Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jason Snell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jason, thanks for joining us today. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?
I got super lucky. I owned my creative shop/agency We Have Become Vikings in Over-the-Rhine, downtown Cincinnati for a decade. My wife and I Sara now wanted to have kids and I thought, I need to be a good dad, there’s no way I could continue to spend 16hours a day at the shop, so, I sold it to another buddy who had an agency. My employees were now able to get healthcare, it made me feel good, accomplished. A year in, boom, Covid hits and I said, let me go, I can work in my basement, be there for my wife and 2 girls.Working from home as become a way of life, much more important to me and my family. Now focusing in on illustration, design and motion graphics, I spend my days working with big brands and larger studios to produce work all across the country while still being there for my family.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For folks just checking out my work, SnellBeast, I’m an illustrator, designer, animator, musician, dad, partner and all-around creative living in Cincinnati, Ohio but working with brands all over the globe. I grew up in Dayton, Ohio listening to Guided By Voices, going to DAAP in Cincinnati, working with Landor and Grey advertising agencies before starting We Have Become Vikings. We were 4-6 folks with a shop in Over-the-Rhine, downtown Cincinnati, Ohio focusing on digital/print work for large brands (Kroger and P&G – that kept the lights on) to rock bands and start-ups. We had a full-service print shop and did all kinds of work from local coffee shops and skate brands to bands like No Age and Dinosaur Jr. and large brands like Netflix and the NFL.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I got super lucky. I owned my creative shop/agency We Have Become Vikings in Over-the-Rhine, downtown Cincinnati for a decade. My wife and I Sara now wanted to have kids and I thought, I need to be a good dad, there’s no way I could continue to spend 16hours a day at the shop, so, I sold it to another buddy who had an agency. My employees were now able to get healthcare, it made me feel good, accomplished. A year in, boom, Covid hits and I said, let me go, I can work in my basement, be there for my wife and 2 girls.Working from home as become a way of life, much more important to me and my family. Now focusing in on illustration, design and motion graphics, I spend my days working with big brands and larger studios to produce work all across the country while still being there for my family.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
This sales story, or “winning a pitch” starts like many, but, It’s actually something I never thought I would be able to do and is my current project I’m finishing up – “The Dream Project.” For me, like many others, it’s hard to say no. No is a powerful word and I really wish I could use it more, but, I end up saying, “Yes, but…” more than ever.
I just finished up an Art Director a very small budget film for a friend and it turned out pretty good. Not to wild with motion graphics, not overboard on the graphics, very simple and to the point, on brand with the film.
Fast forward 2 months later and my friend was editing a larger budget, major documentary for the “Kings of Rock.” My buddy said, “You should pitch for the art direction/motion graphics, I got your back.” I had to put together a pitch deck for the look and feel (spec work, we all struggle with spec work) and links to past work to show I could handle the motion/animation. I had to do it. My friend was there for me and I went for it.
Less than a month later, I had won the work. I couldn’t believe it, I’m now the AD and covering all the motion graphics for the official Run DMC Documentary “Kings from Queens” which will be on Peacock/NBC.
“Yes, but…”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/jasonsnell
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonsnell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasondavidsnell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondsnell/
- Twitter: @JasonDSnell
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbOatzZVVNtuErtexKs1NmQ
- Other: https://vimeo.com/jasonsnell