Meet Derek Mohr | Designer + Developer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derek Mohr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derek, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It kind of just felt like “it’s time,” to be totally honest.

I’ve been working at different levels of graphic design jobs since 2010. I wasn’t entirely aware of how to work in web development, but I did know how to code at a basic level after some practice. During and after college, I held some marketing & branding jobs up until around 2014-ish, when I started adding more and more web development into my work. That led to working at an agency where I was doing 50/50 design & development, and eventually another agency where I made it all the way up to full-stack web developer—while doing my own logo & branding design as an occasional freelancer.

Lately I’ve been feeling the tug of my work/life balance coming a bit unraveled. I leaned into both areas of interest as much as I could, which doesn’t exactly lend itself well to resting and refreshing ideas. I slowly began to realize that I was really starting to damage my mental psyche by adding every last thing I could think of to my plate. After having my first longer-than-a-week break in nearly a year, I finally had a moment of clarity (probably from actually being forced to do nothing).

That moment was telling me that I can do the work that I want to do, on my own time. I had never dreamed of making myself into a studio before, but suddenly it was the most obvious thing I could think of to do. I decided I’ve had the design experience necessary, and also the development experience necessary to actually pull this crazy maneuver off. So, here we are!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always found myself to have an unusual skill set, compared to many peers. Most designers I would work with saw me as more of a developer, and most developers absolutely saw me as a designer that can write code. For at least a while, both were probably true. I wasn’t deep enough in either pool to really be effective. That has been my big push for myself from about 2019-on—to really gain some mastery.

I’ve now hit a point where I feel completely comfortable in either designer or development related tasks. I would be able to accept a contract for a railroad logo (which I’ve done) while simultaneously working on a full website & CMS for a construction company (which I may have also done in tandem…), and know that both are going to be a strong final product. I’ve learned to step away from personal connections to a project and just let the work be reviewed for what it is: just work. Changes, redesigns, new directions, expanding scopes; none of these things are reflections of something being negative, just things that need to be updated. No matter what changes may need to be added to a project, I know I can integrate them, and hold a strong standard of quality.

I plan to essentially continue being a reliable “creative something-something”. Whatever the need may be, I know I will be able to fix it!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Anyone that’s known me for longer than 15 seconds will know my answer. We’ll absolutely be catching drinks (and maybe a show) down at The Pyramid Scheme downtown! It’s been my favorite hangout in the city since moving back in 2011. You’ll meet the best mix of artists, musicians, pinballers, punks, and general localists in the whole city.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh for sure, no one gets anywhere alone, no matter what they claim. Obviously I’ve had a lot of people come in and out of my personal & professional life that have helped direct it in many directions.

My latest agency had far-and-away the largest impact on my processes and general abilities. Mighty in the Midwest was very small for an agency of their portfolio, and that’s because each person doing the work was verrrryyyyy good at it. I went from a general knowledge of creating a website from start to finish in 2019 to now being fluent in multiple front-end languages, a couple backend server processes, and a strong fundamental understanding of user experiences. There’s no way I’d be as ready as I am to launch myself as a business without everything I learned there.

Website: https://onemohrti.me/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onemohrtimedesign/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onemohrtime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/onemohrtime

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onemohrtimedesign/

Image Credits
Joy Rhine Photography