Against All Odds: My Crazy Design Life.
Preface
When I started Graphic Design I had no idea where it would take me honestly. I started doing it as a hobby once I dropped out of college and less than 6 months later started a clothing brand with some friends called Fresh Connection Brand. (I would give the backstory but we would be here all day, I'll do that in another post another day). Creating the brand was like me going to college and actually finishing this time. I had the opportunity to work with Microsoft, Nike, Dwyane Wade, and more. We dissolved the LLC for legal reasons in 2016 but for the purpose of this post I'll start in 2013, year 3 of Fresh Connection Brand..
I. WHEN IT ALL FALLS DOWN
2013 was quite possibly the worse year of my life to that point. The brand was in a tough spot, money was getting low, the girl I was dating moved around on me, and now I'm starting to feel all this pressure I've never felt before. At this point my confidence took a hit and looking around it looks as if everybody else is living the easy life at the moment. Comparing my real life to their highlight reels starts me feeling really down. I started to exclude myself. I would tell friends I was busy, had a another event, somebody in my family was having something etc... in all honesty I just didn't want to face the world or my actual problems.
One day sitting on the end of my bed I told my mom I was losing it, judging from the look in her eyes I could tell she was concerned, she had some encouraging words, but those fell on deaf ears. My Dad comes in about twenty minutes later and asked me a few questions, but all I remember is before he left he said, "If you want to beat this depression or funk that you're in, read the Bible cover to cover. By the end you will see life differently." Something stirred in me. I wrestled mentally back and forth, but I opened the Bible app on my iPhone and picked The Bible in 90 days reading plan.
II. NEW DAY
90 days was up and my Dad was right, life got more clear. I met an amazing young woman, opportunities were coming from everywhere, became a partner at a print shop, designed merchandise for Bun B and The Trillest Tour, and had 2 brands in retail doors across the country. Per usual throughout my design life to that point, something had to change. Summer 2014, the brand gave a loan to the print shop, little did I know that would be the beginning of the end. This was supposed to put us in a better position, but ended up being quite possibly the worse decision we've ever made.
But instead of being defeated this time I took this setback as a lesson. August of that year I got a call from my brother Kenny in regards to an opportunity to work the Nike World Basketball Fest. Jobless at the time, it was supposed to be a way to just make a few checks, but how wrong I was. During this time I met Errol Andam and he forever changed my idea of what design is. Not by what he said, but by the two things he showed me. First, he showed me that DESIGN was more than just making cool graphics on the computer.
Lastly, He showed me the path I was on was perfect for me. Having similar paths, I was able to see that a focused consistency and hard work will payoff. He mastered the business side of creating for a major brand and that landed him a seat on the board of every category within Nike. He started working at a Nike retail store and now look! He confirmed my belief that I didn't need any of what "they" said I did to reach my goals.
III. THE COMEBACK
Feeling confident after working that Nike project, I start applying for design positions at different companies. After a month or so Adidas reached out but the conversation didn't lead to much. Getting discouraged I managed to land a management position at Villa, naturally this seemed like a pretty good fit, I'm around sneakers all day and it wouldn't keep me away from designing much. Quickly I realized that was wrong, spending 50+hrs a week building another family's dream just wasn't what I had the ambition to do. I would get home so mentally exhausted from work that I couldn't even create.
One day in April, the same marketing company I was with before called me saying that they had an elevated position for me that would even include some creative work. A few months pass and things looked promising, then again as usual in my design life sh*t flips. The company ends up going through a few changes and then ultimately closes the office in Chicago.
It's January 2016, freelance opportunities have slowed and I'm applying for jobs. I didn't know how a lot of things would work out but I did know I wanted to design for a living and I wasn't giving up that goal. I began putting myself through my own mini Art school. I taught myself color theory, art history, and typography. I learned to use InDesign and Rhino. I sharpened my skills on Illustrator and Photoshop. I started getting in top physical shape, a friend of mine took me under his wing and helped me in more ways than he may even know (Thanks, SIR ). Once I got focused more design opportunities started to come. It's now October, I'm sitting on twitter one day and I see a friend we did some work for from Microsoft tweet a need for a Visual Designer, I reply and we exchange emails. The next day I'm on the phone basically having my first interview unbeknownst to me. I'm offered a 6 figure salary, great benefits, and I would be able to work remotely. It sounded like a dream come true.
All I have to do now is meet some of the other team and if they think I'm a good fit then I'm in. Now these guys have all attended the top design schools, won awards, and are all a couple of years younger than me. So I'm a tad bit nervous because I don't have the same design pedigree and I'm the only Black male. Nevertheless, I hop on Skype and start the interview. To my surprise these guys are impressed by my past work. It was a very humbling moment. I'm from one of the worse neighborhoods in Chicago, where opportunities like this don't come around and yet here I am. I began work immediately on a visual re-brand of their YouthSpark program. The work was really cool, but it felt like something was missing.
IV. LIGHT UP
A couple of months passed and due to business needs the department I'm working in is no longer needed. By this time though I've made a little money so I was able to save some and I was ready for whatever. Last week of February 2017 I get a call from Robert Clifton Jr., Director of Influence and Content at Ten35. He asked me would I be willing to join his creative department. He said I would be in a hybrid role where I can utilize all of my talent and abilities; I accepted. I'm much happier here at Ten35. I get to work with my brother and business partner Johnnie Lovett everyday, I get to learn from people who have been pro's for more than 15+ years in Art Direction and Marketing, plus I get to work with some really cool brands in the process.
My ultimate goal is to have my own Design Firm, I don't want to be limited to just graphic design, I want to DESIGN everything. So while I'm here at Ten35 I'm going to be a sponge and learn all I can. Hopefully I'm blessed to create something meaningful in my time here as well, I want to give a much as I take. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity, I worked my ass off to get here and I don't plan on stopping!
END.
Writing this I realized it was all preparation for where I am today. If I can leave you with anything, let it be this; You can do whatever you want. There are no limits, only the ones you place on yourself. With God, a focused plan, and patience, you will see your goals come to fruition. Every creative goes through the same things no matter how big they are. We all fear that our work will suck, that we will never get that next big idea etc.. it's all apart of the creative process.
Here's a tip I'm actively practicing to get " original " ideas:
Go through at least a 100 iterations of an idea. sketch out all the ways you think you can create it. Really stretch yourself to do at least a 100, by this point you should be freaking out because they are all probably going to look like something you've seen already haha. That's ok, once you dump your mind of all your influence go take a walk, a shower, read a book, just do something take your mind off the idea. Then like magic when you least expect it, the light bulb clicks on. Picasso had thousands of paintings because he knew every one can't be a hit, you have to get the bad to average ideas out before you get to the really great ideas.
Try it, it may sound like a lot of work and it is. You want to stretch yourself, because only when you can get to that point of having nothing left in your head is when you will get to the gold in your mind.
Design. Create. Love.
- JMG.