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

Paul, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

The short answer is yes, I earn a full-time living from my creative work. But it’s been imperative to diversify my income sources and not rely on one channel. Working on having a few repeat clients who need my type of work on a regular basis is integral. And it definitely hasn’t been like this since day one. I graduated college right into a recession in 2008 so I had to work a variety of odd jobs before focusing fully on design full time. If I could redo it and speed up the process I would’ve spent more time on continuing education and quite drugs and alcohol even sooner.

Paul, 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 have been an artist since I could hold a pencil and have been drawing typography and lettering almost as long. So it’s only natural that I transitioned into a career in design/branding. I designed my first logo by hand at the age of 15 and have not stopped since. Today I focus primarily on creative direction and brand strategy for small businesses and other non-design creatives. I’ve done a lot of work within the music business over the years. Some of my favorite things to work on are new brands/logos, packaging, publication and web design. What I think sets me apart from others who do similar things is my ability to intuitively listen to my clients needs and lead them to solutions that may even be better than what they themselves imagined. Active listening is the most important part of my job and I take pride in being able to listen for the important cues that help me hone in on what makes my clients brands shine and connect with people. Lots of people do strategy and design, but very few do it in a way that doesn’t feel salesy or like marketing.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I think they’re a joke and a fad and I would caution people to keep their money away from them. Invest in real, tangible, original art if you’re into art. NFTs will be worthless if they aren’t already.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Besides the cathartic process of making, I think the fact that I am adding beauty to the world in a way the makes people happy/smile is very rewarding. But specific to design, the most rewarding part about being a designer is that we can literally change the world and help save the planet with the work we do. By being intentional in deciding who we work with and what we put our energy behind, we can help bring attention and even funding to the causes that deserve and need it. That’s why you’re much more likely to see me working on a brand that helps reduce carbon emissions than you are a beer or cigarette brand. Being a designer enables me to be an active part of the solution to many of the world’s problems. Design influences behavior and behavior is how real change happens.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://smartmindsthinkalike.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smart_minds/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paullukes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-lukes-906608134/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/smart-minds-fort-collins

Image Credits
All work by Paul Lukes for Smart Minds