We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Derek Mohr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Derek below.
Derek, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I think it’s both nature and nurture, to be honest. I have a neurodivergent brain that only feels “satisfied” when it’s creating or experiencing something new, and that means always trying to find something new for it to concentrate on. Days away from creative pursuits are very hard to deal with mentally, unless the circumstances are distracting enough to not notice. So, then it becomes less of a “work ethic” and more of an unstoppable itch. There’s also that natural struggle with perfectionism, and obviously you can only try to make something perfect by working at it incessantly. At least, that’s what the nature side of my work ethic says internally!
However, on the nurture side of it, I was in a single parent household, which I think tends to lend itself to needing to work harder for a lot of things. Laundry, yardwork, and cooking were all general skills by late elementary. There wasn’t typically an option to have someone do a lot of things for you, so you learn to do the work yourself, I guess?
Let’s just say, in short, its the only way I’ve known how to be!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
“I’m a designer & developer” is the easiest way I’ve learned to say it. The design aspect is typically logo & branding design, but also spans to general graphic design (posters, books, etc), as well as UI/web/UX design. I also full identify as a web developer, as I’ve been working in that field the past 7 years. The past year I also started the Grand Rapids Branding Co., which is all artwork themed around my home city. I have a few shows this year, as well as some art markets that I’ll be participating in, so definitely check the out if you’re in the area! If not, don’t you worry, as I’ve also opened up an additional online shop!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Curiosity is always the first thing I come back to. I personally can’t imagine doing something that doesn’t stimulate my curiosity, so to me it’s the ultimate driving factor. I could be learning new skills, new styles, re-working old ideas into new concepts—anything really. It just has to spark that childish need to discover more. Saying “yes” before I was ready is another strong theme throughout my career. If you struggle with perfectionism, you know that you’ll never actually be ready for anything when it comes, because there’s always something else that needs to align first. Many years of that kept me down in a predictable and comfortable spot—rather than trusting myself to figure it out, and having that discomfort for a minute—and I would have never been a part of as many things as I have been!
Which leads to the third…dumb luck at times. All the prep and desire and saying “yes” is great, but there is still that roll of the dice from the universe deciding if today is your day or not. I don’t think there’s any way to adjust this, other than to keep saying yes to everything that stimulates your curiosity!
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Over the past 12 months, I’ve really been pushing myself in my graphic design roots. I’ve been working in such a web & app world for nearly a decade, that I haven’t really put anything into the world that wasn’t for a client. I’ve lately been making myself the client, and trying to come up with new ideas that I typically wouldn’t. Poster designs, making t-shirts and other apparel—things in the physical world that may just be for the sake of trying to make a great design to the general public. I will also have my first gallery up on display SINCE 2011 in a couple weeks, and I would never have been able to even convince myself to apply for that even 2 years ago.
I can feel a much larger sense of accomplishment due to this push, as well as overall creative satisfaction. I hope to continue this improvement into next year, as I’m far from done in this whole design game!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://onemohrti.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onemohrtimedesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onemohrtimedesign/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onemohrtime/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneMohrTime
- Other: https://grandrapidsbranding.co/
Image Credits
Lisa Ghysels
