Meet William Warren of The Sketch Effect in Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to William Warren.

Thanks for sharing your story with us William. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always loved drawing. As a kid, I was constantly sketching, doodling, making comics, and illustrating. After pursuing a career as a newspaper “funnies” cartoonist, I decided to shift gears and got a job working in marketing at Chick-fil-A corporate. At the same time, I also pursued a master’s degree in illustration at Savannah College and Design.

After a few years of working at Chick-fil-A, I began to feel the need for a creative outlet. After all, my passion was always drawing. So, just for fun, I began to draw during meetings. I would sketch the notes in my notebook, or if we had a team brainstorm, I would draw out the ideas on a whiteboard, or, if I had a presentation to give, I would sketch out my ideas, scan them in, and use them in my PowerPoint.

What I realized is that people found value in this form of “visual” communication. To them, it made the meeting more effective and enjoyable. The content became stickier and more engaging. Soon, other departments around the organization asked me to come sketch at their meetings. And not much later, people outside Chick-fil-A were asking me.

In those first few weeks, I used PTO to go do these paid “gigs”…as a simple side hustle. However, I could sense the demand. I also learned of other firms around the world doing this kind of work as their “main thing” and felt inspired. So, after much consideration, I decided to leave my job and start a business. In brief, my creative outlet became a side hustle, which became the main hustle which is now a business with almost 20 employees.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s never been smooth! But it has been great. Like any good adventure, there are always ups and downs. For me, a big struggle is learning to let go. As a creative, I can be quite a perfectionist. However, to scale a creative business, I have to be willing to allow others to have ownership. Another struggle is hiring the right people. We’ve made some good choices and some not-so-good decisions, and getting the right people on the bus is critical.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
The Sketch Effect is a visual communications firm. In other words, we use visuals (like animation, illustration, sketching, and design) to help our clients communicate their messages. We have two main services. The first is “Sketch Effect Live”, where we send a live artist to a client meeting. That artist is physically present in the room, active listening to the discussion, synthesizing in the moment, and sketching out the content in real-time. It’s like “improv illustration,” where the artist is spontaneously visualizing the big ideas and themes coming out of that meeting.

The second service is Sketch Effect Video. If you’ve ever seen a Whiteboard Video or an Explainer Video, we make those. The goal is to make our client’s message engaging, efficient, and enjoyable. We are proud of a lot of things, especially the amazing clients and brands we work with. We are also proud of the culture we have built, which I believe is a positive force for good for our employees and clients.

What were you like growing up?
I was always interested in four things.
1) Art – As I mentioned, I always loved drawing and sketching. I was especially font of editorial and comic strip cartoons.
2) Ideas – I’ve always been hungry to learn. My parents recall finding me reading through encyclopedias to learn about dinosaurs and volcanoes and planets and machines, etc.
3) People – I’ve also always enjoyed working with people. As an extrovert, I wasn’t happy if I was alone for too long. I think people are awesome and have always been interested in being a part of a team.
4) Adventures – Above all, I love a good experience.
What’s exciting to me is seeing these four elements at play in my current business. The Sketch Effect sits at the unique center of these four passions.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1037 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta GA 30306
• Website: www.thesketcheffect.com
• Email: Info@thesketcheffect.com
• Instagram: @thesketcheffect
• Facebook: The Sketch Effect
• Twitter: @thesketcheffect

Image Credit:
Ben Farnham & Motion Tellers

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