Meet Landon Stokes | Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Landon Stokes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Landon, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks can reveal areas in your life that are in need of improvement, and they also reveal areas of strength. Without risk, you may not even realize these areas exist. Learning your strengths and your weaknesses through risks, are crucial to bettering your career and personal life.

Even before I began my creative career, I spent years taking risk after risk on a football field. I played 4 years of division 1 football in the SEC at Vanderbilt University. But, before I even got to Vanderbilt, during my junior year of high school, I took one of the biggest risks of my life to that date. I signed a letter of intent, to go to Vanderbilt University. I had accumulated around 40 offers by that point, one of which was from Clemson University. Playing football at Clemson had been a dream of mine for a long time, so the decision came down to Clemson and Vanderbilt.

This was one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever had to make. On one hand was Clemson. At the time they were pretty much a football powerhouse. They would eventually go on to win 2 National Championships in 16’ & 17’. They were able to consistently put guys into the NFL, which was a big pull for me at the time, because playing in the NFL was my ultimate goal. They also had a decent party scene, and their jerseys weren’t too bad either. So a lot of important factors were checked off the list.

On the other hand was Vanderbilt. A team I hate to say, I had no clue was even in the SEC until my sophomore year of high school. At the time, they were on the rise, but still had much to prove. They weren’t known for putting guys in the NFL, and being a private institution, I don’t believe they were known for being much of a party school either. What they’ve always been know for, is consistently being one of the top academic universities in the country. Anyone that chooses to go to Vanderbilt knows that they face tougher challenges than any other school in the Nation, let alone any other school in the SEC.

Vanderbilt was without a doubt the biggest risk between the two schools. Choosing to be a student athlete at Vanderbilt meant going up against the best athletes in the country in the SEC, and going up against the smartest students in the country in the classroom. I ultimately spent my four years at Vanderbilt. And because I chose to take a risk, I failed countless times on and off the field (I only failed one class, but that’s not important right now lol). From those failures, I learned all the ways I needed to improve. Those improvements got me to where I am today. I also succeeded during my time there, in which I found areas of strength that had no clue about. My risk, pushed me past the point of being comfortable, and I’m better because of it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always loved art, but honestly didn’t know graphic design was a career until my junior year of college. I was contemplating my career path and a friend recommended I look into graphic design. I fell in love with the industry. I’m completely self-taught, mostly from watching hours of Youtube videos and listening to design podcasts. Entering an industry self-taught, with no portfolio, degree or experience is not easy. Honestly, it was really exhausting. I worked odd jobs, mostly at small print shops. I was a bouncer at a bar for a while. Dealt with my share of failure, unemployment….you name it. But I never stopped learning and building my portfolio and it’s paid off. I now consider myself to be a pretty accomplished Graphic Designer, and I’ve had the pleasure of working on a lot of really awesome projects. I specialize in logo design, and building bold brand identities. I finally feel like I’m finding my stride as a designer, and am developing work I’m really proud of.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d keep it pretty simple. We’d check out a few plant shops early in the week (Porch Therapy, The Sill, Luka’s Nursery, The Heavy). Go eat at Hungry Pants, Winter Park Biscuit Company, or Ethos. Then we’d end the week with a trip to one of the beaches, or Animal Kingdom.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Would love to give a huge shoutout to Sarah Sung! She’s an amazing designer, a really genuine person, and she was the first person that really encouraged me to pursue Graphic Design as a career path. Whenever I reach out to her with a question, she’s always happy to help. And I leave the conversation more informed than I ever expected to be. I highly encourage any and all readers to follow her creative journey, and reach out for any of your creative needs!

Website: https://sungandco.com/connect
Instagram: @sungandco

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denostokes/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landon-stokes-89b242127/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DenoStokes