Spotlights
Spotlight on Creativity April 2009
April’s spotlight on creativity is local creative professional Keith Webb. Keith is a freelance graphic designer based in the Philadelphia suburbs. Before establishing Keith Webb Design, he had an extensive background in graphic design at established magazines such as Philadelphia Magazine, Fast Company Magazine and The Boston Globe Magazine. Keith started his career with Knight-Ridder Newspapers.
Keith Webb Design offers branding and identity services, in addition to offering the creation of marketing and advertisement design services. Keith has designed the brand identity for Innovation Philadelphia events including createAdelphia: The Philly Creative Jobs Event and the Creative Entrepreneur Expo ’08. Most recently, he created the revamped the logo and created design pieces for the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit 2009. Keith continues to make his design mark in the region as he will be expanding his business to include web design in the near future.
Your name:
Keith A. Webb
Firm/company:
Keith Webb Design
Occupation:
Freelance Designer
Current Location:
Wayne, PA
Hometown:
Wichita, KS
Favorite Philadelphia neighborhood:
Old City
Best advice you've ever been given:
Stay true to who you are.
Your favorite thing about living in the Philadelphia Region:
There are so many diverse neighborhoods, each with it’s own history and personality, but all are linked by passion for the local sports teams and homegrown food like cheese steaks and Tasty Kakes.
Your favorite thing about working in the Philadelphia Region:
People are real and often bluntly honest; sometimes it’s a double-edged sword, but you know where you stand.
How would you market the Philadelphia Region to professionals outside the region?
Access. Philadelphia has an unwavering sense of it’s self and history, but also benefits from being a major metropolitan city with quality institutions and restaurants only more affordable than a certain city to the north. I’m from the Midwest, which has a lot of positive attributes, but there is so much history here that people around the world are already familiar with, but it’s growing beyond that.
What advice would you give to young professionals trying to break into your industry?
Diversify your skills and start with good concepts. Technology and the Internet are transforming just about every industry, but it’s especially being felt in design as the emphasis shifts from ink to pixels. However, having the skills is not enough. One thing that has not, and will never, change is we’re here to solve problems and it all starts with sound concepts.
How has the design industry in Philadelphia evolved in the past ten years?
I've seen Philadelphia move pretty aggressively to become an interactive design hub with most major interactive firms establishing offices throughout Philadelphia and the region.
To learn more about Keith and view his work in the region, visit www.keithwebbdesign.com.