GRAPHIC DESIGNER/DESIGN DIRECTOR
WILL MOKRY CREATIVE, AUSTIN TX
Nationally recognized, award-winning design director Will Mokry — of studio Will Mokry Creative — firmly believes that “creative genius” is only as good as the result it will achieve for the client’s brand. Never happy with the status quo within any industry, results-oriented creative developed for every client, raises the bar in their category, and positions them to soar above and beyond their competition. No small achievement on behalf of his clients, Will blends print, digital advertising, social marketing, and immersive technologies, to produce personable and authentic brand experiences for his clients’ customers. He believes that creating these memorable experiences will grow top-of-mind awareness, while building brand loyalty over the long-run. A self-taught designer with a business-related degree, Will’s natural artistic talent and strategic acumen catapulted him into professional design and creative management roles typically surpassing certifiable standards. He has worked for clients in the automotive, construction, healthcare, industrial, legal, oil & gas, media communications, real estate, and technology industries. Over his twenty-plus years as an accomplished designer, he has worked for prominent clients including Acura®, Cadillac®, Chevrolet®, Jaguar®, Land Rover®, Lexus®, Spectrum Communications®, and the American Heart Association®. From his humble beginnings as an advertising production designer for a local Austin magazine, to a respected professional within the creative community of Austin TX, Will has won many prestigious design awards, including a GDUSA American Graphic Design Award and Hermes Creative Awards.
As a practical matter, has the pandemic changed your workplace and your workflow? Is this good or bad? Do you expect to return to pre-pandemic ways of working or will any changes become the ‘new normal’?
I expect the work-from-home model to continue to become an integral part of the new post pandemic normal. During the coronavirus pandemic I learned productivity and creativity soared while at the same time significantly reduced job burnout. Employees found creative ways to incentivize themselves with rewards: everything from after school outings with their children, to joining a group of buddies on the links, workers celebrated their time wisely and performed their professional responsibilities above and beyond pre-pandemic standards.
What do you expect 2021 to hold for graphic designers and the design business? Have the challenges of 2020 changed the way you think about your job and career or the role of design?
The design community has accomplished great work in expanding the mind to embrace new ideas. However, more than ever, we need to go the extra mile. With the rise of the Me Too, Black Lives Matter, American Indian, and LGBTQ movements, we need to increase our celebration of diversity in everything we do. Never before has it become essential to clearly and concisely relate to the common and idiosyncratic cultural tenets of the audience.
