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

Scott, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Don’t rush success. I feel like there is a lot of unnecessary pressure to become famous and/or successful right out of school. I frequently hear from students asking about career happiness and long-term success as if the very first thing they’ll do upon graduation is find the perfect job and instantly become the boss. In my career I worked a variety of non-inspiring jobs early on and even had a few bad ones later but I always kept a steady pace, learning and adapting to whatever situation I was in. Sure I wanted to be a famous designer when I was in my 20s but frankly, I feel I’m doing my best work now and that’s after decades in the field. Be patient and remember that “success” isn’t linear.

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

I usually go by “Graphic Designer” because it describes pretty much what I do but I also have the title Art Director and I’ve been Design Director and Creative Director as well. For some reason I just feel Graphic Designer sounds more like the person who does the work and gets their hands dirty which is something I love to do. My areas of interest and expertise are mostly in entertainment–specifically design for film, music and television. Early on I was obsessed with pop culture of the past–I was probably the only 10 year into big band music and cartoons from the 20s (N-E-R-D). This translated later on to a curiosity around subcultures and any that wasn’t current–including old advertisements, music, movies and comic books. More importantly I really got into how these things looked–how were they made? Who drew this stuff? What else is out there I haven’t heard about? Luckily I discovered graphic design in college and found a way to weave my obscure interests into a career.

Trying to make my obsessions work in the real world wasn’t exactly the easiest thing though so I made an early decision to work for myself–which I’ve managed to do for most of my career. That’s probably something I most proud of–it’s something I didn’t think was in my character (oh, the risks!) but hey, it’s managed to work out so far.

I think my design tends to resonate with specific audiences and to that end, I usually don’t try to make something that appeals to everyone. One of my all-time favorite quotes comes from Joel Hodgson when asked about the formative years of his show “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and whether anyone would “get it”–his response was “the right people will get it.” And that’s all that matters, isn’t it?

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I was saying earlier, “success” isn’t linear. I’ve had to pivot a number of times whether it was a business that fizzled out or life circumstances (children, bills, etc) that forced me to change course. I had a really successful business in my 20s with a small studio in Orlando, FL (clients including the NBA, Hard Rock Cafe, Artisan Films, The Blair Witch Project, etc) that ended when all three partners split up due to personal differences. Around that time my first daughter was born and the business of running a business became a huge burden and clients were just not coming in. I also had no desire to run a company so I gave that up and took an advertising job in Baltimore. Huge pivot, not just career-wise but also a major life decision. It took me away from doing a lot of very fun stuff and into the dark world of advertising. Yet I knew I had to do something and taking an ad job meant sitting on my hands for a few years until I could figure out what I really wanted to do. As it turns out I met some other like-minded individuals and we started another agency. I was back into the world of self-employment!

This pivot perfectly illustrates the idea of the non-linear path to success. Sometimes you have to change lanes for a while but always keep thinking of ways to keep your dream alive. Don’t lose hope and be patient.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Instagram. I’ve seen so many “professional advice” articles and posts that start with “you can’t become successful by posting on Instagram” and so far that just hasn’t been true in my case. I didn’t even start posting regularly until 2018 and I don’t have a massive following but the people who do follow me must have a lot of energy because I’ve managed to pick up nearly half of my jobs from people who have seen my work there.

I don’t follow the formulas when it comes to things like cadence or frequency. I certainly don’t show my face nor do I attempt to do TicTok style vids where I pantomime “coming up with an idea’ (points at text box above head, starts fake typing–ugh). I just post my work with a bit of explanation as to my thinking and some hashtags. It helps that I’m very curatorial about what I post and how I post it but I’m not consistent. I don’t try to “engage” other than being nice and responding to comments. I dunno. Maybe it’s the Joel Hodgson quote again “the right people will get it” …

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scottsugiuchi.com/
• Instagram: @ssugiuchi
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/scott-sugiuchi-71a672161