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

Matt, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

One of the common issues I’ve witnessed in Corporate America when it comes to graphic design is when leaders without a design background start micro-managing designers. A typical scenario finds a group of designers working on a deliverable, perhaps with some art direction from a qualified leader on their team or project. After coming to a consensus on the deliverable, it gets passed up the org chart to higher levels of leadership for review. Many times these leaders are not in their positions because they have a creative background or understand design.

Rather than trusting the designers or art directors to do their jobs well, the leaders tend to believe that their position on the org chart is more important than the education & expertise of the designers who were hired for that specific job. There’s nothing wrong with anyone having an opinion on a design, but when leaders start giving feedback such as “I don’t care what the branding guidelines say, I like color X so I want you to change it!” it undermines the hard work that went into the deliverable. Designers become more concerned about catering to the particular taste of the loudest leaders at the highest peaks of the org chart instead of focusing on doing their best work. The end results are an inferior product, designers who feel less invested and engaged in their work, and leaders who send a clear negative message that “might is right.”

Matt, 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?

I’ve been working as a graphic designer for over 20 years! It’s been a great career for me so far, and I’ve enjoyed most of it. I currently work for a large financial institution. Previously I worked at smaller companies, both as an in-house and agency designer. It’s been good to experience both sides of that coin, from start-up in a basement to big and corporate.

I graduated from Weber State with a degree in Visual Communication. I’d go there again if I had to do it all over. The school, facilities, and professors all gave me a lot of relevant education specific to the field of graphic design. I worked as a graphic designer at a silkscreen & embroidery shop while I was in school, and it’s possible I could have continued on in a graphic design career without a degree. However, the experience at college helped me grow exponentially and I landed better jobs and opportunities because of that education.

In high school and jr high, my family didn’t have a computer, so the closest I ever came to any digital graphic design was playing Mario Paint on my SNES! Instead, I worked on art using traditional mediums like pencils and paints. I had a wonderful art teacher (Mrs. Corpany) who encouraged me to pursue what little artistic talent I had, and was able to get an art scholarship for my first year of college.

I still enjoy doing illustration now, but I mostly work digitally on my iPad. You’ll find examples of my illustration, design, motion graphic and video work in my portfolio here:
https://www.matt-crane.com/

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of working a creative job for me is the euphoric feeling that comes from having a good idea, and seeing it come to life in a way that I’m happy with. This doesn’t happen every day. It doesn’t even happen every week or every month. Often times I’m doing work that isn’t very creatively rewarding or enjoyable, but it’s those special projects where I feel personally invested, and I have the opportunity to do my best work that bring me happiness in my career.

Autonomy is an important ingredient as well. I’m happiest in my work when I have enough autonomy to bring my creative ideas to the table and share them. Sure, I have to go through a lot of my own bad ideas before I find that golden nugget, but I’d much rather have that autonomy than struggle to be creative while working with overbearing, micro-manager types who don’t allow designers much freedom.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I was excited about the idea at first, but the more I learn, the more I tend to agree with what I’ve heard from others. Pyramid scheme. Great for artists who already have a huge following, but not a great place to be discovered if you don’t.

The problem with digital art ownership is that anyone can take a screenshot, and it looks just as good as the original. If you own a rare sports car, you show it off to your friends and occasionally take it on a drive, or to a classic car show. If you pay top dollar for a digital art NFT, you show it off on social media. For me, personally, that just doesn’t do anything for me. I would never pay for digital artwork to show off online. I’ve bought digital art books, comics and the like, and I enjoy those, but I just don’t see the appeal of buying art NFTs.

I can, however, see the appeal of NFTs in the gaming world. I love Monster Hunter, and one of the things that keeps me coming back to the games is the appeal of crafting fantastic weapons and armor. In a virtual gaming world that I’m invested in, I can see myself spending some cash on unique in-game NFT items. As long as they’re not “pay to win” items! I think gaming NFT items will be most appealing if they’re cosmetic in nature, or earned through gameplay.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.matt-crane.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabacho_trece/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabachotrece
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-crane-5a513a2/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabacho_trece
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gabachotrece1886