#459 Red Deluxe.

Gotta be nostalgic for a minute today, folks. My junior year of college, I was lucky enough to land an internship at Red Deluxe Brand Desire— a very cool ad agency in downtown Memphis.

My office was on the first floor and my apartment was 4 floors above it, so I literally just rode an elevator or walked to get anywhere I needed to go. My VW stayed in the parking garage for much of that summer.
In the hallway of my apartment building:
On the street outside my building my last night in Memphis. I look like such a baby!
I spent my days working on ideas for a Memphis Grizzlies ad campaign and doing logo and branding brainstorming that was mostly awful. I felt like a child amongst professionals, which I most certainly was, but our boss Martin was always gracious and willing to give me a shot at whatever project the experienced art directors were working on.
The office was always fun and crazy, with the guys playing basketball for a photoshoot in the hall or the morning breakfast parties that happened once a week. They even invited me to the agency night out to a Memphis Redbirds game where we had a catered meal in the skybox. I had never lived totally alone in my life, and it forced me to be an adult for a little while. I learned more that summer than I did in 4 years of undergraduate work, I think.
Today, my sweet former boss called to ask if I would like to design a project for Red Deluxe and I was completely flattered. It’s a series of concert posters for Live at the Garden. I’ll be designing posters for ZZ Top, Huey Lewis and the Goo Goo Dolls among others. I feel like I’m finally getting to sit at the grown up table of my career.