OVERSHARE PODCAST:Overshare Podcast: Jon Contino
Overshare is a new WNW event series and podcast that features honest conversations with our favorite creatives about the realities of being an independent creative. For the second installment, renowned designer Jon Contino helps Overshare earn its Parental Advisory sticker on iTunes in an honest and hilarious discussion about building his brand over twenty years and dealing with copycats. Jon comes clean to the audience about his competitive nature and inclination to always have something to prove: "I always, always, always feel like I have something to prove, mostly because what I do is ridiculous. The fact that I just draw stupid shit for big companies and they say 'Okay'. How long could that possibly last?"
When hearing his imitators receive praise for being "visionaries," Jon tries to take it in stride: "Not that I am, but the fact that I know you’re stealing from me, if anyone should be getting those compliments it should be me. And I know I shouldn’t be getting those compliments 'cause I got it from somewhere else too." Jon finds assistance on big projects from one unlikely source in particular: "I’m not even joking. [My daughter] is three and I’m always just like, 'Which one do you like?' And she’s like, 'Umm, this one.' And I’m like 'Done. Here you go AT&T.'”
It's clear that Jon Contino operates at his best when he has a certain edge. On whether moving to the suburbs and having a kid has made him lose his edge, Jon had this to say: "It’s probably made it worse because I have a daughter. I’m just waiting to knife a 14-year old kid. The first boy she brings home, I can’t wait because I’m locking him in the basement and I’m just gonna call his parents to come pick him up because he’s not allowed upstairs."
Lastly, Jon offers some priceless advice of his own to remember when you inevitably hit a creative wall: "If [your creativity] didn’t come back, I think you would be some kind of science experiment. I feel like you are wired to be a creative person. If you hit a wall, that’s natural. If you hit a wall, and it never comes back, you should probably be studied. You don’t stop breathing unless you die. You’re always breathing, you’re always doing these things that it’s just like a bodily function that’s unique to you."
For those of you who couldn't join us, we have good news: you can listen to the entire conversation below on our new podcast. Subscribe to Overshare on iTunes, Soundcloud, or with any other podcasting app via our RSS feed.