Written by creative intern, Lainey Holland
I’ve carried around No. 2 Ticonderoga pencils with me for as long as I can remember. When it came time for back-to-school shopping as a kid, my mom would always ask if I wanted to switch things up and buy mechanical pencils. Pressing a button to extract the lead from my pencil? No way! Not even glittery or neon pencils would get me to budge. Give me my classic, timeless, and trusty pencils any day. I guess you could say I’ve been a pencil purist since kindergarten.
On my first day interning at FoxFuel, my desk was decked out with first-day freebies: stickers, a notebook, and pens. Most notably, though, a matchbox reading “A little box of hellfire” and a pencil with the engraving “Write this sh!t down.” As I made notes with my new pencil throughout the day, I thought:
- I bet no one thinks about pencils as much as I do
- Are they allowed to put *gasp* bad words on their pencils?!?!?!?
- I need to loosen up a bit
Before I started at FoxFuel, I browsed the “About” section of the website to see the team I’d be working with. I remember thinking, “These people look professional and scary.” And oh, was I proven wrong. I quickly learned that FoxFuel has a different idea of “professional” (and I subsequently had nothing to be scared of). A typical day in the office consists of talking about things that were relevant long before I was born. I’m starting to think they brought me on just to keep things new and fresh around here. Between the “Betty White with middle fingers up” sticker on the Keurig and the case of PBR in the fridge, they kept me on my toes when I first got a tour of the office.
On that first day, I also learned about their approach to balancing sophistication and rebellion. My experience in the classroom thus far has focused on sophistication, but rebellion is often missing from the conversation. Knowing the principles of design is one thing, but having the creative edge to stand out from the crowd is another. Sophistication and rebellion writ small looks like handing out high-quality pencils with a phrase that people will remember. Sophistication and rebellion writ large is walking alongside clients and showing them a creative vision to set their brand apart from the competition. I’ve learned that good designers should, of course, be able to use their skills to create something that lasts. But great designers create something that people can’t forget.
Though the pencil cup on my desk at home is still chock full of Ticonderoga pencils, there’s now a new kid on the block. The pencil I received on my first day at FoxFuel sticks out from the bunch; a reminder to take risks and not be afraid to shake things up. To know the rules and break them, too.