBD: I love fashion, and expressing myself through clothing. I have also been challenging myself with more graphic design. I express creativity through clothing, interior design, and of course, graphic design. Graphic design is my job, so it’s hard to do it as a creative outlet because it is so catered to my clients. I create layout design, business cards, events, and cohesive design.

GM: Where do you draw inspiration from?

IBD: I live in Oslo, which is the capital city of Norway, and street fashion is my favourite. It is very ‘me.’ People watching is so inspiring to me.

Second to that is social media. Either my friends, or bloggers on the feature page. I love to see what other people are wearing, and draw inspiration from them. We need others to trigger creative expression. I can’t create something from nothing, but I can draw inspiration from what I see.

For design, I recently found Pro Church Media, who feature Christian graphic design artists who make incredible art! When I saw them, it made me want to learn new techniques for the first time in a long time. I didn’t know these styles were things that I wanted to learn how to do until I saw this page. They were blending graphics, and using different effects. This platform has been my number one inspiration. I love to see new design trends and give them my own flare.

GM: You have been the head designer for JK Magazine (JK Magasinet) for over four years. How did you get into print design?

IBD: This magazine is an extended ministry from my church. I volunteered for them a little bit when I was in design school. As soon as I started my company, they began paying me for little jobs that I was doing like conferences, and there was another girl on staff who was doing the magazine. I told them that if they ever needed someone to help with the magazine, I could do it. I really wanted to get into the print layout aspect of it. It just so happened that the girl was moving on to other things, so they asked me if I could take over. I was in California at the time for three months when I got this incredible opportunity. So I got the job through people I knew.

I had wanted to design for print for a long time. It was a dream that I had. Up until then, I had done mostly web design, flyers, and posters, but never a cohesive print project with multiple pages and layouts. I had never done this before, and they hired me. It is the largest Christian women’s magazine in Norway. It’s 60 pages long. It’s called Jesus Women (but in Norwegian!)

It can be scary to put yourself out there, but I do feel very much led by The Holy Spirit. When I am in tune with what he invites me into and I put myself out there, it seems to always work out for my good! If I wasn’t supposed to get the project, I wouldn’t get it. Most of the jobs I get, come by simply receiving without asking for it. That is how I get most of my work. People find out about what I do, and they reach out. But I still do apply for projects that I want to work on.

I know I have skills that I’ve learned in design school, but running my business and finding clients--I have no idea how it happens! I don’t have an answer! I don’t update my website or socials, and I’m not great at keeping up with self-marketing. I do design for others, but am so bad at doing it for myself.

GM: Is there an art form that you have yet to try but plan to in future?

IBD: Illustrations are so hard for me. I have not played with it very much. It’s why I got into digital design. I’m scared of real pen and paper because there is no ‘undo’ button. If you draw a line on the screen, you can easily undo what you did, go back a step and work with layers. But as soon as you put a pen to the paper, that’s not going anywhere! I think that the fear of making mistakes has kept me from exploring illustration.

I did an exercise whilst I was in California with friends at a coffee shop. They were really into watercolour and design. We had paper and a watercolour palette with brushes. They all started painting, and I stared at my blank canvas for maybe an hour. I couldn’t commit. I was so in my head, and I knew that there would be a breakthrough at the end of this, and that I was going to have to walk through it. I thought to myself, ‘this is a journey for me.’ So I decided to paint out the word ‘journey.’ It was the best I could do at that point! That was three years ago, and I haven’t really done it since, but I know it is something I want to explore more because it terrifies me. As a creative who loves digital art, because I can perfect it and remove the parts that I regret, when you create on paper, you have to work with what you have.

GM: Let’s talk about your personal style. I’ve always loved your fashion choices. Three words to describe your style would be…
IBD: Concrete jungle, minimal, 90s grunge.

I don’t feel that I have one style. This works to my advantage. My style is diverse. I like New York streetwear. Chunky sneakers with jeans and a cool vintage t-shirt is my favourite. It’s my go-to. It works in Oslo.

