We recently connected with Steven Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to learning creative skills, tools, softwares, etc, and I think the way I innovate in my work is by not being afraid to learn something new in order to create solutions. This type of approach came in especially handy for our latest campaign for Monopoly GO! We made these incredibly funny spots that looked and felt a classic 90’s sitcom starring Mr. Monopoly himself. We even crafted these parody “channel surfing” ads and fake shows as hooks for each episode! From flexing my animation skills for the first time to turn Mr. Monopoly into an anime version of himself, to use blender to create a Cheesy double exposed Sears photo of Mr. Monopoly, It’s those types of delightful solutions that create depth, and are the types of innovations that over time become way bigger impacts to the work and to the brands that we collaborate with.

Steven, 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?

My name is Steven Jones and I’m currently an Art Director at Omelet. During the last 3 years working in advertising I’ve had the honor of working to create for brands such as Google, Youtube, Samsung, Monopoly GO! and Tonal.

My path into advertising was really unconventional, it’s so funny to tell people. I actually went to school for acting and even got a BFA in acting 2015, but while I was in school I always had a passion for photography. At one point I started making some side money by taking some of my friends headshots! Eventually I started to get more into editorial photography towards the end of college and a bit after graduation. My friend and I ended up starting an indie magazine around that time so that we could put our pictures onto something tangible instead of just posting the sets to Instagram. That venture actually is where I learned how to do graphic design, and a few years, and a lot of freelance work later I got hired at Omelet to be a Jr. Designer. I loved the visual expression that design offered me; it was super rewarding. At some point while working at Omelet I also had a desire to create concepts and have more stake and ownership in the kinds of ideas I was helping to shape, and Omelet was super supportive in my professionally curiosity and growth. That’s when I decided to transition into being an art director, and it’s been a blast!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve always loved this saying “Anything you do is everything you do” because there are a lot of ways to interpret it and apply it in your life. I reminds me to be consistent in how I show up for a project, or a coworker, or a client. It reminds me that when it comes to making something, what you give is what you get. Its a great saying and It always helps to bring myself to my work and make every day something to look forward to.

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

I think making people feel something if we’re digging to the bare bones of it all. Especially with advertising, where we as people have subconsciously trained ourselves to detach from any piece of media trying to influence us or sell us a thing, part of what fulfills me as a creative individual is to provide some sort of material compensation for the viewers time. If the work makes people smile, or laugh, or cry, or makes them go ” That’s clever, it makes me think of this” I feel like that’s additive in a way that people appreciate.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/whatthejones
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenrichjones/