We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Delisle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.

Matt, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I was already doing a steady bit of freelance when I moved to Brooklyn. And the very first pizza place I checked out was right around the corner from me…this spot called Tony’s. And it was a sorta magical experience. The pizza itself was excellent—I went there for years up until the day he closed—but the real experience was watching him operate. He was just one guy, making pizza for 40 years by himself and he had this whole system. It was so efficient but so un-rushed. He moved at the exact pace he wanted to…often while listening to the opera. It was cash only and only $13 for a whole pie and he just made pizza all day—a couple pies at a time—from when he opened to when he closed.

But you could tell just by watching him—he was an artist. Or a craftsman…or whatever you wanna call it. From the way he kneaded the dough to the way he finished and cut pizza…put it in the box and tied it up with butcher’s twine. Even the way he handled your cash and gave your change…it felt a little like you were in a movie with Bob Deniro.

Watching him work over my first few months in New York, when I was on a budget and ate plenty of pizza, made me realize that really wanted to focus on my craft. I wanted to make sure that all the I’s had been dotted and all the T’s had been crossed. And I wanted to do it consistently in a way that impressed people…even a first-time customer.

So I co-opted his ethos and in doing so…the general vibe of a no-frills pizza joint. I figured you come in, you put your head down and you do the work every day. As long as I was doing something I enjoyed, that didn’t seem like a terrible way to spend my time. I tried my best to keep things simple and high-quality. I wanted to develop a unique aesthetic that customers could understand and rely on. I needed my own “flavor” or “recipe” and I knew you don’t just land on that overnight. But that was alright. I realized success was going to take time and if I could get lost in the work—and focus on improving my craft—I felt confident I could figure out how to make a living.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always loved to sketch and figured I wanted to do something “creative” for a living. I wasn’t totally sure what that was at first—I studied marketing in college and then advertising in grad school and really taught myself design in my free time. I started working for small record label in Gainesville, FL called Paper + Plastick, where I did mail order but would occasionally get to design something every now and again. I started picking up freelance work, moved to New York in hope of one day becoming a creative director at some big ad agency.

I got a gig as a designer and I sorta unexpectedly fell in love with that. And I found branding more interesting (and more useful) than traditional advertising. So I just continued down that road…keeping my day job, freelancing at night. After about 8 years and a couple job changes, I had enough consistent freelance work that I decided to run my studio full-time.

I think what sets Cold Pizza apart from other design or brand studios is how personable we aim to make our clients. Instead of typical logo or icon, we focus on developing a visual vocabulary for the brand. We create a visual and vocal language that informs how the brand presents itself. How it walks and talks. It allows companies to be more authentic to who they are and helps them communicate more creatively.

In terms of what I’m proudest of…I once heard that the hard part of this job isn’t coming up with ideas or creating the actual art. The hard part of the job is convincing the client that the work is “right.” Not that it’s beyond reproach, but if you submit work that you truly believe in—it should require little to no revision. Typically, “Frankenstein-ing” ideas with rounds and rounds of revision doesn’t yield better results. At least in my experience. The proposals that comes over from the designer isn’t the first draft. They’ve already done all the thinking and revising in the work. But at the same time, you don’t want the client to think you’re a diva or just an outright dickhead. And it can be tricky to navigate that relationship with the client sometimes. I’m not a natural salesman by any means…but I’ve managed to develop the tools and skills to have sold my work (mostly as is) to some of the largest companies in the world. It’s been a wildly rewarding experience.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

For Cold Pizza, the client roster has grown a lot through word of mouth. You make one client happy and they share your name with someone they know, so on and so forth. I’ve also managed to retain a lot of repeat business with satisfied customers. A bit of that comes from maintaining some sort of ongoing relationship with those clients…going out for lunch or for drinks..or just checking in with a quick text or email to see how it’s hanging. It’s not always a steady flow of work from them but when they need something, I’m their guy.

The goal is sort of always the same though: every interaction is a brand touchpoint with Cold Pizza. So I aim to make sure that’s always a positive interaction. I’m not batting 1.000 but then again, who is? It doesn’t need to be mind-blowing or the most creative thing someone’s ever seen. Aiming for that can be a little paralyzing—I’ve been there. It’s more about consistency than anything else. Always producing the best work you can, corresponding in a timely fashion—and being a fair & honest business owner.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Seeing your work out in the world, especially when it’s unexpected, is always a bit surreal. I’ve been fortunate enough to create things in a variety of formats and sizes but I’ve probably designed more t-shirts than anything else in my career. And I still double take any time I see something I’ve designed out in the wild. The fact someone else found your art cool enough to spend their money on is a very humbling and inspiring thing—and it never really ceases to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eatcoldpizza.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatcoldpizza/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdelisle/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeadBeatsClub
• Other: https://www.thedeadbeatsclub.com

Image Credits

n/a