How I Work: Kevin Robinson, Founder, Jun¡per Jones
Kevin Robinson sorta kinda invented NFTs. Images: c/o Kevin Robinson. Header design by Barbara Cadorna.
Jun¡per Jones Executive Creative Director, Kevin Robinson needs two things to start his days off on the right foot — an early morning workout and baby time with his seven-month-old. His brain and soul function much better after he’s experienced each.
Over the past 11 years, Robinson has built and led his company, which was recently acquired by and merged services with LVLY, which also houses Friend or Føe, an editorial boutique, and Decibel, a sound studio. Today, he leads brand and marketing, working with such clients as AT&T, Maybelline, and HBO on everything from creative strategy to motion design and VFX. Here, he talks dad life in a wildly changing creative landscape, how animal sounds help the process, and possibly inventing NFTs.
Rise and Shine
You want the ideal version, or the reality? I’ll attempt to paint the undistorted truth.
First, a disclaimer: I have a seven-month-old baby. Everything I do is influenced by, disrupted by, and designed for that little girl and my precious wife.
I always rise a bit later then I want, beat myself up about it for about 15-20 minutes (even if it’s 6 a.m.), grab some baby snuggles, hug the wife, work out while listening to a podcast, tell myself I need to meditate, but don’t do it, hop in the shower, and pour some coffee.
Work Uniform
For PR photoshoots, it’s back to my Brooklyn outfit of jeans and a T-shirt. But in reality, as I promised to un-varnish this thing, it’s mostly Vuori everything. I need stock in that company. F*ck, it’s comfortable.
How I Structure My Day
Remember that seven-month-old? Unless you want to hear about sleep training, daily dance offs, frozen teething rings, and all the words to Baby Beluga, I’m going to lean more towards the ‘ideal’ side of things.
Morning workout — see above — my brain functions at 50% without it.
Baby time — see above — my soul functions at 50% without it.
Then, 1-2 hrs of tackling the most important thing of the day.
After that it’s….
Reactive mode on busy days. Phone calls here, direction given there, Slack huddles everywhere. End of day, it’s flipping the switch to Proactive mode where the actual work gets done.
On less hectic days, learn new tools, be inspired by creative talent, follow passions and latest trends, go for walks, runs, whatever, connect with colleagues, play, and work when inspired.
Playlist Favorites
Right now I’m vibing on this Groove Therapy Track made by Patrick from our partner company Decibel. Shameless plug, I suppose, but it’s got me in the zone!
Tools of the Trade
These are rapidly changing times! I’m questioning everything and in a very experimental mode at the moment. Playing with MidJourney (for brainstorming and image creation), ChatGPT, other AI tools, and I’ve become a big fan of Figma as of late.
Procreate is my secret weapon for creative direction because I can quickly and freely sketch out storyboards and compositions. Notion and Miro boards for organizing references and thoughts.
And, perhaps this is too deep into the weeds of my distorted ego, but I consider my biggest tool to be my understanding of culture, the various industries Juniper plays in, and people’s consumption of media, as well as how brands are integrated into our lives.
Dream Studio
It’s roaming, it’s temporary, and it’s always inspiring. Every so often everyone gets together in a different location for about a week. During that time we work and play hard! Really F’ing hard!
Maybe up in the mountains, or on a yacht, how about an opulent Turkish hotel, or an abandoned building on the outskirts of Berlin. (Yes, you got me, I’ve been to Burning Man). The result would be gallons upon gallons of creative juice ready to be bottled up for export. And a dynamic studio culture. All while having the ability to go back to wherever you call home (or live in a van, like I did for a year).
One Unique Thing About My Work Process
Alone I get in the zone, percolate in my own sauce, marinate if you will, but if that goes on for too long, it can get funky and hot in here. But, when I start laughing with co-workers the ideas emerge and find clarity. The process of team building and guiding others to come up with the best work possible is, what I hope, to be my thing. Brainstorming sessions and group think always tends to lead to better creative output.
Mantra
“Work like a lion, not like a cow,” said Naval Ravikant. Meaning, don’t fill the day grazing on meaningless work. Rest, learn, strategize, and then when the time is right, attack with everything you got! Roar! (That was for baby, she likes animal sounds.)
My Bright Idea that Never Saw the Light of Day
Well, I sorta kinda invented NFT’s before there was such a thing. Sounds like bullsh*t, I know. I worked on the idea with Funko, a vinyl collectibles company. Pitched it as AR digital collectibles verified on the block chain via smart ledgers (sounds smart at least).
Flew to sign a multi-million dollar deal with them…the day the CMO was fired. Ouch.
To-Do List Item That Keeps Me Up At Night
Writing this thing. Anything where I’m vulnerable in public makes me both anxious and excited. But it’s the anxiety that makes it my priority, that’s how I know it needs to get done.
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