We were lucky to catch up with Jonathan Blackmore recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
I worked for a large company in a corporate context for 14 years overseeing creative teams. Creativity and corporate thinking often don’t mix well. Creativity can’t me quantified, measured or fit neatly into a calendar. Corporate America often doesn’t take the time to understand creatives or recognize that we’re a different breed. A structured one-size-fits-all approach often doesn’t work for creatives. Getting the most from creatives when it comes to productivity and engagement requires corporate systems tailored to their uniqueness.
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?
About 6 years ago I was in a safe, well compensated corporate role overseeing creative teams. Then one day that abruptly ended. After several failed attempts to secure a similar role elsewhere, I asked myself what I really wanted to do and the answer was that I wanted to work for me, on projects that inspired and challenged me, on my terms.
I started 768Creative with zero clients. I hunted for design work and said “yes” to anything! I’ve always tried to take on projects that scare me a little so that I can continue to grow and develop my skills.
After an chance encounter with someone connected to the country music world I received a project designing t shirts for a country singer. Then I got another country music related project. Then another. And another. Today I have over 400 musicians in my books.
768Creative provides promotional design solutions for clients in 6 different categories; Record and Album design, Merch Design, Logo Design, Branding, Website Design and Poster Design. The goal has always been to make great design accessible to everyone, from artists who have a day job and play in bars on weekends to artists who tour full time and play arenas.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I’ve had to unlearn the tendency to rely on my existing skill set. Taking on projects that challenge me or that don’t align with the skills I currently have is something I try to practice daily. The inevitable result of this is growth. The side effect of this is a sense of accomplishment, further engagement in what I do and exposure to a whole new realm of potential customers through my new, updated skill set. To date I have a 100% success rate in challenging projects!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I’m not sure that I have a single story but to me resilience is showing up every day. Getting up and doing it every morning even on the tough days because you have a vision and believe that you’re on the right path. Resilience is believing in your dream and believing in yourself even if doubt is all around you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://768creative.com
- Instagram: @768creative
