Rising Stars: Meet Clay Burns of Elon, NC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Clay Burns

Hi Clay, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In highschool, I discovered my passion for designing through creating a whole slew of social media channels, each one with a better identity than the last. I was obsessed with learning adaptive design, accessibility accommodations, and storytelling through visuals.

Fast forward to college where I pursued a marketing degree with the prerequisite that I enjoyed the development of all of my former channels. However, I realized that I am more interested in the design process than the business aspect, and fully committed myself to creating merchandise and promotional content for organizations that I have been a part of so far. I have also committed myself to my own side projects and I am constantly looking for new ways to improve not only my design skills, but my interpersonal skills as well.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I am extremely grateful for my journey as I have consistently had access to technology and software that has helped me develop my passion for a whole decade now.

I have had a few times where creative block and low self esteem has got to me, but I am glad that I did because it helped me learn my style, what I like and don’t like, and has only given me more confidence in my ability to grow.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Visual identities are my brand and butter. I absolutely love giving a voice to friends and clients that have an idea in mind but can’t figure out how to show it. I work with people in a ton of different niches so I constantly get to learn new things about every industry and explore a whole range of business endeavors. I’ve designed identities for vintage clothing companies, mobile apps, and even industrial mining companies. But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the different types of businesses that I have yet to work with.

Through my design journey, I have been given opportunities to create advertisements, posters, flyers, and have even been invited to do some public speaking. One example is when I designed promotional content for an event called “PhoenixTank” at Elon University when we had Daymond John from Shark Tank come to campus… and then I helped introduce him with another colleague of mine.

When I am not creating, I am assisting my peers in their own design endeavors. I often offer consulting and identity audits to my friends for free so that I can get comfortable talking to others about creative direction and design work.

All of these opportunities came from my eagerness to try new things and be an informational sponge in every area of marketing and design I come across. I aim to make sure everyone feels comfortable and heard, and I think those ambitions have opened so many doors for me.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I have no worries. I know creativity is being challenged by AI, but I believe everyone has the ability to understand what is AI and what is human. For visual identities and branding, there are so many different points in the process that require human understanding and empathy. This niche cannot exist without human creativity. When I talk to friends, family, and clients, I am always adapting to their environment, their story, and their personal goals. AI cannot and will not take away that human aspect of branding.

Regarding trends, it seems there’s a move away from “blanding,” which means brands are embracing more complex and unique designs rather than reducing them to simple shapes and colors. Brands are beginning to embrace maximalism over minimalism, utilizing the full spectrum of colors in their work rather than just black and white. Brands are finally realizing that we are humans, not screen reading robots. Emotion is coming back to the market and I am more than happy to welcome this change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thirddegreebrands.substack.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirddegreebrands/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/third-degree-brands
• Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertclaytonburns