Meet our Creative Director: From Inspiration to Go-To Karaoke Songs

With two decades of creative experience under her belt, there’s not an industry our Creative Director, Joanna Brown, hasn’t impacted — nor a brief she hasn’t brought to life. Cutting her teeth with some big-time agencies led her to work with some big-time brands: J.P. Morgan, Chase, Unilever (Dove, Hellmann’s, Magnum) and Google to name a few. From making impactful decisions, determining the creative vision, and overseeing the whole process, she keeps the creative department on point and on budget. Check out what makes Joanna tick!

What part of your daily routine do you look forward to each day

Picking my daughter up from school and hearing about her day. She’s four and has such interesting stories to tell, songs to sing, and things she’s learned every day. It’s so enlightening to listen and engage with someone who is just learning about life and everything that is a part of it.

Can you explain a little bit about your creative process?

Preparation is key, so I always make sure we garner the necessary data, resources, and materials to formulate a creative brief that the client, account team, and creatives are aligned on.

Next, we move into the ideation stage—where we begin to let the mind wander, explore ideas and allow them to germinate.

Our ideas then move into incubation, we start to problem solve and go into deeper layers until we reach a moment where the solution presents itself. Then we need to verify if this is the correct solution; does it align with the brief? And meet all the criteria?

If so, we move into design. This is where the idea comes to life in whatever form it is—with color, imagery, and words.

All of these elements translate the initial strategy and marketing objective into a cohesive piece of communication. And once we are in a good place with all of it, we are ready to present to the client!

Favorite quote to live by?

Wake up, kick ass, be kind, repeat.

What do you love most about being on the MODintelechy team?

Cheesy comment, but it would have to be the whole team. Everyone comes with the right attitude, mindfulness and ability to work together to enhance the company’s output.

Do you have any rituals or routines that spark your creative juices?

I love to explore and see diversity—whether it be in architecture, people, murals, art installations, history, museums and nature. While growing up and living in two of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the world, this inspiration was in abundance, so it is something I thrive on.

One of the reasons Austin appealed to me—aside from family here–is the vibe. It’s entrepreneurial, has art and creative pouring out of every street corner, and is very akin to Brooklyn, which has a special place in my heart.

Skill you wish you had? ⁠

Playing the piano – it’s on the list to learn. I feel that music and being able to play an instrument activates a side of your brain that you don’t normally use, and as a creative I’d love to explore that side.

What keeps you motivated?

Always wanting to improve and do better. Every day is a fresh chance to make a difference in your work and personal life, so I get up and aim to achieve this each morning.

How would you spend the 25th hour of a day?

In a bath with salts, aromatherapy candle burning, and some chilled music on. Being a working mom means there is little time for some ‘zen,’ so I would appreciate a 25^th hour!

Go-to karaoke song?

It’s been a while, but the last song I sang was “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. These days I’d probably go for a crowd pleaser and one that everyone can sing along to as well, such as “Wannabee” by the Spice Girls or Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer.”

Who or what inspires you the most?

My daughter inspires me to be a better person, and to care about the world she’s growing up in.

Favorite MODintelechy moment?

Seeing the first creative project I oversaw go live and hearing the positive feedback from the internal team and client. There is no better feeling than achieving success on a piece of customer engagement or creative output.

Final Thoughts

At MODintelechy, nothing about our business is usual and we are always looking to add top talent to our team. We relentlessly pursue solutions outside of convention; our creative is driven by data and shaped by strategic thinking. We are an agency of doers, movers and shakers. If this sounds like you, join our team!