Drew Melton is his own boss, creates his own hours, works with clients to brainstorm unique branding and travels all over the country.
Alone, that list is pretty impressive. Even more impressive is that at just 22 years old, Melton is running his own company,
justlucky, a design and communications business. Operating for two years, Melton's company has provided him with enough success for a stable income.
A modest business owner, Melton says his success does come from his hard work, but mostly, because he's "just lucky." The name of his company is homage to that notion.
A native to Holland, Mich., Melton is the oldest of six children. Creativity and diligence was rampant in his family. His father owned a wood flooring company, where Melton would occasionally work. He was homeschooled during his childhood, which contributed to his growing interest in technology and web design. He says his homeschooling helped him to learn on the fly.
"There was never a moment when someone said, 'Do you know how to do this?' It was just a matter of figuring things out, being curious and willing to try," he says.
One of Melton's lucky moments happened when he was working at the Woodland Mall's Apple store and met Clint McManaman, the head designer for
XXXchurch, a Christian anti-pornography website based in Nevada.
"We talked about computers for a bit and I found out he worked at XXXchurch. I had been following XXXchurch for a long time so I asked if they had any design opportunities. They happened to be looking for an intern."
Melton had been involved in web and graphic design for many years, including a previous three-year web design internship. When he was hired as an intern at XXXchurch, he was enrolled at Kendall College of Art and Design.
Through his internship at XXXchurch, Melton was able to network and grab t-shirt design opportunities for national bands like Fall Out Boy, Copeland and Anberlin. He left the internship when he was 21, but says he still works frequently with the company on campaign branding and design pieces. He says he enjoys the branding aspect because of the precision and opportunity to work closely with the client.
"Branding isn't about how much color or busywork you can do, it's about making a few elements relay an organization's message in a compelling fashion," Melton said. "It either works or it doesn't. And since a lot of our work is so simple, it's hard to cover up a weak spot, so we have to hit the right notes."
While at Kendall, he met fellow artist and illustrator Rebecca Green in an Introduction to Graphic Design class. Green and Melton formed a strong working relationship. Green saw the startup of justlucky in 2008, and helped Melton with t-shirt illustrations. Likewise, Melton helped Green with her website design.
"From the start, I knew he had good design sense," Green says. "He is someone who just gets design. He understands communication and has an amazing way of creating that communication with images and text."
As justlucky gained momentum, Melton felt he had learned enough about graphic design to apply it to his career. He left Kendall during his junior year in order to pursue his business full-time. Green agrees that was the best move for Melton.
"I think sometimes college degrees can be overrated, especially in the creative world," she says. "Some people need it, some do not, and Drew was definitely able to take what he learned with what schooling he had and fly with it."
Green is just one of the many Grand Rapids creatives Melton has worked with. Recently, he collaborated with longtime friend and photographer, Ryan Pavlovich, to redesign
ryanpphoto.com. Pavlovich says his work with Melton has turned out to be some of his favorite pieces.
"Everything was done on time and in a manner that was more than I could ask for," Pavlovich says regarding his website redesign. "The way he pushes you in the design process is amazing."
Previously, Pavlovich had shared a studio space with Melton on Division.
"I love how small Grand Rapids is. I love that so many creative minds live together in a lot of the same spaces," Melton said. "There really isn't enough room yet to really allow people to remove themselves from the common culture."
Though many of his clients are out of state, Melton has a strong connection to his West Michigan roots, especially in Grand Rapids. This past June, Melton was asked to participate in design/educate/connect, an event held at the Grand Rapids Art Museum where artists came together for interviews and a live digital demo. His role was to create a poster in a three-hour period while listening to the interviews.
The result was "Life In GR," a poster that uses icons, such as a beer mug, the ArtPrize logo, and an outline of La Grande Vitesse (a.k.a. "The Calder"), to represent Grand Rapids. The design became an unsuspected success, with posters selling out at MadCap Coffee and additional inquiries about orders on the business'
website. (The print is currently available for $15.)
"I feel that in order for a city to grow and evolve in product, people have to stay and try to work together," Melton said. "It's hard to stay in a small city with limited resources and commit to making it even better, but I think commitment is just the very thing a city needs to actually grow and become desirable."
Lindsay Patton-Carson moved to Grand Rapids from White Lake seven years ago to pursue her dual bachelor's degrees in journalism and Spanish from Grand Valley State University. She is an associate editor for Revue Magazine, a West Michigan entertainment guide.
Photos:Drew Melton (4)
Design Work by Just Lucky (2)
Photographs by
Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved