Press & Speaking
I love advocating for great branding and engaging creative on any platform. If you’d like to discuss a speaking gig or an article, let me know! From the niche (the ethics of cause-based marketing) to the broad (where do good ideas come from?) to the unexpected (why might we need AI governance?), I will use lots of hand motions to talk about it.
Owned + Earned | Rethinking Your Creative Direction & Design for ROI
Ray Smith and Sarah Smith of Speakerbox Media help executives build better brands through podcast content and other media. In this episode, we talk about how creative helps.
What it’s Like to Be… | A Creative Director
I join New York Times best-selling author Dan Heath of “The Power of Moments” fame to talk about what it’s like to build brands and campaigns behind the scenes.
Forbes | Design Is for the Good
I write for Forbes about how the design partnerships we devised for a campaign with Michelle Obama and The White House helped to inspire Gen Z.
The Brookings Institution | Learn to Ad
Professor Ben Castleman and I talk about how schools can use the power of design to increase the engagement with their outgoing materials when it really counts for education.
Circles Conference | UNEXPECTED
I was invited to be a keynote speaker at the annual Circles Conference for designers in 2018, where I talked about the power of creative that rebels.
PRINT | Designer of the Week: Jo Skillman
Iconic PRINT magazine profiles a designer every week, and one week I was one of them. :)
Modus | Why Branding Is More Than a Logo and Color Palette
For this online publication, I revamped a presentation on branding for Rice University into long-form content.
UX Collective | Creative Director: A User’s Guide
I turned a leadership excise from a trusted mentor into long-form content that helps other creative directors build their teams.
SHOUTOUT HTX | Meet Jo Skillman, Creative Director
This online publication profiles Houston-centric makers and creatives, so I took the opportunity to talk more about work in my adopted city.
The Startup | Creativity and What It Isn’t
The 2020 pandemic cast a different kind of light on the ways in which creativity serves humanity, so I wrote about it for a digital publication targeting startup founders.
Modus | How to Get People to Care About Stuff
Social justice creative isn’t all I do, but it’s probably the most difficult — because getting people to care about something that doesn’t directly serve them is a different proposition.
CanvasRebel | Meet Jo Skillman
I talk about the cultural power of creatives, my career so far and what’s it like to lead a team of really talented people for this online profile.
Modus | Where to Shop for Brilliant Ideas
“Where does your inspiration come from?” is one of the most common questions asked of creative professionals, at least in my experience. But it’s not really about inspiration at all.
NPR/Houston Public Media & KPRC | College Signing Day
I spoke to a local Houston high school for College Signing Day following the launch of our Better Make Room campaign for Michelle Obama. I was interviewed following the event by KPRC and NPR affiliate Houston Public Media.
Offset Path | An Instagram Live Series
Coworker Bill Ferenc and I produced and starred in this Instagram Live show on design and social impact for Black Sheep’s social media channels.
Guest Lecturer | Graphic Arts & Social Change at University of Houston Downtown
Professor Natacha Poggio invited me to appear in three of her fall semester 2020 classes to lecture on personal values and manifesto writing.
Modus | Dear Nonprofit: NOPE
Prioritize limited resources for the causes you really care about. Here’s how (and why) to say no when nonprofits and other do-gooders ask for free work… if you want to.
The Summary Internship | A Digital Conference for Would-Be Interns
When the 2020 pandemic obliterated summer internships, I led a two-day conference to cover the basics for students from all over the world — with a stellar cast of coworkers.
Greater Houston Partnership | Design Thinking Is Not for Designers. It’s for Business.
I translated design thinking for businesses at one of the Greater Houston Partnership’s weekly networking events downtown.
VoyageHouston | Meet Jo Skillman of The Black Sheep Agency
I talk about that one piece in my college portfolio that everyone hated… that ended up getting me my first job.