We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kris Stith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?

Innovation drives success. In an ever expanding industry where trends dominate what “is” and “isn’t” I’ve worked to stay in step with what’s new in opposition to what’s the trend. As a multidisciplinary designer I work in all formats, fields and mediums but when I began my career in design that was not the case. I began my journey as an illustrator. I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon and the like; transferring my favorite characters into sketches in my drawing book. My passion for drawing took me from the streets of South East DC to the hills of Georgetown, more specifically to the halls of Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Duke’s storied curriculum of the arts, education and philosophy molded my mind into a vessel for creative expression. Free from the governors” why” I was able to explore “how”. And there was no bigger how than, “How was I going to get a job once I graduated from college”.
I feel there was no bigger innovation in my career than the choice I made to transition from the arts and into design. It was an adventure but in retrospect I was guided to design by the words of Olgivy, Mather, and Mazvancheryl, my marketing professor. I recognized that my talent was now a product I could use in combination with my newfound understanding of marketing to make a way for myself into the future.

Kris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kris Stith, and I’m a multidisciplinary designer working out of Los Angeles, CA. I am actively taking on clients for StithWorks, my creative consultancy where I turn the most nebulous ideas into concrete creative solutions for government agencies, social impact organizations, elected officials, and private clients. I have expertise designing premium, branded content for print, digital, social media and video platforms. Using tangibility, transparency, and traction as my foundational principles I have been able to engage and activate audiences for some of America’s most trusted institutions and emerging brands.

You can view my work at StithWorks.com

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest thing I had to unlearn was to incorporate everyone’s opinions. As someone who grew up as a people pleaser it was hard for me to say no as a young designer. I would literally bend over backwards to make folks happy. But as veteran I now know when to say no and how to better manage expectations. The best example of this is early in my career working on a project I had an impossible deadline of a same day turnaround with multiple assets that had to be produced by hand. The main issue dealt with the client piling more request as I would finish one task they would give me two more so I was drowning. In a moment where I was feeling rather “whelmed”, I told the client you can have the project done fast or you can have the projects done right but you can’t have both. Chaos ensued. But I put my foot down and stood on my word and learned to say what I said a bit more tactfully in the future.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth has been my best client referral system. Counter to what I stated about producing content fast or right I have become known for producing quality content fast, right and under extremely tight deadlines. I know that I shouldn’t really accept clients with such hellish request but sometimes its satisfying to see the sheer awe on clients’ faces when I deliver assets and they exceed the realm of what they thought possible under these conditions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stithworks.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/stithworks
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/kristopher-stith