THIS IS ME
EMAIL: YEJOON.HWANG@GMAIL.COM
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
I’m an aspiring billionaire doing the ad thing until I get there.
Here’s the bio I use for client presentations:
YeJoon is a Korean born, Cali-raised ACD art director with experience across multiple industries, working with brands such as Blizzard Entertainment, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Pepsi, and Westfield. Coming from an international operations background, he understands the creative needs of a brand from both the client and agency perspective.
As an art director he is obligated to enjoy taking pictures of food, travel the world, and go to art galleries – all for his IG profile.
SOME HISTORY
I studied Business Administration at the University of California, Riverside.
Nothing to do with advertising. I didn’t know then that being a creative was a real job.
Attempted to do nothing for one year after college.
I wanted to get so tired of nothing that I’d never want to do it again.
It was cut short when a friend asked if I wanted to work in Accounting.
What a terrible idea; the job was easy but looking at numbers all day made me sad.
Then an MBA startup program wanted to hire me as a director.
The opportunity was enticing, but something didn’t feel right about this direction.
I prayed for a sign. The next day a contact said to come work for him at his restaurant cafe as a manager.
Random, but I took it. I made lattes, cooked on the grill, befriended the regulars, and did managerial things. I also learned to tip generously. Service is hard.
Then I got a new hat. Several hats actually. I was at a picnic when I was asked to come work on Froyo. & Buns. & Brand Creation. & R&D. & Operations Training. & Supply Chain Management. & Customer Service. & Quality Control. & Everything Else.
I gained a little weight. Constantly testing new products, baking buns, starting a pizza brand, a tea brand, new froyo flavors. The calories added up.
I also learned around then that being a creative was a real job that existed. I wanted in.
I happened to be eating froyo when a friend and I decided we should start a mobile app startup. We made a game. Puff Plane - Available on iOS and Play Store.
Starting a mobile app startup is a lot of work when you have no money.
I needed a real job. A family friend hit me up to sell Variable Frequency Drives, Solar Panels, and other Corporate Energy Solutions.
Cold-calling is hard. But I realized that I was actually pretty good at sales. Get me in a room face-to-face and I’ll come out with a signature. I also know too much about solar panels now.
This whole time I had been preparing my book to become a creative in advertising for years. Night classes at the Bookshop and One Show Bootcamps galore.
Here’s advertising’s Catch-22: You need an internship to get agency experience. You also need agency experience to get an internship.
Finally, a Bookshop network connection was looking for interns.
I applied as a Copywriter.
Yes, I prefer to write. I still like to do it.
The position was already filled.
He asked if I was willing to try Art Direction.
Am I trained as an AD? No. Can I learn? Yes. And I did.
I work in advertising now as an ACD at Motive.
Thanks for reading this far. It’s probably the most writing I’ve done as a creative.