Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Briggs.
Jon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out taking drafting and architecture classes in high school as a career direction, not realizing at the time that what really appealed to me was the craftsmanship and aesthetics. What wasn’t so appealing was the math and engineering aspects of it, so I went nowhere with that after high school.
In junior college, I took an art class to satisfy my GED requirements and even though I had pretty minimal fine art ability at the time, my instructor saw something in me and recommended I take some graphic design courses. I dove in and ended up doing really well, transferring on and getting my Bachelor’s degree in Applied Art and Design from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
After college, I worked in a number of San Diego area graphic design firms before signing on as an Art Director at The Upper Deck Company in Carlsbad. They manufactured sports trading cards so this was a great fit for me since I played basketball, football, volleyball, and golf in high school. I spent almost 15 years there designing logos, cards, packaging, and marketing materials for the NBA, NFL, and PGA brands. Like everywhere I have worked, there were lots of very talented designers there and I learned a lot working with them. We put out tons of great products until most of us were eventually let go or moved on when the Recession took its toll and the company drastically downsized.
Since that point, I’ve been freelancing and consulting, doing projects for companies and brands like Callaway Golf, Creative Action Network, Capital One Bank, TaylorMade Golf, and PetCo among others.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like most designers who go into business for themselves, I’ve had my share of ups and downs over the course of 8-plus years on my own. Suddenly having to deal with finding the work, putting together quotes and proposals, tracking expenses, sending out invoices, and oh yeah, then actually doing the creative design work makes for a pretty steep learning curve. Invariably, as a one-man show there’s either not enough work coming in or you’re flooded with too many requests.
Fortunately, I have other independent creatives I can always turn to if I need a helping hand or a collaborator. Sometimes it just seems as if it’s either feast or famine. But you learn to deal with the uncertainty and late nights that are sometimes needed… having an understanding and supportive significant-other is a huge key to making it work.
On the positive side, I’ve worked at enough places over the years to have a pretty extensive network of people who are willing to reach out to me when their employers need some graphic design work. This is how I’ve been able to do work for Callaway Golf, USAopoly, Serrano Design, and PetCo, among others, as well as some local design agencies and corporate in-house design departments.
Jon Briggs Design – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The type of work I like doing the most is designing logos and branding materials for both established companies and start-ups. Being involved from the outset when a new brand is emerging is really exciting. Even just refreshing an established look or direction of an existing company can be very rewarding.
Although I probably should have chosen an area to specialize in by now, I really like the variety of taking on logos, posters, catalogs, brochures, packaging, illustration, even some product design, all at the same time.
Over the last several years, I’ve been involved with The Creative Action Network, doing some poster designs to benefit The National Parks System and promoting causes that support environmental and climate-change issues. I really enjoyed these projects since I grew up here in San Diego, soaking in the climate and the ocean like everyone else, and have a very high regard for nature and the environment.
Although the number of graphic designers out there has grown tremendously, I think what may set me apart a little is that I’ve been around long enough to have done things before it all went computerized and digital. I was pretty classically trained by my university instructors who were themselves very experienced and accomplished professionals. I’m pretty obsessive about doing the best possible work I can every time out and pride myself on delivering what’s best for the client or project, not just in satisfying my own artistic agenda. Also, I have the flexibility to work remotely from my home studio or if things are slow, take on a short-term assignment working full-time onsite at a company or local design agency.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success is getting to do what I love and getting paid for it (at least sometimes!). Also, doing work that benefits the arts, humanities, and the environment is always super rewarding and makes me feel good about what I’m doing.
Finally, I put a lot of value in working with people and clients that are kind and decent people who want to form a working partnership, rather than having just the typical client/vendor relationship. If I can work on interesting projects for clients or organizations who understand and respect the value that quality graphic design, illustration, photography, etc. can bring to the table then I feel pretty darn good about what I’m doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: jonbriggsdesign.com
- Phone: 760-433-4481
- Email: info@jonbriggsdesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dzynwrld/
- Other: https://society6.com/dzynwrld
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
