Meet Jailyn Easley of Slutty Vegan in West Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jailyn Easley.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
From Baltimore, born and raised, I moved to Atlanta after finishing my undergrad to start my Master’s degree at SCAD in Advertising Design in the Fall of 2017. Of course, SCAD has been such an enlightening experience for me and helped me understand how to maximize the benefits of being a part of the advertising and design industries. It didn’t take me long to realize that advertising controls the media and a lot of what we see…and don’t see. Upon starting at SCAD, I was 1000% sure that this industry of forming people’s opinions and storytelling was exactly where I needed to be and where I would make the most impact. What sweetened the deal was that I was in Atlanta, the home of authentic culture. When they say Atlanta influences everything, they weren’t lying!

I started getting more involved — going to meetups, bars, agency events, art shows, pop-ups — anything I could get to, I was there. The more people I met, the more I started to connect the dots. Once I saw some of these influential creatives making their mark on the city, I knew that I had to start making mine. As a designer, I like to create not only for business but for pleasure. In addition to work that I was doing at SCAD, I was entering local art shows like Artpocalypse Atlanta and Art of Metanoia to start getting my name out and making more creative acquaintances around the city.

One day, I was introduced to ‘Slutty Vegan’ and my first thought was “nice logo and social media presence”. My second thought was that those people are insane for standing in those horrid lines for vegan burgers, but they must be good. Their social presence was fascinating to me since they were just established in August 2018 and now have well over 100k followers. Every time I found myself driving past the food truck, there was an atrocious line leading outside the gates of the Howell Mill Food Truck Park. I knew that I would probably never try one until the hype died down. Funny enough, around November 2018, they posted on their Instagram about a package design competition for the design of their new burger wraps, fry bags, and drink cups. Instantly, all the friends I made here that I told about Slutty Vegan sent me the post and said that I had to enter the contest.

So that night, I took a look at their brand and the look and feel of the material they already had, and threw a mockup together of the burger box, fry bag, carrying bag, and drink cup. Immediately, I DM’ed it to the Slutty Vegan page and got a DM that said they loved it and wanted to post. A week later, I logged onto Instagram to find that my design had been chosen as the top 10 final designs and we’re asking their 90k+ followers to vote on our designs. Modest me didn’t believe in my own talent and was just happy to be nominated in the top 10. There were over 4,500 commented votes on their page by the end of the week. That Saturday, I logged on again and the first thing I saw was Slutty Vegan had announced my design won the competition. I was honestly so grateful for the opportunity, but the best part was being able to work with a developing brand that I was already familiar with.

Pinky Cole, Owner, and CEO of Slutty Vegan reached out to me and let me know that she loved my design and wanted me to work with the company on all of their designing and branding needs. What was even more interesting was that she was a Baltimore native and both attended Western High School. Pinky’s genuineness and willingness to work with me inspired me to start helping others begin to develop their own small brands and company’s. Once she posted my design on the Instagram, I started receiving tons of emails and calls asking me to work with them and of course, I was nothing short of appreciative for all that Slutty Vegan had done for me.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well of course when you have an overwhelming amount of people reaching out to you for design work, it’s pure amazement at first, then exhaustion. I am incredibly passionate about making people’s dreams come true and storytelling through design, so I enjoyed hearing about each and every one of the businesses that reach out to me. Eventually, I was able to adjust to the high volume of clients I had and could find a beneficial compromise between school, work, freelance clients, and Slutty Vegan. A lot of it was just becoming more organized and very efficient in my work. The other part was to stop being lazy and start really grinding for what I wanted.

What should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Of all of the hats that I wear, I am a creative first. I specialize in Design Strategy with a background in visual design. I currently am focusing on perfecting my craft in conceptual strategy, art direction, and understanding what comes with it.

Interesting enough, at the moment while I am still finishing school, I currently am a Creative Recruiter for a Robert Half company called The Creative Group. We work with large and small companies/agencies around the Atlanta area to staff for their creative needs which could include anything from Graphic and Visual Design to Web Development and UX/UI Design. I enjoy being able to help creatives because I understand the market for job searching can be tough and want to provide the best resources for them.

I’d say I’m probably best-known for my vibrant and detail-oriented work and my creative strategy. I have designed for platforms including social media, billboards, print posters, invitations, flyers, desktop, mobile, and a few others. Although I’ve had my hands in a lot, it helps me understand the industry better and helps me know exactly the path I want to go in. I like being able to have a trial-and-error session because I feel like failure is what makes me a better designer and a more well-rounded person.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success, to me, is meeting your own personal goal and being proud of it. Too many times, we let society set expectations for us and we are the ones who get crushed when those expectations aren’t met. But something I learned at an early age is to worry about me- not what anyone else is doing or how you can compete with them, but instead competing with yourself and getting the best outcome possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jailyneasley.com
• Email: jailyneasley@gmail.com

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