We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mikeisha Kelly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mikeisha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

A project that has been the most meaningful to work on has been the Penn Relays. In 2022, Penn Relays hired me to design the program and do on-site social media and video. The Penn Relays is the oldest and largest track, and field competition in the United States, hosted annually at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Penn Relays was the ultimate privilege in the outdoor season to perform on such a large stage and see professional athletes compete. It was my favorite meet of the year. When I was in college and didn’t get the opportunity to compete at Penn Relays due to injury, I thought it would be the last time I’d get on the track.

After a few years of developing The Armory’s social media and visual design, I finally felt like I made it when Penn Relays asked me to be a part of their team in 2022 to design their program and social media operations. Being a woman in sports and becoming a part of one of the most respected and traditional track and field events was an honor. As a designer, this pushed me to new heights. I had been primarily a digital designer, and I had to learn a lot more about the rules of print, Adobe Indesign, collaboration, and innovating new ways to share these stories/statistics without stripping away the program’s history. Very few people I know get this opportunity, especially this early in their career; it has been a pleasure to work and learn from a few track-and-field creative legends and absorb their lessons. The 2022 edition of the program will always hold so much meaning, as I designed the section to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence. As a Jamaican woman, it just made me so proud to be a part of bringing that story to life.

As far as the social media and game day(s) elements go, Penn Relays was untapped on Instagram and had yet to be captured in a way to share online with the new generation. So we created reels, hired social media-specific photographers, collaborated with the athletes, and worked with track and field personalities. Creating more spaces like this is essential for our community and allows us to share diverse voices and points of view. The more collaborative and creative we get, the more we have to chat about, explore, entertain, and learn. I am so proud to be a part of the beginning process of developing the online community around Penn Relays and bringing in various creatives to share these unforgettable moments with.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am Mikeisha Kelly from Albany, NY, where I was born and raised. I have always been interested in the arts, education, and sports. I have always wanted to be an artist. My family had many creative talents and backgrounds in the print industry, but no one in my world was a full-time visionary. I dreamed of being a fine artist or an architect for many years. Before leaving high school, I discovered the world of communications. Since I loved anything client-facing regarding school or sports, it was a no-brainer.

I studied Public Relations at Manhattan College in the Bronx and competed as a D1 Track and Field athlete, along with a whirlwind of communications-based internships. As a result, I found a deep love for social media culture. After graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in Communications, I became the social media and content coordinator for the Armory Foundation, a non-profit sports organization, and venue that hosts over 100+ track and field events for you in Washington Heights. There is when I truly began to blossom into where I am today. I covered graphic design, photography, public relations, brand management, motion graphics, pitching, client management, and social media management. Having to become a jack of all trades quickly turned into becoming the Creative Director. There, I was in charge of visual design. In addition, I began our first team program, where I brought in local high schoolers to engage with fans, interact on social media and teach them digital media communications.

Since then, I have been a full-time graphic designer at Team Epiphany and a Mikei Media, LLC freelance business owner. I provide customers with various creative services such as creative direction, project management, brand consulting, graphic design, product/package design, web design, digital content creation, social media marketing, and video services. In addition, I solve branding, storytelling, rebranding, and visualizing projects. I’ve worked with Men’s Health, Runnerspace, Nike, Penn Relays, Women’s Running, and Bonita Fierce Candles.

So how does this make me different from anyone else on the market? Well, I have experience doing it all and in various stages of the creative process. I have a deep understanding of the process from start to finish, which makes me an asset whether I am one portion of a project or managing it. Because it doesn’t change, I keep the same flow direction, vision, and level of care throughout my client’s strategy.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A concept I needed to unlearn was “say yes to every opportunity to succeed.” When I said yes to everything, it left little room for possibilities of projects and opportunities better aligned with my path. I would spend a lot of time, energy, and effort on multiple projects, but I was burning myself out and experiencing decision-making overload. It affected my ability to create more vital work I was proud of.

It’s a process that I am still unlearning, and I understand now that opportunities may come and go, but what’s more important is to know my worth for me. As a result, I have been working on projects more aligned with my mission, respecting my schedule, and being more collaborative.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of creativity is seeing how it creates connections and impacts a person or a community. It can be a post that made someone laugh or feel seen, creating a branding kit that helps someone’s small business turn into a significant company, or creating a reel for someone’s brand to share their story and develop community. Those moments I never tire of.

I also love seeing other creatives succeed. As a CD, I found it the most rewarding to bring in other creatives for projects to collaborate with and see them thrive. Bringing in new and diverse perspectives has always been a driver of mine, and the creative community has done wonders for me over the last year, so watching other people grow has been amazing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mikeimedia.com
• Instagram: @mikeimedia @mikei19
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeishakelly/

Image Credits
Samantha Jones, Andy Lewis