We recently connected with Hugh Williams and have shared our conversation below.

Hugh, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I’ve had a few risk-taking moments during my career. All of these risk-taking decisions were from the gut and confident with no concerns about the outcome. And all outcomes had no negative consequences. My first risk was leaving a great opportunity at Hallmark Cards after only one year as a process artist. Hallmark had recruited me from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and had moved me to their headquarters in Kansas City. Midwest winters sucked and I was too impatient for upward mobility. A few of the Art Institute faculty members tried to get me to stay at Hallmark but nevertheless I went back to Florida. Upon returning I landed a job at Columbia Pictures Publications designing songbooks for about 4 months and left. About a half year later Channel 10 in Miami hired me where I single-handedly ran the art department until the station brought in a broadcast designer from California that sent me packing. A few months later I was able to get an interview at the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel’s editorial art department as an illustrator. The art director hiring wanted to test me by requesting an illustration on a current event which I eagerly complied, returning with my illustration the following week. I got the job, got the physical, met the “higher-ups” and started 2 weeks later. Three days after the start I had quit. I just wasn’t feeling it in my gut. Fortunately not much later, Channel 7 in Miami hired me. While content at Channel 7, The Miami Herald contacted me from my resume I had sent during the last job search. The interview went well and offered an opportunity to work on a print portfolio which was limited in working at a television station. It was a tough decision between the station and the newspaper but there were no regrets choosing the newspaper. It turned out better financially with more opportunities and security that television generally lacks.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up but working at a self-serve gas station right out of high school was the motivator for finding a better way to make a living. While thumbing through the Yellow Pages at work (we didn’t have internet then), I came across the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and scheduled a tour. After the tour there was no doubt that a commercial artist was what I wanted to become. Previously I’ve always had an interest in art, having taken major art classes in high school. During my 2 years attending the Art Institute I excelled in illustration which led to my recruitment by Hallmark Cards’ process art department. After a year at Hallmark and a year and a half at a couple of Miami television stations, my 9 to 5 career ended after 27 years at The Miami Herald’s creative services department. Our department served as an ad agency not only for the newspaper but as a regular functioning ad agency for outside clients as well. As an associate art director I did it all, all things graphic design related, illustration, even copywriting. I was responsible for about 50 advertising awards (Addys) during my time there. Logo design was “my thing” acquiring the reputation as the “logo man”. I established my own creative services agency, Just2Creative where I designed the logo for Miami-Dade County Public Schools as well as logos appearing in LogoLounge, the “logo bible” for designers. Lately I’ve focused on painting, entering competitions as a Broward County Art Guild member. Also I’ve jumped on the crypto nft bandwagon, creating my “CryptoMadcap” animated characters on the OpenSea platform.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There’s a few rewarding aspects of being a creative, such as solving a problem where others haven’t been able to and a client’s excitement when you present a solution. That’s been my experience with logo design. I’ve also had a painting that moved someone to tears, exposing a feeling of power that some paint and a brush can give you. But by far the most rewarding is when your work survives the test of time. Whether or not you’re recognized for your work, it’s rewarding to know you left your mark in the Universe…at least by the time you leave it of course.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I don’t think I have any intelligent views on NFT’s but feel compelled to take the question because I’ve created a few. The obvious question is why would anyone pay thousands or even millions on digital art? Perhaps if the NFT has utility, you get something more than just the art such as a club membership or exclusivities. The potential could be unlimited. Or an NFT created by the popular artist Beeple might be a good investment. Only time will tell how this blockchain thing will work out.

Contact Info:

• Website: just2creative.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/cryptomadcap/

Image Credits
Hugh Williams