First-Person: Jon Willard

Jon Willard came to Portfolio Center with an art degree from the University of South Carolina. He graduated from our program in 2003 and has been busy making us proud since then. After seeing an article about him in Board recently, we wrote and asked him to tell us what else he's been up to. Here's what Jon had to say:

I joined Goodby Silverstein & Partners two and a half years ago as a designer, and during that time I’ve transitioned into the role of Art Director. I will always be a designer at heart, though, and sometimes a little too much. I remember recently being on production for a tv spot, and the art department had designed some mock poster for background elements for one of the shots. I really wasn't happy with them, so I found myself designing posters on my laptop in the back of a van for the production department. They turned out great, and those little details--in my mind--make the difference between good work and great work. You can't skip on good design anywhere; that is why I typeset all my ads and can't resist getting my hands dirty on all my projects.

This past year I teamed up with a new writer, Jesse Gazzuolo, from McCann, and we really clicked as a team. We’ve produced tv, print, outdoor and interactive pieces for a variety of clients, including Comcast, HD DVD, HP, and Ace Hardware. Recently, we’ve been getting some press for our work on Comcast, including three tv spots for kids programming and our OnDemand print campaign.

Currently, my partner and I are the lead creative team working to launch a new brand called HD DVD, which is a consortium of the world's leading technology and entertainment companies--Universal Studios, Microsoft, Warner Brothers, HBO, HP, and Toshiba. Basically it is what it sounds like: Hi Def DVDs for the next upgrade in HD home entertainment. This is a dream client who lets us push the boundaries of traditional advertising media and ideas.

We recently finished editing a movie trailer for the promotion of this new brand with Kyle Cooper and his new motion graphics company, Prologue (in theaters this fall). We’re also producing some spectacular outdoor advertising for HD DVD that is literally out of the box, along with a print campaign we’re extremely excited about (out early 2007).

All in all, my work is my life, which is how it should be right now. Things move so fast in this industry, and I love every minute of it.

Huge props to Hank and PC. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today in my career without the support and direction I gained at Portfolio Center.

If you're a Portfolio Center graduate, working on an interesting job or project, and you'd like to be featured on our site, just call or write.