Today we’d like to introduce you to Warren Davis III.
Hi Warren, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a young action sports kid, I would thumb through Motocross, BMX and Skate magazines, idolizing brands like Oakley, Fox Racing and many more. I thought it was so cool that they made a brand and products that allowed them to do amazing photoshoots with athletes I looked up to. This initial passion led me to learning design, photography and videography over the course of my teens, going to college for advertising design, and working at one of the biggest agencies in Orange County, CA at the time. Getting to work on globally known companies, including Hilton Garden Inn, California Avocado Commission, Dole Bananas, Wienerschnitzel, KFC, Thermador, CHOC Children’s, St. Joseph’s Hospital and many others.
After a couple years there, I chased my passions and headed down to San Diego county to work at a variety of well-known sporting brands. I developed apparel and campaigns that sent me on the photoshoots that I once dreamed about – Thor Motocross, Scotty Cameron Putter Studio, Speed Society, and KTM Motorcycles. While working in-house at these big brands, I learned the ins and outs of building a brand at scale.
In 2021, I joined my wife in working full-time for our own strategy and design business. A scary leap that many entrepreneurs can resonate with, but with persistence, guidance, and a mountain of lessons, I’m proud to say we’ve created an amazing lifestyle business that optimizes for time spent with our 2 young boys.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the beginning of my career, the normal struggles existed: landing great roles, conceptualizing stand out campaigns/products, nerves with big pitches, and then executing on the concepts.
Something I struggled with in the beginning was my age – I got started young. I worked in paid internships starting at 18 years old while still in college. I started at the ad agency as an Art Director intern and transitioned to a Jr. Art Director role when I graduated college at 21 years old. Working and pitching at such a young age came with its challenges of people not taking me seriously, but I leaned into professionalism, being really easy to work with, and delivering great work with a smile. Passion around my expertise really paid off.
Any creative professional that transitions from an in-office team, to doing a bit of freelance, to running their own business/agency will have many lessons along the way; my wife and I sure have.
Recognizing the challenges of client relationships and how to navigate them is an obvious example. One struggle most people don’t speak much about is finding and vetting a quality advisement suite that you can trust, i.e. a great contract attorney, a bookkeeper/accountant that doesn’t mess up your taxes, and such. These external team members have allowed us to stay focused on growing our business and have saved us from costly litigation.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My wife and I run a creative agency called Amusing Design. https://amusing.design/
We’ve both worked as creative professionals for over 17 years each, and we continue to use that knowledge to guide emerging brands’ omni-channel campaigns and support existing well-known brands with any overflow creative work.
We position ourselves as an off-site, friendly top-tier creative team, ready to jump in when your brand needs strategy, messaging, or design without the cost and commitment of hiring a full-time creative director or design team. From mixed media campaign conception and e-commerce websites, to sales tools like catalogs and presentations.
We’ve won some awards throughout our careers, and yes that’s pretty cool, but we’re most proud of the relationships we’ve created with our clients. Many creatives offer a quick service that lasts around a month, our clients stick around for years.
What makes you happy?
In my personal life, I really love a deep conversation with my wife and friends, watching our kids grow up with a curiosity of the arts, the world around them, and seeing their happiness as they progress at riding bicycles.
Professionally, I really enjoy helping business owners discover a plan for new growth when they are stuck at a plateau.
Pricing:
- Our initial engagement after a Discovery Assessment call is our Strategy Session. This can range from $6500-8500
- Next, if needed, we create Visual Overviews. 3 concepts with some revisions is $6000.
- From there, it’s really dependent on what each client needs for creative execution.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amusing.design/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wd3.me
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wd3.me
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wd3designs
