Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jarrhette Burke. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jarrhette, thanks for joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

My family has always been really talented when it came to art. A bunch of the family has the God-given gift to draw pretty much anything they see, so I quickly became that child that sat on the floor and drew his favorite cartoon characters all day.

Slowly but surely, my skillset grew and before I knew it I had hundreds of drawings with my little signature in the bottom corner piled up around my room. The ‘struggling artist’ notion was alive and well back then so I saw no way to make a full time living from drawing. That pushed me into sports from high School through the beginning of College, while art became a hobby instead of my focus.

My goal was to play in the NFL…period. But after some injuries, I had nothing left but my art. I did some soul-searching and realized my way out wasn’t sports; instead it was my art. From there I began following the breadcrumbs from my childhood and began drawing heavily again. My third year in college (2010), I started analyzing the way of the world. Im talking right before Youtube, Instagram, era really took off. Something kept telling me everything will be digital soon so I decided to take action.

I took my creative skillset and poured it into learning how to create digital assets from logos, to websites, to flyers, and everything in-between. I took the approach of learning on the job, taking any projects and clients I could get. I’ve opened Photoshop almost everyday since 2010 and little by little I learned more. It’s bitter sweet to think back about how I started because I knew nothing. But it shows that knowledge is a gift time gives you. You just have to be patient.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Finally realizing I wanted to be a graphic designer was step one, but getting my first client was really difficult. I had no experience, resume, referrals…nothing. To make matters worst, every potential client wanted to see exactly that. Experience, resumes, and referrals. That really forced me to think outside the box.

I decided to search all over the internet for the best graphics I could could find. I then put in as many hours as needed to re-create them from scratch in Photoshop; and change them to make them my own. My though process was that if I can re-create what’s deemed to be the best on the market, I can then position myself in the market. Next, I created a website with graphics full of flyers, posters, logos, and other adverts for fake companies that I made up; since I had zero clientele. I then leveraged those assets in my marketing materials using the slogan “The Possibilities Are Endless!”, after all, I was just marketing possibilities. I knew if I could show my skillset someone would eventually give me a shot. Sure enough, once I stopped asking companies to take a chance on me and just started showing what I could do, they stopped asking “Can you show my your experience?” and started asking “Can you create something like that for me?”. That was my entry into the design industry. I got tired of knocking at the door and decided to kick it open.

I’m now almost 13 years into my business, offering high level design assets for marketing, brand awareness, fund raising and more. My services range from your standard graphics needs like logos, flyers, posters all the way up to pitch decks, white papers, websites, apps and other blends of tech and design.

What sets me apart is my ability to bring a vision to life; whether for a corporate client of your favorite rapper. I started my business in my early 20’s so I grew as the evolution of tech and design grew. Having over a decade of professional experience is vital to my business as well as my ability to understand the present and future. When a brand comes to me for work, they can rest assured I have the experience needed to get the job done as well as the understanding of current culture; because I’m apart of the culture. The luxury of not needing to explain what the youth wants to see, or a tenured potential corporate partner needs to see, is music to my client’s ears. I take the burden of knowing what’s need off the table and just focus on bringing the vision to life for the audience it’s geared towards.

Some of the work I’m most proud of is my work with Netflix and Earn Your Leisure (EYL). EYL gave me the green light from day one. I was allowed to create with free range because they saw my unique ability to speak to an audience through design. I’ve always appreciated their trust in my ability.

When Netflix messaged me, I knew my artwork was beginning to reach the eyes of people beyond my contact list. They also gave me free range to create and speak through design to the audiences on their platform. Going from being a kid sitting around drawing cartoons, to having your designs seen by at least a half billion people is beyond humbling.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media used to be a melting pot of life, designs, fitness, quotes, and everything in between. But it wasn’t until I decided to focus on showing how I work and showing my results that my following started to grow. I deleted every picture on my page in 2020 with about 1000 or so followers and began posting much more intentional.

My advice would be to not only show a design you’ve created but also show how you got to that point. my engagement went wild after I began doing short videos walk throughs of my design process. We are in a time where people are hungry for information. It’s our job to give them what we know.

Be consistent on what you post, Instead of focusing on posting every 20 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, when you post is important but your style is what sets you apart. And of course be yourself. Your following wants to know your human. Figure out a way to relate and show your personality.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think my consistency built my reputation. I always say “Repetition is your Reputation”. Whether it was opening Photoshop almost every day since 2010 or continuously delivering high end designs for some of the top brands in the world; I learned that you will always be rewarded for your consistency.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.itsjburke.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjburke/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrhetteburke/