Meet the Members: Jay Robinson

Welcome to the Gather Round family Jay!  Jay is an end-to-end creative specialising in branding, art direction, illustration and UX/UI with with 16 years’ experience in bringing insight, ideas and execution expertise to concepts, stories and brands.  Working with and advising brands such as Microsoft, Cadbury’s and Superdry.

We caught up with Jay this week to talk about work, 90’s metal and his top picks when it comes to eating out in Bristol.

Can you tell us what you do and what an average work day looks like?

I’m never quite sure what to call myself.  I did fine art at college, followed by a diploma in 3D design before doing a degree in product design.  I then went into the marketing industry, working on 3D and graphic design for huge retail clients and eventually heading up Superdry’s retail design team after a few years.  

Over the years I’ve stepped away from 3D and become far more interested in the ideas and thinking behind it all and so now do a mix of illustration, graphic design, art direction, marketing, brand strategy and web design with a focus on UX/UI.  A classic jack of all trades, but with just enough skill to be a master of a few of them!  

I work with my own clients, consult freelance for a few agencies across Bristol and collaborate on bigger projects with a partner, offering a mini full-service agency.  Each day is different from one to the next, but my brain is always in overdrive thinking of new and exciting ways to make things look great, whilst being commercially effective.

What excites you most about the creative process?

It’s very much a problem solving process for me, with a lot of logic born through the process-driven 3D world, but I also adore the chaos and thought-unification that drives great ideas.  Throwing all this info into a big pot and stirring it, and every now and again taking a sip and seeing if it’s good. When you take that final sip and it’s bloody delicious, and all the ingredients come together, that’s a huge buzz and when the client agrees and you see your creative broth go into the world, that’s the best.

Anything you’re working on at the moment that’s exciting you?

Creating pitches and quotes for brands is very dry but I get a huge kick from it; building the processes and plans which I know will help me to thrive creatively, and having clients buy in and pay for it, is a great feeling.  I’m also working on a big rebrand for a Bristol based tech start-up which is very exciting. 

What kit/tools can you not live without?

My Macbook Air – its 7 years old but still flies, thanks to the solid-state drive, and it’s just so thin and light but never has a problem running the entire Adobe Creative Suite. 

A decent set of fine-liners – a few weights to give scribbles definition. 1.0, 0.5, 0.3 and 0.1 usually. 

Soon to be my iPad Pro, which I’ve been holding off for so long. Scanning my sketches or emailing photos of them to myself to get them on my computer is not the best workflow! And honestly anything which means I can sketch on the go is awesome.

What are you listening to/watching at the moment?

I’m currently going through a renaissance of 90’s metal, including one of my all-time favourites Funeral for a Friend, who I managed to catch at a charity gig last week, alongside Boysetsfire, Linkin Park and Slipknot amongst others.  I’m also rediscovering 70’s guitar classics like Doobie Brothers, Toto and Thin Lizzie as well as having The XX, Lissie and Paramore on heavy rotation at the moment.

TV wise, Big Mouth is maybe my favourite all time show.  Jack Ryan, Living With Myself and Taskmaster are taking too much of my time and when I really want to switch off and laugh, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is just so, so good.

Where is your favourite place to eat in Bristol?

Squeezed is the best burger in Bristol, hands down.  But I also love Chomp for steaks, The Malago for a fry up and Wokyko for noodles.

Why did you choose to join Gather Round?

I chose Gather Round because of the great interior space, friendly folk and perfect location.

Thanks for the chat Jay!  For more information about Jay and to view a portfolio of his work, head over to Jay Robinson Creative.