Meet Jonden Jackson, Designer & Cofounder of Forefathers Group
Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jonden Jackson is the Cofounder of Forefathers Group, a super-talented remote team of designers who are passionate about results-driven, visually striking design that positively impacts the course of their clients’ businesses and lives. From branding and websites to illustration and print, Forefathers does it all and has worked with Dangerbird Records, People’s Garment and theory11. This week we talk to Jonden about his background, the work they’re doing, and what he’s up to.
Sandip: Let’s start from the beginning, where are you from? Tell us a bit about yourself (growing up, family, school, etc).
Jonden: Let’s start this short and sweet. I was born in 1983 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (still reside here with my wife and daughters). I have 1 Mom, 1 Dad, 1 Brother (still do). I also scraped my way through high-school and rejected college (still do).
Sandip: Growing up, would your parents say your current career choice was pretty obvious given your hobbies or what you both were good at?
Jonden: Just laughed thinking about that. Probably not. For the most part I was a quiet kid growing up but I always wanted to be more extroverted and creative somehow.
The only thing that seemed natural was to learn how to do things that I thought looked enticing and fun and for me that was music. I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember so naturally I wanted to create it. I got a guitar at 11 years old and growing up that was all that really ever mattered to me, I made that my outlet in life. Just learning, riffing and hanging with other kids like me.
It started to instill a confidence in me the more I learned and I was right, through that I became more extroverted and met a lot of good (and bad) people and got a lot of unique experiences at a young age. I started messing around with Photoshop when I was about 14 as well and was always designing music related stuff for friends, my own bands or other whatever anyone needed. I was good at both but eventually got better at the latter so I jumped out of music and went into designing full force.
Sandip: What was your first job in “design”? What did you like about it? What lessons did you learn? What did you dislike?
Jonden: My first real career job in “Design” was awful. When I was hired I was thinking I was going to be shown the ropes of great web design and learn how to code from very knowledgable people all while getting the real experience. That wasn’t the case at all! The boss was a real goon.
I found out quickly that the company barely had any design or proper coding structure and solely ran off of half-baked, pre-made templates and slapped them up as fast as possible to get paid. It was basically a sweat shop for websites. It was garbage but I slugged it out for about 3 years trying to see what I could get away with inside of a system like that. I started to really learn and push back on their practices the more I learned how to code, they certainly didn’t like that but I also worked efficiently so they didn’t really know what to do with me.
“Luckily I was eventually fired for the discrepancies I had with them. I decided right then and there that I was going to be making my own rules and design how I wanted no matter what it took. I’ve been ‘Boss’ free ever since.”
Sandip: You design, illustrate, write, podcast, and help run a remote studio. How do you do it all? If you had to pick, what would you say you’re the best at? What would you say you enjoy the most? What do you enjoy the least?
Jonden: I’m best at web design with writing coming in at a close second. I enjoy those the most. Writing is just something I found myself in that seems to get a lot of traction for us. It’s never something I intentionally did but I seem to have a pretty good knack for it. Sometimes I say things that I’m sure a lot of people don’t like or wouldn’t agree with but I have to write them out.
I enjoy dealing with the IRS the least and I’ll leave it at that.
Sandip: You’ve been in business for awhile now. What are some things you believe have helped in the success of staying in business and growing? How have you weathered the ups and downs that come with running a business? Ever any low points that made you question what you were doing?
Jonden: I’ve never had a point where I questioned what I was doing per se. The vision of Forefathers has always been crystal clear to me and I’ve always been very confident in the objectives. That’s not to say there hasn’t been days where I’ve thought just about quitting and maybe just going to wash dishes. In fact I have a fantasy about going back to the first job I ever worked when I was 16 but at my age now and just absolutely excelling at it. I might actually do it for a year someday, who knows.
Sandip: You’ve worked on all sorts of projects and for big clients and small. What would you say are some common themes you’ve noticed that makes for successful projects?
Jonden: There’s really only one recipe for great results and that’s communication and trust. Who could go wrong with that combo!? If you’re ambitious with communication and letting your clients know that they’re in good hands and you’re going to deliver and get them the results they are looking for then they’re going to trust you to do your job.
Don’t fake it though, you have to be completely sincere. Just be open and honest from day one and you’ll be able to float those crazy ideas you have over the plate much easier to get their approval.
Sandip: What’s the hardest part of running your own studio?
Jonden: Keeping the yachts fueled up
Sandip: I hear that! What’s the best part of running your own studio?
Jonden: Satisfaction plain and simple. Finishing work that challenges you and seeing it all the way through is like a drug to me. Seeing something from the beginning to the end with your hand as the guide is something I feel is engrained into us as humans at a core level. We’re conditioned to start, struggle, and then finish. Completing big tasks when sometimes you had doubts is beyond satisfying, so I would say that.
Sandip: “The Declaration”, I love that you folks are doing with this. Can you share more about it. What sparked that? What was the process of writing that? How have clients reacted to that?
Jonden: Can I just say something about The Declaration? Writing that and putting it out in the open has brought us more work than our actual design work ever has. The Declaration was written while we were dealing with personal struggles as professionals and appeasing to clients while ensuring results didn’t suffer. It ended up becoming a manifesto to everything that we believe in as a Design studio and more importantly what we don’t believe in. You’d be surprised who wants to hear or read what you don’t believe in before anything else about you.
