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Justin Ryan Kim

Creative Director based in NYC

Justin Ryan Kim is a Creative Director based in New York City, currently working at Gap. His professional background includes a diverse range of roles in creative direction and design across various industries, particularly in advertising and retail.

Professional Experience

  • Current Role: Creative Director at Gap.

  • Previous Positions:

    • Founder of A Clean Lit Space Inc. (since June 2020), focusing on specialty retail and design.
    • Creative Director at Day One Agency (August 2022 - March 2023), where he led a team focusing on major clients like American Express and Nike.
    • Creative Director at Shopify (August 2021 - July 2022), overseeing numerous projects related to global campaigns and creative strategy.
    • Senior Art Director at Pereira O'Dell (April 2021 - August 2021), contributing to visual elements for clients like Crypto.com.
    • Creative Director roles for various organizations, including Hawkfish LLC and Team Bloomberg, where he directed creative strategies for high-profile campaigns.

Design Philosophy

Justin's design approach emphasizes experimentation and storytelling, believing that spaces should reflect the personality and passions of their owners. He incorporates unique and vintage items into his designs, creating visually dynamic environments that resonate with personal narratives.123

Education and Skills

Justin holds a degree in Advertising from the Fashion Institute of Technology, which complements his extensive experience in creative roles. His portfolio includes work with notable brands such as Adidas, Apple, and Nike, showcasing his versatility and expertise in the field.3

Overall, Justin Ryan Kim is recognized for his innovative contributions to the creative landscape, particularly within the fashion and retail sectors.

Highlights

Apr 10 · linkedin

Looking for a job is not easy. It’s actually hard. Being unemployed is not easy either. And hard doesn’t even behind to describe what some people go through when rock bottom feels closer than ever. It’s only through community and relationships that I’ve been able to keep inching forward and as blessed as I’ve been I’ve always advocated to be the best for everyone else. Bandwidth is something that I didn’t understand until more recently, I guess the pandemic did that for a lot of people, I want my community to know that I’m always here to be a resource! I don’t post often in general, but I wrote this for my instagram post earlier today and thought it might resonate.

Be kind to yourself when you fall short. Don’t get mad, you’re not a failure, it's just a lapse. Stop blaming yourself. Stop hating yourself. You’ll internalize it; it’ll exude you. When you do. Love yourself. Please. Challenge yourself. Create goals for yourself. For Gods sake, know your bandwidth and lean on your own foundations, it's not complacency, it’s strength. Strength comes in numbers. Those same numbers become opportunities to build and discover new data points, learnings, perspective. Perspective allows us to act in confidence – it comes from within, when you set actionable and achievable goals that allows you to build a framework for yourself to grow – only you, can determine what success means for yourself. Perspective will keep you grounded; confidence will empower you to push beyond the framework. Don’t burn out. Communicate, find support, lean on that support and remember that you only have one life to live. Your bandwidth will ultimately determine how much you can output. The question remaining is what happens when you fall to zero? I think the goal, hopefully, is to never find out. In the meantime, live and love yourself to the fullest, whatever that means for you and then repeat.

Also, shameless plug, I’m available for work! 😇

#work #success #job #community #people #opportunities #instagram

Jul 29 · linkedin

It’s dawned on me that I’ve never actually posted on LinkedIn before. But like many others impacted by layoffs, my time at #shopify has also come to an end. It came as a total surprise, but am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to create something net-new for culture and in the #tech space.

I’ve always believed in shopify’s product as an extremely accessible resource to build generational wealth, as I’ve seen it happen for so many phenomenal creatives of color, especially in the culture space. If you don’t believe it, Google “Virgil Abloh Free Game” V said it best, take your idea, your story, your product, most importantly yourself, believe the fuck out of it, start a Shopify store, own your IP and build versionable success! No one will be able to deny the power of a dream, story or T-Shirt ever again.

I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received and hope to continue being a resource to my network and community. I’m not entirely sure what’s next for me, but I welcome any opportunities, referrals, resources or encouragement as I begin this next chapter. Thank y’all, I'll be sure to make a better effort at keeping y'all up to date on my movements!

If you’re curious as to what I’ve been up to, or would like to connect, hit my line, always happy to be a resource!

#shopify #exshopify #layoffs #recruitment #opentowork #virgilabloh

Related Questions

What are some of Justin Ryan Kim's most notable projects at Gap?
How has Justin Ryan Kim's design style evolved over the years?
What inspired Justin Ryan Kim to transition into the role of Creative Director at Gap?
Can you share examples of Justin Ryan Kim's work at Shopify?
What are some unique design elements in Justin Ryan Kim's personal home?
Justin Ryan Kim
Justin Ryan Kim, photo 1
Justin Ryan Kim, photo 2
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Experience

Founder at A Clean Lit Space Inc. (June 2020 - Present)
Creative Director, Studio at Day One Agency (August 2022 - March 2023), Staff Marketing Designer / Creative Director at Shopify (August 2021 - July 2022), Senior Art Director at Pereira O'Dell (April at Publicis Sapient, Hawkfish LLC, Team Bloomberg, Work By-Us, BMW of North America, LLC, Lime, Annex88, Highsnobiety, MAEKAN, Nôtre, Grailed, Virgil Abloh, The Arrivals NYC

Location

Queens, New York, United States