Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.

My name is Kenni Roberson and I wear a few different hats professionally. I am a small business owner, graphic designer, web designer, music producer, and photographer. I have been doing graphic design for about ten years, web design for about six, music production for about thirteen, and photography for about four years now.

The company I own and work for is called “Creative Squeeze,” a small design agency based in Orange County that specializes in graphic and web design, branding and photography.

Musically, I am a record producer and Creative Director for the Jeigh B. Records music label, and I am also currently one-half of the indie-electronic duo YNGCULT. 

What drove you to choose your career path?

On the design/aesthetic front, I wish I could say I was a super creative little kid who was drawing, coloring and painting well beyond his peers in school — but, that's not me. I did not get into any aspect of design until late in high school when I joined the yearbook staff. Yearbook staff was a big deal at my school, so I believe it is what planted the "design seed" inside of me. I was named as the Design Editor, and after winning a couple of yearbook competitions on the national level, I realized I had a knack for it. From there, I began to explore and weed out different angles of the creative field until I realized the aspects I loved to do.

Musically, I was exposed to the music industry at a very early age (thanks to my aunt) and got to be a fly on the wall for many recording and production sessions by many notable, top artists in the music industry of that time. From there, my aunt also hooked me up with many internships throughout my teenage years at record labels and recording studios where I was able to sponge up a grip of knowledge about the recording, production, and engineering processes.

How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need?

I started working for Creative Squeeze in early 2013 after reaching out to their owner and lead designer at the time. From there, that same owner had a career change later that year, and little did I know he was grooming me to acquire and take ownership of the company after he had left. Part of my appeal to him was my skill set and knowledge of the modern and digital realm of design — being that he was a little older and outdated to today’s methods and trends. The winter of 2013 is when I officially acquired Creative Squeeze from him with a friend and business partner, CP Phan.

For Jeigh B. Records, me and label owner Arjay Smith used to play basketball together when I was a kid at the same gym in our neighborhood. I hadn’t seen him for some time, but one day (years later) he was there again and we recognized each other and caught up on our lives. Once I had told him what I had been up to musically and creatively, we exchanged contacts, and ended up reconnecting and re-building our friendship with each other over the following months. Eventually, we began collaborating creatively at which point Arjay extended an invitation to me to help run his music label.

For YNGCULT, the band was actually started by a buddy of mine, David Lee, back in late 2013 as well. They have already experienced successes like performing Coachella, SXSW, and gaining buzz around the indie blogosphere. Dave and I had already been friends for a couple of years but never really collaborated musically until the Summer of 2015. After realizing we had a unique sound together and a lot of positive feedback, he asked me to officially join his band early Fall of 2015. That was an easy “yes” for me, as collaborating with him brought out a sense of fun and positivity that I had not felt in years (due to the shenanigans of the music industry.)

Regarding education and experience, I think it is important to mention that all of my creative skill sets — design, music, photography, etc.— are self taught. I did not receive any kind of formal education for any of them. I feel this has given me a unique outlook and overall attitude of patience and hard-work... Two things I feel are foundational to success. The only formal education I’ve received is for entrepreneurship and business administration, which I paired with my creative skill sets in an effort to monetize and make a living off of them!

What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?

That’s easy — working! If not that, probably traveling, playing or watching basketball, video games, or taking photos recreationally.

What misconceptions do people often have about your job?

On the creative/design side, I feel that the creative and design industry is definitely under-valued in my generation. Not everybody can be a lawyer or a doctor, but I feel that everybody views themselves as "creative" in some way. In my line of work, this translates itself as through things such as “I don’t need a professional to do this, I can probably do this on my own” or “I can just get my friend/cousin/nephew to do this for me.” I think because the creative world is so saturated with creative resources and companies, it’s hard for people to see the value in seeking professional help for their needs — but there is an actual science to good design and how things look and work.

On the musical side, I feel that it’s hard for a majority of people to see you as a successful musician if you aren’t a huge top 40 Billboard or Grammy nominated/award winning artist or songwriter. Often times, if they haven’t heard of you or anything that you are doing, I feel you are incorrectly categorized as a “broke, starving musician” lol.

What are your average work hours?

Approximately 60-70 hours per week on average.

What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?

I don’t know if I have any “shortcuts” only because I’ve had to learn all my skill sets on my own/the hard way, but one personal tip that has saved me a lot of time on my projects is being resourceful. 

There are a number of logos, designs, or even music tracks that I have presented to companies and artists that were ultimately rejected or not chosen — but those same assets and tracks later were picked up by another company or artist, only after making a few tweaks that fit what the new companies and artists were looking for (as opposed to starting from scratch all the time.)

What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession?

I try to have an eye for detail and simplicity in my design, photography, and music. This is a lot of what makes up my visual and musical identity.

Do you have any advice for people who need to enlist your services?

I would say the biggest thing would be to remember that you have enlisted me for a reason — that I am a professional. So, that means, let me do my thing and try not to micro-manage me! Lol. I am very open-minded and fun to work with, and I enjoy making you feel like you are as much of the process as you’d like to be.

What's the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?

Continuing from the previous question, one of my biggest pet peeves are clients don’t allow me to do my job. Sometimes I come across clients that essentially just want me to be a “puppet” or a “hand on the mouse” for their design vision, rather than letting me execute what I think is best for them (even if it goes against their said vision). 

As I mentioned, you hired me because I am a professional right? Okay, well then let me be one! Haha.

What's the most enjoyable part of the job?

The most enjoyable aspects of my work is literally the work itself. When you love what you do — it doesn’t become a job or work anymore. You look forward to doing it as much as you can, and feel extremely blessed when you are able to sustain a living off it.

What kind of money can one expect to make at your job?

Honestly, the sky is the limit in terms of the money that can be made when you wear different hats that are all entrepreneurial in nature. You have to be careful not to bite off more than you can chew however, and not to spread yourself too thin — the entrepreneurial twist on financial success in the creative/design industry and the music industry is all about poise and timing.

How do you move up in your field?

Being that my particular lines of work are all hustle-based, the answer to “moving up” just equals hard work and patience, plain and simple.

What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession?

My biggest advice would be not to compare yourself to others. The creative industry is obviously a very visual medium, and it’s super easy to compare your work with others and get discouraged. I still struggle with this every day. Keep in mind that the creative industry is very intentional, edited and processed — what you typically see are the final products of hours, days, weeks, months, or even years of hard work on a specific project or idea. You see this glorious and shiny result at the end, however you are not often aware of the blood, sweat, tears, and failures it took for them to get that one glorious and shiny result that is put on display. Do not be discouraged, just keep working on elevating your taste and honing your craft.

The same idea also applies to the music industry. However, I feel the most important advice I would give around music isn’t very “musical” at all. My advice would actually be to surround yourself with individuals or a team that lifts you up and makes you better not only musically, but on a personal level as well. There is a lot of negativity looming around in the music industry, and have a solid team can make all the difference in your productivity, your attitude, how much fun you are having in the process of doing music, and subsequently the quality of music that you make. I believe that a solid team of “decent” but positive-minded musicians can grow and get much farther than a team or group of “uber-talented” musicians that are generally negative, do not have any personal chemistry, or don’t get along.