Show notes
Justin Roach is a graphic designer who works with global artists such as Snoop Dogg and The Game. In 2016, he and Joe Cool worked together to create the album covers for Snoop's " Coolaid" and The Game's "1992." Outside of his freelance graphic design work, Justin works as the social media coordinator and designer for Wayne Bank in Scranton, Pa. He was recently named Happenings Magazine's Best Artist in Northeast PA. I connected with Justin through Facebook. I'm pretty sure we linked through Randyland. (who I previously did a podcast with). I saw Justin's work and figured he would be a great guest for the podcast, but also reached out to see if he'd be up for working on a new podcast logo for Chillin with Deke. The new logo is in progress and I'm really looking forward to seeing it. As for now, you can listen to the podcast below. I hope you guys enjoy the conversation as much as I did. Time stamps: 1:15- Why Justin likes 90’s music and the Gin Blossoms 5:06- The reason Justin gravitated to art/ design + early influences 7:09- How Justin stumbled upon Graphic Design by accident 12:20- Making early connections in Philadelphia 16:00- Being in the right place at the right time- How a deer head facilitated Justin’s career 21:45- Being broke and experimenting with different jobs 24:48- Who Justin was most nervous to meet when first starting out. 28:11- How he started working with childhood idols Joe Cool and Snoop Dogg 34:23- Story behind The Game’s 1992 album cover 38:22- Completing the Coolaid album the Day it appeared on Jimmy Kimmel 41:58- How the collab process between Justin and Joe Cool works 44:35- How Justin struggles with comparing to others and how he tries to prevent it 46:52- What ideals would Justin instill to upcoming students or those just starting out in art 48:18- Passing out my podcast episode and getting in front of people 49:50- Why does design matter when it comes to products and brands 52:47- Effect of design/art/graffiti in Justin’s person life 57:29- Definition of success 1:02:09- When I met Michael Rapaport/ Making an impact on someone 1:04:39- Why Justin doesn’t really have a book to recommend 1:07:33- A Ted Talk on a topic outside of graphic design