Conversations at the intersection of sports, design and creativity

Episodes

T.J. Harley

Makers of Sport Podcast #31

April 6, 2015
T.J. Harley

"If you do good work, hopefully people will respect that and want to hire you again."

TJ Harley, founder and creative director of Harley Creative and Vectorloop comes aboard the podcast this week. TJ was the former creative director of the Collegiate Licensing Company where he lead branding and creative strategy on college sports brands for nearly 11 years before leaving to join the ranks of entrepreneurship.

On this episode, we talk about TJ's career – from his first design job at a t-shirt shop in Clemson, South Carolina to his decade at the CLC, to starting his own businesses – TJ has a great story about his career climb struggling with confidence to later working on brands such as the NCAA, BCS and more.

We also discuss the importance of business relationships, not burning bridges and how who you know is more important than what you know.

The pleasures and challenges of full-time freelancing out of your house, including the fighting the urge to not shower daily also make their way into the conversation.

Lastly TJ gives us some insight into his latest projects with the College Football Hall of Fame and the Vault of American Football and reveals his disdain for creative briefs and brand standards.

2012 BCS Logo by TJ Harley

2011 Alabama Football National Champions Logo by TJ Harley

College Football Hall of Fame logo by TJ Harley

CFB Hall of Fame National Signing Day logo by TJ Harley

75th FedEx Orange Bowl logo by TJ Harley

2014 Southwestern Athletic Conference Logo by TJ Harley

Texas A&M Inaugural SEC Season Logo by TJ Harley

Fermata Partners website by TJ Harley

Fermata Partners Miami Hurricanes Style Guide by TJ Harley

Georgia State Wordmark by TJ Harley

Florida Gators Gator Slam logo by TJ Harley

2014 Clemson Football Schedule Wallpaper by TJ Harley

Mentions include:

Our next guest is Tim Oliver. Tim is an Art Director at Golf Digest magazine where he has been creating award-winning work for over 15 years.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter.