Michael Jager is a #designer, #entrepreneur, with more than 25 years of experience creating and collaborating with brands, driven by the idea that "design distinction matter most." Jager is founder and Chief Creative Officer at @Solidarity of Unbridled Labour, previously JDK Design, a studio that conceptualizes and realizes ideas that help guide and create culture and positive change within it. Guided by Ezra Pound’s simply but elegantly stated principle, “Make it new,” Jager's collaborative output for a multitude of today’s most recognizable and relevant brands—including Burton Snowboards, Microsoft’s Xbox, Nike, Levi’s, Phish, MTV, Virgin, Lululemon, Yara, Seventh Generation, and Patagonia—is recognized worldwide. Through Solidarity’s own brand-design incubation platform, Michael has helped create unique home, sport, and lifestyle brands, such as Mamava and Maglianero. He is also the co-founder of the Karma Bird House, a creative-economy co-working space now home to more than 70 inspiring entrepreneurial entities. In 2014, AIGA-VT awarded Michael its first Fellow Award in Vermont, honoring him for his mentoring, community building, and advocacy in design. Michael lives in Burlington, Vermont, USA.
Meetcute
Michael and I met at his youngest son's baseball game where I was taking photos and handing out business cards. I distinctly remember seeing him at the top of a hill and internally saying, "that guy looks designer-y." He complimented the design of my handout and I appreciated his teenage son's vintage camera. A few minutes into the conversation, he told me his name and I was aghast. He gave me his last business card and I followed up by email. He later hired me to photograph a few of their strategy sessions with clients and, privately, I shared my creative reflections. We stayed in touch and, later, he gifted me a @Fuck Apathy shirt he'd made for his staff. It wasn't until years later that I realized how much this shirt, and mantra, had influenced my unlocking as a creator.
Related
Contexts
- #michael-jager (this memo is the @Root Memo)