It’s not the clothes that make me feel pretty. When I feel pretty, and like the way I look, I can literally put on anything and I will radiate confidence. I feel awesome. I like myself. That is what you see. I think that is why I can work with so many looks. I feel good in a three dollar shirt from a thrift store that someone else had. One of my other favourite things in my closet is a vintage t-shirt that I found in the back of my friend’s trunk. It was his grandma’s old t-shirt that he was going to use as an oil rag. It was so cool, so I asked him if I could keep it! It wasn’t greased out yet. It’s cheap, a little dirty, but it is cool to me. I like myself when I wear it. Not because of the value of the piece, but because I feel confident. (Styled below)

Right now, I’m wearing black and khaki, but I do love colours! When I grew up, I stood out with my colourful style in my friend group. I’m from a small town, and to stand out in any way...well, you’re not really supposed to do that. I really loved to experiment with colours and wear crazy yellow. Things that pop. Colour whenever it’s appropriate. I also love very plain and simple clothes. I was a typical tom-boy skater girl teen. I love the 90s skate style. That’s my jam right now. Keep it simple, keep it grungy, add some concrete jungle of New York.

GM: What is one of your favourite items that is currently in your closet?

IBD: It is a sort of denim jacket with short sleeves, buttons on a stiff material, with orange, lavender and cream flowers on it. I walked into Zara and thought, this is the most ‘me’ piece there ever was! It’s so fun! I love a pop of colour. I tend to be minimal, so it’s super fun to add a piece like this.

Some of my friends have used my clothes for costumes or ‘bad taste’ parties. They borrow items from my closet because they think it’s weird or they would never wear it themselves. They say, ‘Ida you rock this, but can I borrow it for a bad taste party?’ (laughs) True story. It has not gone unnoticed that I like weird and fun pieces.

GM: Best trend to catch this year and one to avoid.

IBD: Trends that I like right now come from the grungy 90s. Not so much the late 90s, skinny jeans moving into 2000s. One thing I do love that is coming back is bell bottom jeans. I love that! Also corduroy. I love a corduroy jacket or pants. It’s been in style for a while, but I’m still not over it.

I see lots of shoulder pads, and I don’t know if I agree with that right now (laughs). Shoulder pads don’t agree with me, so I don’t agree with shoulder pads. Other people probably look cool in them, but I’m so short, so if I extend myself that way, I’m just wide. I just become a boxy square with a head on top.

GM: What have you learned about yourself and/or life through your creative expression?

IBD: I’ve learned to not compare myself too much with others. There is no competition. Others can be a means to pull inspiration from, but not to compete with. We are all winners in our own way. There are people who are cooler than me, better than me, or doing things that I look up to. Iinstead of positioning them in my mind as competition and therefore ‘bad’ (making me less than) I draw creativity from them. It’s not about reaching a certain level. As I scroll through social media, it is something that is on my mind everyday. I am still learning to say no to those thoughts when they come, and agree with the fact that other people are allowed to be their creative selves. Their expression is beautiful, great, and right. I’m not competing with that. I am on my own creative journey.

GM: Challenge us/ Give a creative charge.

IBD: If you have explored different expressions of creativity but still don’t know where you fit in a creative career, start by just picking one thing. Just one. Narrow it down and spend hours working on that specific thing. You will become very good at that one thing and you won’t lose the other expressions that you are enjoying.

I went to school for graphic design and that is what I based my career on. It’s paying my bills. The more specific you are in the path you take, the more high demand you will be in that area of expertise.

Pick one thing and stick with it. Explore the other things on your own time.

GM: How can we follow what you’re doing?

IBD: You can follow me @idadyroy. It’s more of a diary for me, but I don’t have a dedicated creative social page yet. I do post for JK Magazine sometimes, but it’s all in Norwegian.

I’m not trying to be an influencer. I have not done anything in my life to get more followers. When I first got instagram and no one knew what it was, I thought it was an editing software, and it was maybe three months later that someone liked my photo and I was so confused!

I’m just over here living my life- you can follow along if you want to (laughs).