We recently connected with Kelly Cone and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?

The most innovative step in my career has been to dismantle my own limiting beliefs. Beliefs I agreed to a long time ago, that were slowly solidified over years and years of bowing down to them.

For example, I made an agreement with myself that a number one priority of my character is to follow through on my promises. While that is an agreement made in integrity, I took it too far. I somehow convinced myself that I wasn’t allowed flexibility, or grace that I so lovingly give others.

Through self-awareness, curiosity, reframing, and the support of those around me, I have dismantled this choke hold of perfection—and shocker; I am a much better designer because of it. I no longer compromise quality to rush through projects, I have real, honest relationships with my peers, and authorities, and my work is better, because the weight of the world isn’t on top of me.

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?

I studied Graphic Design at The Art Institute of Atlanta, and graduated in 2020 (you know how that went). I graciously accepted a position at an Agency, 77 Collective, while I worked remotely in Chattanooga, TN.

A few opportunities later, I am the Graphic Designer for the Marketing Team at Text Request. We are the text messaging service crafted to cut through the noise, so you can connect with customers anytime, anywhere.

When I’m not illustrating educational content to help our customers (and of course many other exciting Text Request related things), I am the Graphic Designer for my husband’s (still feels crazy to say!) Local Kombucha company, Chattanooga Culture.

I’m blessed to have a variety of work, as life never gets boring! I specialize in Social Media Content, Website Graphics, Packaging, Email Marketing, and Internal Communication Designs. I work mainly in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, XD).

One of the coolest parts of my journey has been to watch my style develop over the years. The designers that inspired me most always had sort of a “signature” to their work. And interestingly enough, I noticed that I haven’t intentionally tried to hone my style, to set myself apart—it just happened naturally. I feel really proud to know that my fingerprint of design is getting in to the world, and my voice and perspective is adding something to the conversation.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Resources are so important! There is no sense in trying to recreate the wheel. Here are my favorites:

pinterest.com
doingcoolstuff.xyz
mockupworld.co
skillshare.com
happyhues.co
wordmark.it
savee.it
standards.site

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I wrestled with this recently, call it a quarter life crisis if you will. “What is my purpose here?” I can’t say that I have a definitive answer, but when I was reflecting on this question I got 3 freelance gigs come in. I could feel myself get excited again for something new and creative.

I realized that there isn’t a title, or singular project that i’m aiming for. I get a lot of joy from being a creative problem solver. The thrill of hearing a client’s objective, and getting to to create, craft, edit, research, and inspire is the most rewarding experience.

Whether it’s through my role at Text Request, Chattanooga Culture, or new opportunities that come in, the mission driving my success is to continually improve my craft, and develop deep relationships with those I work with. I really couldn’t ask for more.

Contact Info:

• Website: kellypayton.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-cone-737a01176/
• Other: https://www.textrequest.com/ https://www.instagram.com/chattanoogaculture/