Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jose Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jose, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.
The biggest trend I’m seeing in my industry is that of sustainable packaging, customers are asking for more options that can replace their current single-use plastic solution with something more sustainable. I believe paper-based packaging is one of those options that can help make an impact in eliminating these issues in the foreseeable future.
One story I can tell is that of one of our customers who produce water heaters. This customer in particular set goals to reduce the overall amount of unsustainable packaging they were using and through collaboration, we were able to produce a 100% paper-based solution for them. Our design teams created this unique solutions using a combination of molded pulp, honeycomb, and corrugated fiberboard materials that performed just as well as the foam-plastic option they were originally using and the great thing about it is it can be recycled to make new paper!
I see this happening more as consumers and retailers are become more aware of the environmental impacts the products they make has on the world around them. The demand for sustainable packaging will continue to grow as more municipalities at the local, state, and federal level implement laws to protect our environment.
Jose, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi my name is Jose Rodriguez and I’m a Experience Centre designer for Smurfit Kappa North America. I first learned about my industry when I was looking for work after college and was hired on at a local box manufacturer that was looking for a graphic artist. Since then I learned the ins and out of my industry which include working with outside vendors to procure the raw materials, prototyping samples, and testing them to ensure they are to required specifications. In my current role, I focus on providing custom experiences for customers that visit my company’s Experience Centre by hosting workshops, trainings, and managing larger company events to help spread the companies message to the marketplace.
I’m most proud of providing solutions that bring value to our customers, in the end I’m helping them solve a problem that allows them to in turn provide better services to their customers. I believe what sets me apart from others is my dedication to providing the best customer service to both my internal and external teams along with the passion I bring to every project.
What I would like potential customers to know about me is I truly wake up everyday loving what I do, this is not just a job rather a creative lifestyle. I’m always seeking to learn new methodologies and strategies to better enhance my skills and improve my quality of work.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was in my early 30’s when I really needed a change in my life, I wasn’t growing professionally and my personal life wasn’t where I wanted it to be. In 2019 a friend of mine started inviting me to meetings for a non-profit he founded called CoAct and in these meetings there were individuals from all kinds of backgrounds wanting to solve problems I had no kind of expertise in. For me, the experience of attending those meetings was refreshing and inspiring because they knew exactly what they wanted and confident in their abilities to make them happen.
Fast forward towards the end of 2019 and I’m going to a conference in Chicago for something I had no business being a part, or so I thought. In attendance there were the same type of people – directors, founders, professors, etc…all talking about the same subjects but on an global scale. I gained so much knowledge and insight during this time that I started thinking of ways of getting more involved with my community once I came back from the trip. In a sense the conference was a glimpse into something I wanted to be a part of, the change I wanted to see in myself years prior but wasn’t fully aware of at the time. Reflecting on it now, I was exactly where I needed to be at the exact moment to make this pivotal change in my life happen.
When I came back from that trip I hit the ground running and started getting involved with the community. I started networking and volunteering with young professional groups in my city, such as SteerFW, whose main focus is getting young professionals civically engaged and did this for the next few years. After a short while I saw a trend developing, the more I became involved the more my life started to change in a positive way. My anxiety was no longer present and I started gaining confidence in my abilities, eventually becoming a board member for SteerFW. The focus was now about connecting and working alongside others rather than working just for myself. It was no longer about “me” but “we” and that has been the key difference.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The ability to use that creativity to bring about change, it’s not something I had clearly envisioned as I navigated my way through life but it has always been there waiting to be discovered. Having the ability to stop at any moment and recreate myself or help others through the creative process is very rewarding. Whether you identify creativity through art, self-improvement, or professional growth it’s all valid in my mind. You don’t have to be an artist creating cool art to be creative, use it for other things.
A personal example of this is when I entered a local design contest for the city. The goal was to make a bus stop shelter under $400 dollars that met certain requirements, in the end my entry won the competition because of the detailed estimating I developed which was something I did in my packaging role on a daily basis. I had no background in making bus stop furniture, all I had was my packaging skills. I used those skills to design, build, and estimate what this bus stop would look like using the packaging software I used and the same design thinking process. Others who entered this competition were architecture firms and college undergrads who were formally educated on how to create these project’s, I was just a packaging engineer. Don’t ever discount yourself thinking others are more qualified than you, the best solutions are often the ones no one ever thinks of using.
For creatives who are having trouble finding their way, I would say understand the value you bring. Connect with those who are looking for that value and negotiate your worth – network, help others, and surround yourself with a community of like-minded individuals.
