Check Out Derek Perez’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Perez.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I liked art as a kid, but it wasn’t until I went to college that I decided to do art for a living. During that time, I would take on small logo projects, and I would create posters to sell at music festivals to make enough money to pay for my weekends. After graduation, I landed an internship at the original Masquerade on North Avenue and started creating graphics for local shows and events (while getting to see great music in the process). This led to freelancing with bands on poster and album art — something that I kept doing even as I started working for an e-commerce web design studio. After burning the candle at both ends for a few years, I decided to start my own company, Peregon Creative in 2016.

Since then, I have had the great fortune to work with musicians, music festivals, brands, non-profits, sports teams, television shows, and even a presidential candidate.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been many bumps in the road, but each one is a learning experience. I’m still learning. As a freelance artist, it can be small things like staying focused while working from home or really big picture things like not having the security of a 9 to 5 and the stress of juggling a lot at once.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I mainly work with musicians and bands creating posters, t-shirts, merch, and album art. My specialty is vibrant and colorful gig posters, with a nostalgic and slightly psychedelic style (reminiscent of art from the 60s’-70’s) with a modern twist.

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind, but when I reflect on my career as an artist so far, I have a lot to feel proud about. Creating an officially licensed poster for the Atlanta Braves and being invited to sign autographed copies at the stadium during a game was something I will never forget.

Getting the call from Bernie Sanders’ son asking to use my poster for their Super Tuesday rally, which also featured a performance by members of my favorite band, Phish, was also a mind-blowing moment.

For me, sometimes it’s just about creating things that would make the teenage version of yourself really proud, and hopefully someone else likes it enough to put it on their wall or wear it on their clothes.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Due to Covid, live music was one of the first things to go and one of the last things to come back. Just this past week, I had a few projects get pushed back to next year as the Delta variant surges. As much as I love working with musicians and artists, it has taught me to diversify my clients as well as treating myself as a client. I started pursuing personal art projects that bring me joy and freedom of expression while also being able to monetize those projects in different ways.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.peregoncreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peregoncreative/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeregonCreative
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/peregoncreative
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCJMcjmzIip36QdhyuDgVQHQ