Meet Joseph Veazey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Veazey.

Joseph, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Gwinnett and was always drawing. When I got to high school (Meadowcreek HS in Norcross) I was known as the artist at school that would hand paint customized sneakers and shirts for people. After high school, I attended Savannah College of Art and Design and majored in Graphic Design. My junior year I secured an internship with Adult Swim, and I started working there full time after school. This was my introduction into the professional design world and I learned so much under a super talented team led by Art Director Jacob Escobedo. A couple of years after school I moved to NYC where I served as the Art Director of fashion label Azede Jean-Pierre. I designed the company’s identity, lookbooks, fashion show invites, helped produce fashion shows, designed prints for the collections, and much more. Prints I designed in collaboration with Azede Jean-Pierre ended up being showcased by Elle, WWD, Glamour, Essence, InStyle and Paper Magazine and were worn by Solange, Lady Gaga, Gillian Jacobs, and others.

Also at this time, I did freelance Graphic Design and Illustration work for clients like Vice, Tribeca Film Festival, Coach, Nickelodeon, Fast Company, Vevo, Moog, Fools Gold Records, and many more. I ended up being featured in dozens of books, magazines and sites, as well as being named one of Print Magazine’s “15 Under 30 New Visual Artists,” and taking home three Gold Medals from the Society of Illustrators. Then in 2016 Adult Swim offered me a full-time job and I moved back to Atlanta to work out of the office at Turner. After three years, I switched back to freelancing and currently split my time between doing graphic design/illustration work for various clients, doing personal work, woodcarving, teaching, and volunteering.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, but I’ve learned to appreciate the bumps along the way – that’s where the real growth is. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how important taking care of my mental health is. The highs of success and achievement can be very intoxicating, and it’s very easy to get sucked into work addiction and success addiction. But the amount of unhappiness we see in the rich, famous and successful reminds me that the key to my happiness is a balanced life, living in the present, real human connection with other people, quiet time for reflection and meditation, taking care of my physical health, and my spirituality. I know what my needs are and I make sure they are met.

Right now taking care of myself and doing my best is good enough, and any successes that come are just icing on the cake. Awards and accolades are no longer my driving force. These are all lessons I had to learn the hard way and that came about with a lot of pain. Other struggles were learning to believe in myself, learning how to manifest things I want, and having the courage to follow my dreams. But there is so much help out there for anything you want to learn, all you have to do is search for it or ask!

Alright – so let’s talk business. What else should we know about your work?
My company provides graphic design and illustration services. I work in a pretty big range of styles but my work generally is concept-driven, colorful, fun, and interactive. I often incorporate detail, surprise and humor into my work as well. I take on a wide range of projects – from high-end fashion logos to interactive die-cut vinyl album packaging, to fully illustrated posters and fliers. I am probably most known for my use of illustration in my design and my interactive print pieces. I am most proud of establishing my own unique voice in my work and making a body of work that does not go out of style a few years later. I think what sets me apart from others is my ideas and my combination of illustration and design.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Staying at my Grandmother’s house in Florida. The tall pines swaying in the wind, the Live Oaks draped in Spanish Moss. The armadillos and the alligators in the canal behind her house. And filling the car with oranges, grapefruit, star fruit, and tangerines to drive back home with.