Nicholas Jackson shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Nicholas, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Life right now is a bit complicated. I have always struggled with maintaining a routine, however now in my life it feels more important than ever to create a routine to save my sanity and to use time as effectually as possible.
One of the biggest drivers in this is the struggle to attempt to grow my fist business while having a two and a half year old toddler boy. I feel pulled in many direction — emotionally and mentally — so, trying to create some kind of valuable structure to my day is very important.
The day starts around 7am. Getting up, getting the kiddo up, and seeing what mood he is going to bring to our morning. My wife and I get him fed, clothed and attempt to get him out the door by 8am. This of course is met with the barrage of morning news updates, client emails… things that I know are not in the best interest of setting a day up right. I try my best to push this off until I get to the office.
One of the main things I attempt to protect in my routine is my morning walk to work. This sets me up for a successful day. Clears my head, gets my heart pumping and sets my mood up for the day — sometimes not as positively as I would like. I walk from the East Village down to Tribeca while enjoying some coffee and a podcast.
Then, when I arrive at the office I must do two things. I must review the todo list I set up the night before, and I must go through my inbox to remove distractions, add to the list, or reply to the easy messages.
On my computer I have open the most important task that I must tackle that day. I open this and set it up the night before so I am ready to jump right in with as little fuss or distraction as possible.
I run through my list, knock out as much as I can. And before I know it, its 4:45.
I make a new todo list for tomorrow. Set my computer up for the next day of work, and I leave the office by 5pm and head home to see my family.
From here, I desperately (and often un-successfully) try to be offline until our kid goes down for the night. Once he is asleep, I struggle with the urge to work, or waist time scrolling tiktok and watching TV.
Bed happens around 10pm, and as soon as my close, they seem to open for another day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Nicholas Jackson, founder of Vicious Studio — a New York–based branding and design practice that builds high-impact brands for the next generation of D2C companies. We work with founders and teams to turn early ideas into full worlds — from identity and packaging to digital experiences that actually convert.
Vicious is small but sharp — the kind of studio that moves fast, thinks deeply, and makes work that lasts. We’ve helped launch and evolve brands across food, wellness, and tech — always with the goal of building something people genuinely care about.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
The thing about a good teacher is they see what each child is capable of, not just their output or results. The real world is not all ‘A+’s and score cards. Growing up, I got really really lucky as I had many teachers who (and a few who did not) could see what I was actually capable of as a child. School was hard, I had concentration issues, I had undiagnosed dyslexia, I had hearing issues. All of which made traditional school work a compounding struggle. However, when it came to creative problem solving, art, music…. these teachers recognized my ability to concentrate, and excel at a rate far past even the smartest students.
These teachers saw a creative person in me. Not just as some kid who could draw well, but as someone who was clearly on a path to use art and creative problem solving as a means to skate around their learning disabilities and as a means to pave a path in the world.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You tried your best, so even if you failed, don’t be to hard on yourself. I have never been a quitter, I have never been someone to half-ass anything. But, I’m not great at everything. I’m willing to try just about anything and sometimes…. it’s not going to work out, but…BUT! I tried my absolute hardest. What else can you ask for. You did the best at applying your self, as best as you could, with what you had. So, if it didn’t work out, oh well, but you can’t look back with any regrets because you did your best.
Now, get up, don’t sit in pity. Look back, access the data, look at the moment, look at the actions. Digest it and file it away for another try.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
The punk rock DIY world that taught me to to roll my sleeves us and make my own path while having integrity. This should be protected at all costs. And I see it dyeing more and more each day. Ok, here is how I see this. Punk Rock is far more a way of thinking than music. I don’t even listen to that much punk music these days. BUT, punk taught me about being yourself, having a community that respects you, helps you, and respects ALL other people — as long as you are not punching down, not telling others who they can be or who they can’t be.
It also taught me to stop waiting around for someone to hand you the keys to your dream. Go build the thing you want. Build what you want to see in this world. You want to hear that kind of music… go play it. You want to see that kind of art… well, get off your ass. You want to run that kind of business… you can…..
This is the thing I most want to give to my kid. I want him to see that the world around you is not the path people lay out for you. It is the path you build for yourself and open up for others.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Ugh, yes. All the time.
Material things. Awards. Mentions. It’s not that meaningful. I often even find the anticipation is more exciting than the reward. Or the part after… win or loose… and only because you are surrounded by fun people, not actually because of the event… you know?
There is one thing that I find funny when it comes to my work. I might fight really hard for a project, and I want it really bad and then project comes in…. now you get to work on this amazing thing — but sometimes that just becomes the work… you know?
And when that project finishes and goes live… it might bring you more work. This is a great thing, right? But its more… work…. you know?
So, (not exactly related to this question) but I always remind my self…
THE REWARD FOR GOOD WORK IS MORE WORK.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vicious.studio/
- Instagram: @beviciousnyc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasjacksondesign
- Other: https://bevicious.substack.com/
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