The Designer Activist: Jessica Watson

The next era of donors and supporters want to connect with the stakeholders, seeking experience and something real.

5 QUESTIONS WITH JESSICA WATSON

CEO & CREATIVE DIRECTOR, POINTS NORTH STUDIO

BALTIMORE, MD

1. One of your company sayings is that “great branding evokes a feeling.” The cultural sector is in need of a rebrand — next era donors are turning away from the arts to support areas they see as greater drivers of social progress. How would you advise the sector on better branding… how do you think we can better articulate our social value and impact?

We are moving into a world where there is a demand for accountability and authenticity when it comes to companies, organizations, and brands. Drop the facade. Do away with labels. Young Millennials and Gen Z are extremely progressive. They are purposeful and conscientious with their spending, and consume as a way to express individual identity. Almost four out of five of Gen Z trust a company or organization more if the images they use are not Photoshopped and 84 percent trust a company more if they use real people with their brand.

When we say great branding evokes a feeling, we mean that it’s not just about a cool mark or image, it’s about your story. Often when I’m in the early stages of branding for a new client, I ask them “if your company/organization were a person that you met at the bar, who would that person be? What’s their personality like?” Immediately we want to start talking about the feelings and emotions that should be tied to the brand. A few years ago it was all about having a personal brand, and now it’s about giving your brand the personal touch.

The next era of donors and supporters of the arts want to see the connection between the cultural sector and the greater drivers of social progress. They want to connect with the stakeholders, seeking experience and something real. We have to remove the barriers and establish some very clear paths to entry. Your branding tells your audience who you are and why you do what you do — before any words are ever exchanged.

2. One of your core values at Points North is “keepin' it real”. You are dedicated to fostering transparency with both clients and teammates with unwavering candor, honesty and respect. There’s been a growing reckoning within the arts sector with regards to power, hierarchy, and equity. What advice do you offer institutions and companies as they go through this communal self-reflection process?

In 2021, American champion Sha’Carri Richardson was disqualified from the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana. In a tweet posted after this ordeal, she stated simply “I am human.” This same year, top ranking tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open, citing anxiety and depression, and four-time gold medalist Simone Biles withdrew from the all around Final at the Olympics citing mental health issues. Opinions are divided on each of these situations. These points of contention are happening across industries and professions, with many being forced to reckon with “the way we’ve always done it.” The universal truth is that we have legacy systems that need to be examined, that should evolve with us over time.

Managing teams and clients is not for the faint of heart. Through experience, I’ve found that creating a space that honors people’s authentic self and respects diverse perspectives, is exactly what allows for honest conversations that help us to grow and move forward. The best advice I can offer to institutions and companies as they go through a self-reflection process, is to get comfortable with sometimes being uncomfortable. There is no growth without the moments that stretch us.

Start from a place of understanding that while your truth may be valid, it does not necessarily carry a heavier weight than other truths. Don’t be afraid to fail, because sometimes it’s in these spaces that’s where we learn the most. Work with leaders and researchers who are interested in the whole picture, who can serve as guides and operate from a space of counsel instead of cancel (referencing cancel-culture here). And know that any real change is slow and takes time. There is no easy-button. To do this work, you must be brave. As Brené Brown put so eloquently, “We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.”

3. Points North has several community projects and partnerships, highlighting the value of giving back and social engagement. Tell me about how these programs, particularly The Have A Nice Day Project, generate community through design.

Over the years, we’ve created our own community projects, and partnered with initiatives in our city such as Shine Your Light Baltimore, Light City, and Volunteering Untapped. Our pride and joy is definitely our Have A Nice Day Project, where people gather to write positive messages on blank coffee cup sleeves, which are then donated to locally owned cafés in the city.

When we think of community projects, it’s natural to think big. But the way to be sustainable is actually to intentionally start small. To be in the room where this event takes place, is to witness a man in a business suit sharing a conversation with a woman in yoga pants, and a college student sitting next to a mom teaching her daughter how to write “love” on a coffee sleeve. They are all at the same table. “The forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us,” President Barack Obama said during a 2011 speech. This event shines light on those common threads between us, and ring true that there is a space for you at our table.

Community art has the ability to disarm, to create a safe space where you can come exactly as you are. It’s an equalizer that fosters connection between people, or the ability to escape and leave your troubles at the door. Have A Nice Day Project started when I discovered that sales reps were dropping off free coffee cup sleeves to the local cafés, but the sleeves featured advertisements for things that had nothing to do with Baltimore. Something clicked when thinking about what message I wanted to see with my morning cup of coffee. Whether you’re attending an event and making the sleeves, or receiving one as a sweet surprise from your favorite café, this is a feel good project at each touchpoint. On a deeper level, it’s a representation of how we’re all connected, and how something small can have a big impact on someone’s day.

We’ve been contacted by businesses, organizations, and kindergarten classes seeking to do this project. Long term, we’re working to create project kits that can be ordered through the website, so that others can introduce the concept into their cities and communities. Our commitment to our community matters. Muhammad Ali once said, "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." I want our rent to always be paid in full.

4. How has your Womxn in Tech work shaped your view on mentorship, networking and collaboration?

There is an African proverb that reads, “If we stand tall it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors.” My work in this space stems from the understanding that I am here because those who came before me helped to pave the way. This is not something I take lightly. With that charge, I feel a deep desire to create spaces that help to open doors for others.

It’s through the spaces created for womxn in the tech and art communities that have shown me what happens when we look out for and lift up each other. My work here spans beyond the lifetime of my company. It started 15+ years ago when the Baltimore creative scene was not yet so vibrant. But there was a hunger for connection, and low barriers to entry for bringing people together. I served for several years on the board of B’More Creatives, a networking group for women in design. Then I moved on to work with Baltimore Womxn in Tech, whose mission is to empower womxn through networking, mentorship, and collaboration.

Many opportunities are an inside job, occurring over handshakes and warm introductions. Baltimore is very much a who you know city. Mentorship, networking, and collaboration are a necessity for cultivating those opportunities and creating connections that last a lifetime. We need to be talking and connecting with each other. If you can foster an environment where people feel comfortable connecting and being themselves, that’s where the real magic happens. Confidence is a muscle. One of my biggest joys as of late, was helping the young lady I mentor, a recent college graduate, secure a full time job simply by leveraging my Linkedin connections.

5. To you personally, what do you believe is the importance of design and art in our lives?

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time,” says theologian Thomas Merton in his book, No Man is an Island. Design and art shape the way we experience life and the world around us. Period. They play a significant role in how we process far-reaching issues such as climate change, social justice, environmental impact, and civic discourse (to name a few). Design and art have the capacity to go where words and numbers cannot, creating senses of deep connection and sparking the desire to contribute to solutions. They give color and meaning to our world, and have the great power to move us like nothing else can.

The Path Forward interview series, an initiative of MCW Projects LLC, investigates how cultural and philanthropic leaders are re-envisioning the future of the arts.

Expanding the next generation of cultural philanthropists, advocates, and audiences