“There’s really only one recipe for great results and that’s communication and trust.”
Sandip: That’s often the case! Walk us through the process of starting a new project at Forefathers Group. What’s that look like? How do you like to start, your processes, the different phases, tools you might use, etc.
Jonden: Communication and time management is key with us. One of our biggest core values is ‘Mind the Clocks’ so we don’t waste it. Keeping that core value has what’s kept us thriving as a remote team for so long.
Right from the very first contact a potential client makes with us we start talking to them right away to introduce them to our weird little world, introduce them to The Declaration, and who we are as a team and what we can do for them as fast as possible.
Once we get to the core of the project’s needs we get to the proposals immediately using Bonsai in tandem with Cage for project management. We try to keep everything as light as humanly possible with apps that we use for client and invoice management. Once the contract is in place and the project payment tiers are mapped out we jump right in.
Sandip: Have any mentors that helped you along the way?
Jonden: Matt and Emir, my 2 business partners at Forefathers have been my biggest mentors without a doubt.
Sandip: What do you think is the hardest part of what you do (in terms of the job a designer or illustrator)?
Jonden: Continuing in the pursuit of learning. It does get tedious especially as I get older as I’ve been around the block a few times now where it would be easier just to get complacent as I’ve found what works and what doesn’t for me. But the real growth as a designer is pushing to keep learning no matter how many years are invested. This industry changes way too fast to get comfy so I have to open to learning more everyday.
Sandip: You have a pretty strong background in print design, how has that helped in your transition to web? What was the hardest part in the learning curve?
Jonden: 12 years ago that transition was actually very easy. Luckily I had been designing for web for a good while when Responsive came around. If I had missed that curve it would have taken me much longer to wrap my head around it. Or I just would have rage quit.
Sandip: What are some of your favorite brands (can be new or old) and some of your favorite designers (can be new or old)?
Jonden: As far as brands go I don’t think anything gets bigger or more influential than Disney. The size of that brand is just mind-boggling.
As for Designers I’ve always loved people who blur the line of Artist and Designer. I know many people don’t correlate the 2 and typically I agree. But there are the anomalies, it’s hard to explain but you know it when you see it. Dan Christofferson (Beeteeth) comes to mind.
Sandip: What advice would you give your 20 year old self?
Jonden: Stop feeling guilty and start taking exactly what you want.
Sandip: Do you have a person, place or thing that inspires you? If you’re feeling in a creative rut, what’s something you do to help pull you out?
Jonden: I’m not kidding but deep cleaning my house pulls me out of a rut every single time. I also love going to museums when I’m struggling with things. There’s something very cathartic about museum environments to me.
Sandip: There’s a hush among all the husbands reading this right now, ha! So, you’re in Tulsa, OK, what do you love most about living in Tulsa? If someone was coming to visit for a few days, give me your list of must-do, must-see, must-eat places?
Jonden: One reason for Tulsa. QuickTrip. Any place with a QuickTrip is a great spot to put your flag down. If you’re not familiar check it out but you have to go to one to really experience what I’m talking about.
Must see? Definitely Philbrook Museum and all the spots Downtown Tulsa, really take your pick.
Sandip: Do you have a favorite book or podcast (or both)?
Jonden: My favorite book of all time is Lord of The Flies.
Sandip: Great book! What are you listening to? Have a favorite artist or band?
Jonden: I dig deep on music but I can’t pick a favorite. Let’s see, today I listened to the new Beck album ‘Colors’ which I’m loving and this little six song EP from a band called SCOUR — really extreme band, it sounds like the world ending while on loads of speed. I love it.
Sandip: Do you have any daily morning or evening routines? Something you do almost daily?
Jonden: I’m actually a morning person. My oldest daughter goes to school early in the morning so it works out perfect for me. I get dressed most days like I’m going to a meeting even though I probably won’t see any clients face to face at all, it just helps me mentally and we’re out the door by 7am. Between that and a big coffee I’m ready to get the day going.
Sandip: So last question. Not to get too deep, but do you ever think about what happens when this is all over? What sort of dent do you hope to make in the universe or legacy would you like to leave behind?
Jonden: I used to think about this especially when things weren’t looking so good for me in my early 20’s. I had 2 things that I was never in short supply of; passion and anger. I used to think of how much of a dent I wanted to make in Design, how much money I hoped to net, and eventually to be recognized for great works by detractors. But anymore I just want to design and live life on my own terms with my wife and provide for my family. I absolutely love where Forefathers is today and what we’ve done. If people remember it, that’s fantastic. If they don’t, that’s ok too. I sure as fuck will.
Thanks for reading! Each week our team will be publishing an interview with designers, illustrators, filmmakers, animators and artists that inspire us. A big thank you to Jonden for taking the time to chat with us! You can see more of Jonden and Forefathers work on their site, Dribbble, Twitter and Instagram and Jonden personally on Instagram too.
This interview was brought you to by the fine folks at Cage — a leading project management and media collaboration platform for creative teams. Stop those messy email threads, ditch unnecessary products from your workflow, cancel marathon meetings and opt for a simpler, more productive workday.
Sign up for a free 15 day trial at cageapp.com
