Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Samson.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My mother was an artist and photographer when she was younger. I suppose that’s where I got my natural knack for art and photo. Being latchkey kids in the early ’90s, my siblings, cousins, and myself watched tons of television. Cartoons played a big roll in my early art development. I did well in school.
Most creatives say “school was never for me,” but I found it to be a breeze. Hip Hop culture, the punk/hardcore scene, and, ultimately, the rise of street art all influenced me by the time I graduated high school in 2004. Being a son of immigrants, attending a good college was naturally the next step. I never thought to go to art school, maybe the stigma of the “struggling artist” prevented that. I went to UCSD after hearing a new computer/art major emerged.
It was not what I expected, but I graduated with a BA in Interdisciplinary Computing and Arts Major (ICAM), a hybrid between computer science and art-making. I hated coded. “I don’t use my degree,” this one’s true for me. However, the one major take away from college is an intro class I took for Adobe Illustrator. Between that and the Photoshop class in high school, that’d set my course to become a professional graphic designer.
I graduated in 2008 at the peak of the recession and slaved at a data entry job for three and a half years before landing my first design job in furniture. Did that for another three and a half years, then got into the lifestyle/fashion industry working with watches doing some graphic design and photography. A year and a half later I would get lucky and land a job with Pink Dolphin Clothing, an up-and-coming streetwear brand at the time.
I consider working at Pink Dolphin the catalyst for opening quite a few doors for my career. I grew and learned a lot about the ins and outs of the fashion industry and would add production and technical design skills to my repertoire. Following Pink Dolphin, I had the opportunity to work with, world-renowned musician, Skrillex and his team on his record label’s clothing line: OWSLA Goods.
Flash forward to today, I’ve been freelancing full-time for just about a year and have worked with a number of clients from The Boiling Crab to Forever 21. I’ve always considered myself a ghost designer, always working behind the scenes (I have never publicized what I do as a career). But I feel quite lucky, fortunate, and blessed to be in a position doing what I love. My hopes in my career is to keep expanding my abilities and to eventually somehow give back. It’s only a matter of time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing is ever a smooth road. Our systems aren’t built to set us up for success or what to do in life. I worked and paid my way through school, taught myself a lot of the skills I needed to succeed in my profession, and simply never gave up. Fear and doubt that creeps in are natural, but it’s how you channel that energy that makes the difference. If you’re not a bit uneasy in your career, then you’re probably too comfortable.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am currently a freelance designer specializing in (but not limited to) art direction, branding, apparel graphics, technical design, photo, illustration, and visual communication. I’ve had the privilege to work with a number of great companies and people in the Greater Los Angeles Area. I’ve been designing professionally for almost a decade, at this point, and I hope to do something meaningful with all the experience I’ve accumulated.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We live in an age of over-saturation. Professionals in industries such as my own are a dime a dozen. There’s a lot of amazing talent, but also a lot of the opposite. Sometimes luck plays a roll, but it means nothing if you don’t have the work ethic and talent to show for it.
I was lucky to land an interview with Pink Dolphin which, consequently, opened up my network, but that’s where luck ended, and hard work began. We need a bit of luck sometimes to even get a look, hell, I still struggle with that. But I believe persistence breeds luck; you miss every shot you don’t take.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.keithsamson.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @kthsmsn
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