The year was 2012 and designer Sara (Duncan) Blankenship was sending her Behance- and BuzzFeed-famous résumé to Kansas City creative agencies. When we saw it and her work, we were so impressed that we looked up the rules on “dibs” to see if it applied to business. It doesn’t, so we went the traditional route and after a few interviews and a Google search to determine what is supposed to go in an employment agreement, Johnny Lightning Strikes Again had our first employee.
So why are you just now hearing about Sara? Well, because we never posted about her. But that changes now!
What in the heck convinced you to be the first person to sign up at JLSA?
There were many reasons! Mostly it was that you guys were hyper-focused on culture and doing good work, and that really resonated with me.
How has JLSA changed since you first got here?
A lot! The obvious answer is just all of the great people who have joined the party in the last few years. Somehow, JLSA really has managed to assemble the dream team. We also have a pinball machine and a kegerator now, so those are definitely improvements.
How have you changed since you first got here?
I have four–yes four–more pets than when I started (shout-out to Leo, Maybelle, Charlie and Sadie) and a new last name (shout-out to Nathan–sorry I put you after the pets). But, as far as my work goes, I think the biggest change has been the amount of web work I do. I have learned a lot in the world of digital design and user experience since I started at JLSA, and it has been fun to take my mostly print-based foundation and apply it to the web in (hopefully) interesting and effective ways.
Do you have any advice for designers out there who maybe haven’t had viral resumés yet?
That last one was pretty long, so I’ll keep this short. Work hard, be nice, and don’t rely too much on trends.