Putting new proposals together, got me thinking about what I offer…
Here are just a few things… in case you were wondering. (PS - it's a lot).
In the beginning of May 1999, I had put in my 2-week resignation notice at Ingraham Time Products where I was Marketing Systems Manager. My first son was enroute (he was born August 4, 1999). I had resigned because Ingraham was in flux. Their parent company (Salton/Maxim of George Foreman Grill fame) had been purchased, and there was word that Ingraham — with its 500+ employees and the last of the large-scale physical clock manufacturers in the US — was going to be shuttered.
The purchaser (behind closed doors) had explained that the brand name was worth something, but they were moving all manufacturing to China and India. They offered me a Brand Marketing position — where I would move from Southern Pines, NC to Milwaukee (where I discovered they experienced 2 months of summer and busted roads, and the rest of the year in cold and ice) and keep working with Ingraham and other brands. I had taken the trek and spent a week there, meeting with some great people — and even saw Matrix in the theater (still one of the all time great films), but, the idea of living in a city under ice and raising a newborn there — just did not seem like a good bet.
I started my own design agency in June of 1999. I did not even have my first client nailed down yet. I called it “Sykes Design”, made some business cards, put together samples of work — and went calling on the local small businesses. Before I had finished the week on my own, I was contacted by the Ronalter brothers. They were the C-Level leadership of Ingraham that left the same time I did. Their father had run the business for all of their life. These guys had left, and started their own business — Baseline Development. They would go to an area that looked promising for development, source land, court a specific set of tenants (UPS, Subway, Grocery, Auto Parts) — then once they had strong buy in and investment — they would buy — build — lease/sell the property.
So, what was my place in helping these guys? When working at Ingraham, the company had been spending close to $500/day on shipping samples across the country (product and mailing fees). I proposed creation of multimedia CD/DVDs that could be easily shipped to show the entire line on the recipient’s computers. I purchased a copy of Macromedia Director and even put together a sample. While Ingraham never got a chance to use it — the Ronalters wondered if this might work for Baseline.
Work — it did. In fact, after I developed DVDs for 5 different properties, and they had been sent out across to the courted potential tenants, there were more calls for “how did you create the DVD?” than the brothers expected. Sure, there was interest in the properties listed (got their attention), but they wanted the brothers to show up and do the proposal in the traditional, paper-trail manner it had always been done in. One month later, with 5 properties secured and relationships established, there was no more need for the DVDs — or me.
I only took on a few more DVD projects — ever. I saw the advent of web taking off, and dove into being on the forefront of that space. I moved to Macromedia Flash, Dreamweaver (for digital), and continued chasing design clients. I soon discovered that when it came to creating design solutions — you have to start with understanding WHAT the problem being addressed is… and most of those early mom-and-pop clients, had no clue. I changed the business name to AdJourney — explaining that marketing and advertising were NOT a bandaid, but rather a journey… the advertising journey (hence the name).
When I purchased Macromedia Director, I registered as a Macromedia User in the state of North Carolina. I was one of 3. As I wrapped up the Baseline project, I was contacted by The Avenue Group in Charlotte, NC. TAG was in need of classroom training on Macromedia products — and the contact person was literally going based on the list of registered users. I was first on the contact list. After she introduced herself she asked —
“So, would you be interested in teaching a class on Macromedia? You are only one of 3 people in the entire state — registered for the product, and we need someone to teach it!”
That was the launch of teaching in July of 1999. I did classes in Macromedia line of products (Director, Authorware, Dreamwaver — and yes Flash were Macromedia products first), the entire suite of Adobe, QuarkXpress and even Microsoft… and I enjoyed it. So, while my design business is getting started, I am teaching and becoming a ‘Certified Instructor’ for both Macromedia and Adobe. My approach was different. I made the teaching — practical — with real life workflow (this is how I use it) which resonated with students.
