Get to know the new faces at MC! Brad (on the left) comes with 10 years of experience as a word surgeon and Brandon (right) is fresh out of school with a portfolio fit to flaunt. To help everyone get to know them a little a better, we sat down and I threw a few questions their way…enjoy!

So, tell me a bit about yourselves and what you do here at MC…

BRAD
I’m a copywriter by trade. My job is to take the copy and notch it up, so to speak. I help clients plan their messaging, to understand their audience better and communicate with them. And I guess from a young age I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I started journalism in high school, my first try at college was not successful — I went in as an English major and dropped out, got a job and worked for awhile, but always did some freelance journalism on the side. Breaking into the advertising industry never really occurred to me at the time, I think I was kind of an anti-establishment, punk rock kid, and advertising was working for the Man. Eventually I realized “Great American Novelist” wasn’t a career option, but knew writing was what I was passionate about, so I went back to school, got my Communications Degree, and got a job writing for a technology company where I was able to keep honing my skills, and when this opportunity came up I had to go after it.

BRANDON
I’m a graphic designer. How I got here starts in grade school, and in a pretty funny way. My brother and I always wanted long hair, but our parents weren’t too fond of that. But one day he came home from school and showed me this program, Photoshop, and he had manipulated the photo to give us long hair and I thought it was the coolest thing! So I took all the classes I could in middle school and high school, went to NICC (Northeast Community College), took all those courses, and even online tutorials — and now I’m here.

PATRICK
Nice! Yeah, I’m sure Brad can attest to this…it’s not like you ever really know where you’re headed exactly, one thing just kind of leads to the next…

BRAD
Exactly. Like when I started, my whole intention was to write, and as content strategy became a bigger marketing tool it was very interesting to me. Being able to write toward an audience — it comes with a broader sense of writing, it’s more purposeful in a way when you’re taking the time to dissect who you’re talking to, not just throwing a broad net hoping it resonates, like some traditional advertising. The targeting aspect is really appealing to me.

 

Great! So was there ever an inspiring moment that really lit your fire? Or what keeps you regularly motivated?

BRAD
I’ve always read a lot, and there’s this passage in Hunter S. Thompson’s book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and I think to this day it’s one of the best-written passages in all of literature. It’s him describing the 60s and how the wave broke, and that’s when I realized, if I’m to aspire to something in writing, this is what I aspire to be. To speak the way this passage did — this mix of, not poetry, but prose with such clarity! That’s the moment I realized what I would like to be, that’s how I want to sound someday.

PATRICK
It’s almost poetic journalism, that passage, the way he summarizes the human experience of the time…

BRAD
Exactly. If I could write something as good as that paragraph, then I will die fulfilled (laughing).

BRANDON
For me, I watched a couple vidoes of Aaron Draplin, his TED Talks, and just the way he articulates about his work, it’s inspiring seeing the enjoyment he gets out of what he does, so I think that inspires me the most. Even the merchandise descriptions on his website…he’s just such a unique guy. Definitely worth checking out.

 

Alright, now, walk me through your process…how do you work?

BRANDON
I like to start with a lot of research. I think that helps with brainstorming — getting ideas on paper, thumbnailing stuff, and that just pushes your ideas to the unknown, you never know what you’ll come up with. And once I get a few ideas, I like to take the best parts of each to create one killer concept, and move forward from there depending on the medium.

BRAD
Research is a big part of it for me, as well. Understanding the project from the beginning, understanding who I’m talking to. But then I do spend a fair amount of time researching the competition. That sort of lights my fire in a way, it’s like, “Here. We’re going to do better than these guys. Whoever your competition is, we’re gonna do better than them.” That’s something I like to identify in a client meeting. Who’s your competition? What do you see them doing that you wish your brand could aspire to? So I spend a fair amount of time doing that, and then it’s just a matter of getting the music right — and hopefully no meetings — and just pounding away at it, that’s the ideal.

PATRICK
How do you get the music right?

