We recently had the chance to connect with Antoine Thomas and have shared our conversation below.
Antoine, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Honestly, probably a little of both. I’m working towards my goals, but I’m also enjoying life, stopping to smell the roses or spend a whole weekend dancing. I think it’s more accepted and expected in artistic people. Flexibility, adaptability, and wanderer vibes make a lot of sense for creatives.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Antoine, Founder and Creative Director of West 7th Design Studio. We’re an award-winning studio that builds human-centered brands, focusing primarily on Brand Strategy & Identity Design, Print/Digital Design, and UI/UX Development. The Studio is Black and LGBT-owned and led and I think that’s been instrumental in shaping our approach to our work. We’re intersectional designers and those identities shape how we experience the world. So we lead with empathy in our process and work since we know that’s the key to effective design and connecting with audiences.
When designing and developing websites, our lived experiences allow us to consider accessibility not just as an item on a checklist, but as a means of making sure as many people can enjoy the site. When suggesting copy edits, those same experiences call us to check for unintentional derogatory statements not to be politically correct, but to just be kind. Those things still matter.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I’m so fortunate that who I was and who I am are one in the same. I was a creative. I am a creative. A lot of growth, unpacking, unlearning, and relearning sits between those two statements, but I decided that I get to tell the world who I am and who I want to be. I think if you believe it deeply enough, the world starts responding to that with “yeah, this is who you have to be because this is who you are” or you just stop caring what anyone else says because your voice is louder. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, healthy delusion, or some fun combination of both.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely. Any entrepreneur or creative who says no is absolutely lying. It’s hard having ideas or living a life that doesn’t fit the norm or the status quo. It’s hard challenging ways of thinking or existing structures and dynamics that seem comfortable. It’s hard feeling the need to justify navigating life in ways that make sense to you but make absolutely no sense to others. Now throw in some systemic imbalances, mix in some imposter syndrome, and top it off with every day life struggles and there it is.
My lowest point came in 2016 — I just lost my cousin, my second best friend, and my dad in a span of 6 weeks. Everything seemed so pointless, but nothing stopped. Bills, work, life. The world kept spinning, just like it did when I lost my first best friend in 2010. With a lot of support from friends, family, and therapy, I started reframing my relationship to work and the world around me. My day-to-day experiences were far more important than what anyone thought of me or arbitrary deadlines I gave myself. I could have a north star I walked towards, but the journey was the purpose. Removing the pressure to appear a certain way to or for people, including myself, brought me back to me. And in a way it reinforced some guiding principles of showing up authentically and unapologetically while doing great work.
It’s significantly less hard having those same ideas and challenging the status quo when the underlying thread is “I actually don’t give a single, solitary [expletive] what you think of me.” And sometimes you have to tell that to the voice in your head that isn’t actually yours.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I used to tie my worth to my productivity. If I had free time, I wasn’t trying hard enough or I didn’t want whatever I said I wanted hard enough. Working ridiculously long hours felt like a badge of honor. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously if I wasn’t somehow suffering to reach my goals. Now I know that’s one of the quickest ways to burnout and disappointment.
All these years later and I’m not thinking about the work my dad did or the projects Kenneth worked on or the degree Tereston was earning. I think about the times we shared and how they made me feel. They meant and still mean so much to me outside of any of the work they did. I still work hard, that’s core to who I am, but I make sure I’m balanced and that I’m enjoying what I’m doing for myself.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That I not only inspired people in whatever way I did, but helped create pathways to make their goals reality. I want to have positive, tangible impacts in the communities I’m part of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://w7th.com
- Instagram: @w7th
Image Credits
DeMarcus Bolds, Bold Photography
