FOUNDER AND CEO, CLEVER CREATIVE, LOS ANGELES CA
Shannon Gabor is Founder and CEO of Clever Creative. With 13 years of branding experience, working on over 50 global licensing and entertainment properties, she has built a “Dream Team” of designers, writers, and innovators who bring award winning design to clients and bring brands to the hands of consumers. Cut from the cloth of an artist and wired like an entrepreneur, Shannon employs simultaneous left and right brain thinking. Designing, writing, marketing, strategizing – simultaneous, multi-hyphenate thinking is how she challenges consumer insights and creates brand solutions that are grounded in smart and art. Leading the charge of fellow female business-owners, Shannon believes in creating a smart, productive creative playground that nurtures the mind and the hand. She also applies that spirit to the design community at large – whether it’s mentoring the next generation of designers through the Step Up Women’s Network or sitting on the AIGA Los Angeles Board of Directors. On the eve of celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Clever Creative, Shannon and her team are reinventing the agency model to match the pace in which brands are moving, with the agility of today’s business demands.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A YOUNG DESIGNER JUST STARTING OUT?
Find a way to put yourself in the room where the creative action is happening. When there, be a sponge – take it in, be open, be engaged, and add to the conversation. You’ll leave smarter, more informed and inspired to be in that room again tomorrow.
HOW DOES WHERE YOU WERE BORN, GREW UP OR LIVE NOW EFFECT YOUR DESIGN SENSIBILITY OR STYLE?
Born in New York, raised in New Jersey, my creative mind was fueled by fine art, my pace, in lockstep with the metro. I still run at that pace, which is why I started my agency at 28. Much like the urban landscape, my design is bold and unapologetic.
FAVORITE COLOR?
Teal with a splash of elephant grey
FAVORITE TYPEFACE?
Bodoni, Neutraface, Benton Sans, Proxima Nova
FAVORITE APP?
Evernote, Instagram, Uber
FAVORITE WEBSITES?
Notcot, Ted, Pinterest, Underconsideration
FAVORITE TV SHOW?
Felicity, Top Chef, Family Feud
FAVORITE BOOKS?
The Pearl by John Steinbeck, The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
FAVORITE MOVIES?
Amélie, Cinema Paradisio, Bourne Identity
FAVORITE MUSICIANS OR BANDS?
J to the Timberlake, y’all
FAVORITE FINE ARTISTS?
Barbara Kruger, Robert Rauschenberg, Baldesarri
GREATEST STRENGTH AS A DESIGNER?
I know when to stop ‘noodling’ creative
WEAKNESS?
Script fonts, they scare me
TALENT YOU WISHED YOU POSSESSED?
To carry a tune
IF YOU WERE NOT A DESIGNER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
This generation’s Martha Stewart
A MANTRA OR SAYING YOU LIVE BY?
All things good
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