BRAD
(Slyly) Sometimes it takes a few minutes. I think it depends on the client. If it’s an industrial client maybe I’ll go more rock ‘n’ roll, if it’s a financial institution maybe it’s classier, maybe a little jazz, you just never know — I just never know, I should say. I think more often than not it’s something uplifting but easy to ignore. I’m more in it for the beat and the movement than I am for the meaning of the song.

PATRICK
How about you, Brandon? Listen to any music when designing?

BRANDON
Oh yeah. I just throw on Pandora and go with whatever’s on there. I don’t do anything too crazy, just something really easy to listen to. There’s a lot of good violin music, or maybe just Kid Cudi or something similar.

 

Right on. So let’s say you’ve hit a wall creatively. What’s something you do to bust through it?

BRANDON
Take a break. I think taking breaks is huge — just getting out, getting inspired by anything, going for a walk. You never know what you’ll see or what’ll spark an idea.

BRAD
Likewise. If I hit a wall, I have to step away from it. For me it’s physically moving, getting up, soaking in a little big of sunlight, or going for a stroll. I’ve had it happen so many times where I’ve stared at something for so long and have probably picked it apart more than it’s healthy for anyone (laughing). I’ve found that when I hit that creative wall, I’m almost obsessive at that point. When I step away and come back, it’s like I can see the knot and am able to untie that knot.

 

What hobbies do you have away from work? Do you think they influence your work?

BRAD
One of my main hobbies is playing guitar — electric and acoustic. And talking about hitting creative walls, ideally, if I wasn’t in a room full of people, I’d have a guitar there and could pick it up and noodle with it. That scrubs my brain clean in a way, gives me a fresh start. And I absolutely do think guitar helps my work as a writer. There’s more freedom to it, you’re not committing something to a page. Being able to riff is big for me, and you’ll hear me say that a lot about my writing. If I’m playing around with an idea or taking cues from something else, you’ll hear my say I’m riffing off something. A lot of people probably think I’m saying ripping off something (everyone laughs), which, to an extent is kind of true — but anyway, it’s an important part of my life and the mindset it’s helped me develop has improved me as a writer.

BRANDON
I’d have to say nature, it’s so calming. That sense of getting out, exploring new stimuli, and bringing new knowledge to my design. I like kayaking, just staying out, chilling on the water, paddling peacefully. I think that really calms my mindset when it comes to approaching a design and helps with creative blocks. You might find something out in nature you can apply to your design, use that structure. For example, one of my instructors showed me how she took a picture of a tree and used it to drive the layout of a website. I don’t know, for me nature gives you the chance to come up on something you might not have otherwise.

PATRICK
So your hobby away from work is thinking about design, no matter what you’re doing.

BRANDON
(Laughing) You could say I’m always thinking about it, it helps me grow as a designer. I never unplug from it.

 

Ok, so, Brad, you’re about a month in, Brandon a week…what are your impressions so far, for better or worse?

BRAD
I would say it’s completely lived up to my expectations. I wasn’t necesarrily looking to change careers, but I knew that if I was going to, this was where I was going to aim, especially wanting to stay in the area. And as an outsider, knowing the quality of work that comes out of here, it’s as expected that the people here are so dedicated to their craft. They’re workers and they’re passionate about what they’re doing. That shows in the work.

One of the things that was unexpected for me was seeing the quality of that work and…you would assume it’s this gigantic staff, this machine, but really it’s a small staff of incredibly creative people who are working more collaboratively than I’ve ever seen before in my work life.

So that’s been my impression, and I guess I’m just grateful it’s such an easy group of people to get along with. It’s been pretty easy for me to feel part of the team. They might not feel that (all laughing), but for me I feel very welcomed and very comfortable and part of something very cool and special.

BRANDON
It’s more than what I expected, to be honest. It’s a big learning experience and a huge opportunity for me. You guys are all very welcoming, so that’s pretty awesome. And just seeing the whole process and how elaborately you guys have it down is inspiring me to produce good work and have my levels at your levels. There’s going to be a lot of learning for me to do just jumping into this right out of school…

Well, we’re happy to help you grow and are excited you’re both here — fresh blood is always good.