Jake Tennyson: Concept Designer in Winston-Salem, NC

As a concept designer at JKS Incorporated I have multiple hats to wear. I am not only helping lead our new business operations with our CEO but I am leading the in-house marketing operations alongside our copywriter/social media scheduler. I spend a majority of my time designing products for clients ranging from custom hand sanitizer stands to fit a 5 star restaurant to designing an activation for a major medical company. I also have the privilege of working within our full service vinyl graphics shop, running the printers, plotters and even going on site to oversee installation.

Working as a freelance designer has been quite the trip so far; I've learned a lot about myself as a designer and what it takes to market yourself. Which is something that I never really thought about working in an agency atmosphere. having to learn how to market myself has helped me better understand marketing to an extent and I believe it's bettered me as whole. My client work mainly consists of packaging, social media content creation and general marketing collateral.

During my time at CCL Branding I worked directly under the supervision of the Chief Creative Officer on the Hanes Brands account as well as the Champion and ComfortWash accounts. A large majority of this work consisted of email blasts, print materials, conference materials and branding for new products. There was also flagship store ideation, interior design and product display work involved.

I came into Freeman Kennett as a freelance designer to help with their brand refresh. I ultimately ended up staying to help with their marketing strategy, look books and presentations. My time at Freeman Kennett helped me polish my time management skills and my color theory thanks to to major interior design projects. These mainly consisted of modern housing and furniture showrooms. They were buildings in the 20-30 million dollar range with over 25 different materials and 10-15 different colors.

I was able to acquire a position as a studio designer which turned into freelance design as clients dwindled and the company changed ownership and management. During my time at Capstrat I was put through the paces of what it's like to be a part of agency life; fast, reactive and sometimes unbelievably frustrating but it helped me grow as a designer.

May 2015 marked my start as a design intern working on a team with 4 others. Our main client was Blue Cross Blue Shield but we also worked with Lenovo, BASF and Deloitte as well. I was able a highly functioning member of the team, leading projects and discussions as well as getting projects and being left to figure them out on my own.