Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Just Zero. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Just, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is a phantom that feeds on doubt, and doubt thrives in silence. For years, most of my work has been forged in solitude — not surrounded by applause, but in the stillness where every mistake is mine to own and every triumph mine to earn.
There was a time when I had a crew to bridge the gaps, a circle of minds and hands working together. When that circle dissolved, I was left alone with the gaps themselves. The only way forward was through them. So I turned to study, to repetition, to the slow alchemy of transforming weakness into skill. Design, lettering, spray paint — each discipline was an element to be mastered until they bound together into something whole.
I don’t claim to have banished the phantom. It still lingers at the edge of the work. But when you’ve bled enough hours into the craft, when you’ve transmuted isolation into mastery, you realize there’s no imposter here — only the work, and the will to continue.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I work under the name Justified Ink, which began as a clothing and font label but has grown into something much larger — a house for design, lettering, apparel, and artifacts that carry a sense of rarity and ritual. What excites me most is building a world where graffiti, calligraphy, and design collide, and giving people tools — whether a font, a hoodie, or a spray cap — that carry that energy forward.
Recently, I’ve relaunched the Atmospheric Blackletter Collection, my series of lettering volumes. The name is something I coined, borrowing from Atmospheric Black Metal — a genre known for its rawness and expansiveness — and translating that into letterforms. These books combine both classic and modern blackletter styles, spanning graffiti influences, medieval calligraphy, and experimental alphabets. It’s not just a showcase; it’s a living archive for artists, tattooers, and designers who want something deeper than the surface-level fonts you find online.
What sets my work apart is that it’s entirely self-built. For years I’ve worked in near isolation, mastering design, spray painting, and typography, and Justified Ink is where all of that converges. It’s less a brand in the commercial sense and more a living archive — a place to preserve and push the craft at the same time.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
For me, the three pillars have been art, design, and resiliency.
Art is the foundation — the instinct to create, to leave a mark, to translate feeling into form. Design is where that instinct takes structure — the discipline of shaping art into something that communicates, that others can use and build with. And resiliency is what binds it all together. I’ve spent long stretches working in isolation, without a safety net, learning each skill I needed to stand on my own. Without resiliency, the art and design would have never survived the setbacks.
Platforms shift, crews dissolve, and tools disappear — but the ability to recalibrate without losing momentum has kept me moving forward.
For anyone just starting: don’t fear the long hours or the solitude. Lean into it. Learn the fundamentals of your craft with patience, and treat design as both problem-solving and storytelling. And above all, cultivate resiliency — because talent fades without endurance, but endurance will carry even modest talent further than you can imagine.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I don’t believe there’s a single answer to whether you should only sharpen your strengths or focus on becoming well-rounded. The truth is, the path will demand both at different times. Instinct plays a big role — knowing when to press further into your craft and when to expand into something new. A blade can always be honed sharper, but an over-sharpened edge becomes brittle. To keep things alive, I move up and onward, always seeking new angles.
For me, the skills came in waves. Lettering has always been my oldest love, but it took the longest to mature. I started as a child, but only the adult version of me had the patience and focus to bring it into mastery. As a teenager, I learned oil and acrylic painting, and when I shifted to spray paint it took a decade to catch up — yet when I did, I surpassed where I’d been before. Design grew as an extension of my art, but it became the skill that opened doors professionally, leading me into web design, coding, and marketing.
All of that required honesty with myself — knowing what I lacked, admitting what needed more time, and not being afraid to step into unfamiliar territory. The craft is a moving target. You can’t only build walls on one side and leave the others exposed, but you also can’t spread yourself so thin that nothing is fortified. The key is to listen, adapt, and know when to dig deeper versus when to widen the circle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://justifiedink.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justifiedink
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justifiedinkcreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/justified-ink/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@justifiedink
- Other: https://shop.justifiedink.com/ https://justifiedinkdesign.com/
Image Credits
Atmospheric Blackletter Collection: Volumes II & III is a self published book by Just Zero | Justified Ink
Camp Apocalypse is a book by Author Aaron Virgin
Lost Tales of the Kumari Verse is a book by Author Samuel Johnson
