Meet Josh Lee, one of the newest team members here at Big Red Jelly. Josh is from Alberta Canada and enjoys time with his family, and his craft in graphic design. We were lucky to have a one on one interview with him to talk about his journey thus far with Big Red Jelly, working with clients, and the world of marketing.
Tell us a little bit about yourself Josh:
“I’m originally from Alberta, Canada and I have been a graphic designer for five years and have a background in marketing. For the past three years I’ve been doing brand style guides for startups as a freelancer. I’ve also been married for four years to my wife who’s from Arizona and we just had a baby this summer, so a lot of new experiences.”
How did you hear about Big Red Jelly and what made you want to work here?
“I was searching for a bunch of different jobs on LinkedIn and all under the realm of graphic designer, then I read the description of Big Red Jelly and it was a word for word description of what I had already been doing freelance, creating brand style guides. I found from my background that a lot of companies struggle with finding their brand prior to marketing themselves. So that was kind of the niche market that I hit and obviously that’s the niche market that Big Red Jelly hits. They are able to give a foundation to the voice and feel of client companies before they build their websites, before they start marketing themselves and paying for ads. So that it actually pays off in the end, and it’s actually worth it.”
How has the culture at Big Red Jelly thus far changed your behavior and views on the Marketing world?
“Good question. It’s been more aligned with what I have already been implementing. Which is the coolest thing about the culture, it’s aligned with what I see as a bigger issue in businesses. So it’s been very helpful and rewarding to be able to come into a climate of the same mindset”
Big Red jelly focuses heavily on the principles of brand, build and grow, where do you fall in those three categories?
I fall heavily in the brand part of things. In the discovery calls I do, I focus on the overall vision of a company and what they’re looking to do long term and bring that all back to a guiding idea. That’s the foundational position that we start at brand-wise to then build everything off of.
Big Red Jelly strives to work with clients to solve their problems, what has helped you connect with them more in their Big Red Jelly journey?
“I have a soft spot in my heart for small business owners. I know the difficulties that they face, and how the pressure to grow your business and succeed is always there. My dad was a small business owner my whole life growing up, so I got to see the other side of small business owners. Those experiences have shaped my perspective, and in turn has helped me to better approach our clients’ needs. Our clients range from local startups, to other already established small to medium sized businesses. Either way, I can relate and have a sense of strong awareness of the problems they face. I’m very much in tune with that journey.”
Do you have any advice for those who want to be a graphic designer or pursue marketing?
“I would say the number one thing is to have an amazing portfolio and have that portfolio not just be pretty looking, but have the portfolio solves problems. If you have designs or logos or branding that’s pretty but doesn’t solve an actual issue, then it’s purposeless. Be able to communicate how you were able to solve problems or be able to explain designs. Being able to explain the why shows that you have those communication skills, and the confidence in your designs and work.”
Meeting and Interviewing Josh has been a pleasure! If you are interested in working with Josh and seeing his experience and work come to life firsthand then we reach out to us at bigredjelly.com to schedule a consultation! We look forward to helping you and your company brand, build, and grow!
Written by Manfredo Mazarigos
