Meet Jini Zopf

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jini Zopf a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jini , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Resilience: the ability to spring back into shape; elasticity. From my perspective, I find that resilience is developed off of a strategic use of creativity. As a designer, I’m a problem-solver. I love the practice of turning a challenge into an opportunity. From a young age, I was encouraged to lean into creative endeavors. Both my parents have design-focused thinking. Whether it was learning hand lettering or collaborating on landscape horticultural design, I was immersed in problem-solving through creativity.
In my 20 years of creative leadership in the design industry, grit and resilience was a key to sanity and success. I’m grateful for the many people who pulled me along on this journey with them & those who graciously joined my team to forge new paths of strategic problem-solving. The resilience witnessed in those above & below me brought new inspiration every day.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

As a multi-disciplinary designer, I find my days to be very diverse with a broad landscape of people and projects. The collaboration between creatives, clients, faculty and students is invigorating for me.
The intersection of the courses I teach at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California and my own studio is intensionally interwoven… whether it’s hiring recent grads, co-designing with other Professors or using projects from my own agency to teach a younger generation.
Since Zopf Collab Studio specializes in making brands a reality, we get to work on Product design/development, Branding, Packaging, Illustration and Marketing. We take a brand from an idea to a full product. Toggling between a variety of projects, timelines, challenges and clients is a great way to build resilience. Using my experience from the Branding & Packaging work I directed at Disney, Mattel, Airstream & Jakks, I apply the same design process & creative strategies on a smaller scale at Zopf Collab Studio.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

If you are a life-long learner, you will find fun in the journey. The ability to stay curious when you feel like you’ve tried every solution is a key skill that can fuel creatives. If every opportunity is a prototype, then we will not be precious with the process.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

What makes Zopf Collab Studio a success is working with amazing clients that have ideas! We are always looking to support brands: whether fully established companies or start-ups. We thrive on rolling-up our sleeves and offering creative solutions through branding, packaging and product design. Let’s start a dialog together!

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