Interview with Billy Coker - Graphic Designer

This is an interview conducted through text with my friend Billy Coker. 

It has been edited with his permission for clarity and format.

Billy is a graphic designer who shares a love of Star Wars. Also, he happens to have been raised by two of the most generous people I have ever met. Currently, he lives and works out of Chattanooga, Tennessee although he grew up in Southern California.

(Photo of Billy in his natural habitat, part of his series of 52 self portraits)

Christopher: How did you get started in your line of work?

Billy: Back in the mid-90’s I played in a band. I didn’t consider myself a musician, but rather a guy who played bass well who wanted an excuse to hang out with his friends.

That’s always been my approach to creative projects and skills.

I recognize I have been blessed with creative talent, but I’ve never made creativity my identity. During my time in the band, I took on the role of making all our flyers and shirt designs. It was fun! I realized it was something I liked to do, but I never thought it would turn into a job.

In high school, I loved art class because it was easy and natural for me. I took what I learned and simply applied it to what we needed for the band. It wasn’t necessarily good, but it was a start! That easy road turned into a job in the spring of 1997.

I began working in-house for a company called American DJ. I had the job of making clipping paths for product photos, and simple catalog layout. I made $5 an hour, which was 75¢ above minimum wage at the time. It was then I officially got bit by the graphic design bug.

My career evolved swiftly over the next 10 years. I went from a $5 an hour production artist to a $50 an hour Creative Director. I worked a LOT of hours. Took naps on floors. Skipped lunches. After a while, I burned out. I stopped caring, which means I stopped producing.

At the time I was a Creative Director at an agency in Burbank specializing in entertainment clients. It was cool on paper, but not in the day to day. Movie posters, DVD packaging, movie theater standees… they all look cool, but it takes a certain type of individual to thrive in that environment, and I realized it wasn’t for me.

C: What happened next? How did you decide what you wanted to do?

B: I took a step back and started working for a fast food chain in Tucson where I worked fewer hours for less pay, but I was able to enjoy what I did again! It was then I started adding photography and video to my skillsets.

C: What re-energizes you in your work?

B: Over the last decade or so, my life has become more about living. The projects come and go. Some are interesting, some are routine, but every project becomes satisfying when then person who has hired me is happy. I have come to realize there is something that satisfies the human soul when we serve others. Of course, we need to pay bills and we deserve a fair wage, but a wage cannot satisfy the soul.

C: Is this where you draw your inspiration?

B: There’s a quote that I cherish that says it best, “Even God did not come to be served but to serve. When we serve one another without wanting to be served, God will be pleased.”

So, if I spend each day realizing the client who has hired me is the most important person in the relationship, then I will do my best to satisfy the needs of that client. They are happy, they bring me more work, they recommend me to others. It’s a great way to live and do business!

C: You have worked on some cool projects over the years, are there any favorites?

B: Over the years I have worked on many projects that were fun or cool or satisfying to finish, but the one closest to my heart was a video I edited for my mom’s memorial service. If I had to throw away every project I have ever worked on except one, that is the one I would keep. It is the only project I consider mine.

C: That says a lot! Is there something you would want to say to someone starting out in this field?

B: Every other project (besides the video for my mom) has been for someone else, which is fine, but they don’t belong to me. They belong to someone else, which is what they have paid for, which brings me to my next point.

One painful thing having in the creative business is an ego. People will be critical of your work. Clients will hate your work. Coworkers will be jealous of your work. If you can keep your work separate from your feelings, then it will allow you to understand the perspective of others who may have good and valid points that break apart what you have spent a lot of time on.

C: Anything else you would like to add?

B: In the end, I love having a career relying on my creativity. There are always new challenges, new trends, new clients, new people, new smiles, and new lasting relationships. I don’t think my work will change the world or start a revolution, but it will definitely affect the world of those around me, and that’s what I thrive on.

Thanks to Billy for taking the time to share his thoughts about work and creative production!