On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Made By James a.k.a James Martin to talk about his life from someone who was off the rails to a success in logo design and soon to be an author as well as starting to get into mentoring.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When you start to find your feet in design, you start to think “wouldn't it be cool to write a book one day?” and I thought maybe I'll do it in my dotage. But the idea came pre-Covid, in February 2020 and now it's all written, printed and is sitting in a shipping container ready to be out in the world.
• I always subconsciously wanted to be more, but when I was about 17-19 I was totally off the rails, didn't give a shit about what anybody thought, thought I was the big I am. There's a lot of deeper stuff too, like I was sexually abused by a teacher when I was 11 and growing up I rebelled and stopped trusting anybody. The turning point was, after one bender too many, lying there thinking “what's going on? What are you doing? Where are you going?” 19 years later, I'm here!
• Behind every successful person there's a past and a story and I think the story is what makes stuff interesting. If there's one person listening to this smoking weed and thinking I'm better, hopefully this might spur them on a little bit. I'm totally sober now and I now do everything, probably because it feels like I'm making up for all that lost time.
• I've always got a 10 year plan, for me the challenge is the transition that I'm in. For the last decade I've been building Baby Giant which involves lots of client work, which I love because it's what's got me to where I am today. But I now want to start being a good influencer on young creatives coming up and take on a mentor/educator role. The idea is to do half and half. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I hope being open about what I've been through allows other people to talk about stuff.'

‘It's great that people are opening up about being gay or problems with drugs and alcohol.'

‘I'm a believer in that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. I try to keep one foot in the present while looking at the future.'

‘There's way more opportunities for creatives these days than there were a decade ago, definitely more than a decade ago.'

ABOUT THE GUEST

James Martin grew up a creative, developed his skills in illustration, became a teacher, then a tattoo apprentice, and has now been in the graphic design world for over 15 years. He is now fully focused on Brand identity, logo design, and nurturing the new designers on this planet to find their own path in the creative industry.

His mission is to provide his clients with iconic and memorable brand identity solutions, and guide the passionate creatives of this world through transparent communication and engaging content.

Website: https://themadebyjames.com/ 
Book: Made by James: The Honest Guide to Creativity and Logo Design 
Instagram and Pinterest: @made.by.james
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/madebyjames

ABOUT THE HOST

Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and Business Owner.

Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including Škoda, Gtech, UK Biocentre, UK Mail and GIRLvsCANCER. Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people's lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers.

Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | [https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/]
LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/]
Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  [https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke](https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke)
Email - [[email protected]](http://www.danielleclarkecreative.com/)
Website: www.danielleclarkecreative.com

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