I went on to teach for my now good friend, Josh Cavalier, at his Charlotte facility Interactive Fun (I-Fun) that later rebranded to LodeStone Digital. Josh is now a leader in the Learning & Development space on the subject of AI (particularly ChatGPT & other LLMs). I also taught for Techead at their Richmond, VA facility for Phil and Philise Conein.
After a time I began teaching and consulting for the US•SBA via a local Sandhills Community College’s Small Business Center. The humor of that story, is I contacted them to ask a question, and walked away with 4 classes to teach over the next 2 months on the subjects of Branding, Marketing, Effective Communication and Design Thinking.
I ran AdJourney for 23 years —“closing the doors” in June of 2022. As I closed the agency, I launched into 2 areas.
1 — I opened HeadSpace Branding. It allowed me to focus on the thing I felt could make the greatest measureable impact on businesses that I consulted with and helped in their branding, and cut out the parts I no longer wanted to do.
2-I dove into learning Generative AI (GenAI)… and soon saw a need to help teach my fellow creative professionals what this was all about, and how to use it. My early explorations in AI, I called simply — A.I. Explore. By September 28 of 2022 — I had written and released my first book on the subject.
A.I. Explore: Prompt Fundamentals
It was the very first book on genAI prompting, and it sold over a 1000 copies. I revised the book in November (when V4 came out), and totally rewrote it when V5 came out.
I started selling my books thru Gumroad — which as a platform was great — to start with. But the original arrangement had a graduated decrease in percentage paid to Gumroad for sales. I was down to 2% of sale going to Gumroad, then in January of 2023 — they decided to make it a flat 10%. That stung deep, so I decided to move to a platform where I could offer my books, free resources and even courses. I moved to Podia — and launched
https://www.AIExplore.co
My latest book is there — “Midjourney : Back to Basics • Beginner’s Guide”. You can grab a copy today via the short link: bit.ly/MJV6
My awesome bald Asian friend with super-great fashion sense — Chris Do — recommended in May of 2023 when we both keynoted for the first CreativeVerse in Raleigh, NC, that I do more in video — so I launched YouTube.com/@AI.Explore .
I had been in conversation with Phillip Maggs of SuperSide about providing training for the creative team in AI. The original plan was (in communication with Maggs):
- I would look at this in 2 phases; small test group to prove your theory <10 people which we can identify and enrol very quickly. If we can prove efficacy in Q4 then wider roll out >200 can be achieved in Q1.
- Framework & outcomes are essential to define: we want to help our creatives future proof their careers (not just with Superside).
I dove into Circles, Kajabi, Podia, Teachable and LearnWorlds — learning them all, and finally decided on LearnWorlds — launching
https://the-ai-lab.com
— with a class of 5 in my custom source LEVEL 1, September 1. Below is the wrap up link after 3-months in the course with that first group… I have yet to do anything with SuperSide, but I am thankful for the motivation that got me launched!
Starting in January of this year, I began posting regularly on both Medium and Substack. The deeper dives with greater insight, go to my subscribers on
I post daily during the workweek, and there is a treasure trove of fantastic content to dig into! Subscribers also get free and discounted resources.
LinkedIn.com/in/brianwsykes — you will find me posting and engaging daily. Fussing with the algorithm is something I have done since launching into genAI — and it is part of the reason I moved to Medium and Substack for the substantive information. LinkedIn does not share my content. But, I do have a community on LinkedIn for Creative Pros (A.I. Lab), I have a newsletter that goes out at least once a week (A.I. Explore) and I do still post daily on the platform. I was a founding member of the AI/CC (still recommend the group as a place to share your discoveries), but I am not as active — as I do not have time.
You can find me throughout the year, hosted on various podcasts, providing keynotes and engaging with my fellow creatives on the subject of AI.
You can also find me (or an article of mine — by request) featured in a range of global e-Zines (like this most recent article in LHC Magazine that is published in about 6 languages.)
If you are a creative pro, and want to learn AI (understand it, and use it) then reach out. It is what I love to do. If there is anything about my past, my experience, or my thoughts on design — I am an open book and willing to chat with anyone!
Brian W. Sykes