My Name is Matt Harkins. I have been involved in creative thinking since my first mouthful of paste in kindergarten. Once I figured out it’s better on paper than passing by your taste buds, I was off to the races.

I was fortunate enough to grow up around lots of creative people. Potters, photographers, illustrators, sculptors, writers and even gardeners were all around me. I really didn’t have much choice.

Age 10 brought skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding in all their glory and pain. The last 23 years of my life have been the balance of these physical and creative passions. While studying Visual Arts at UCSD, I got my first job sweeping floors in a surfboard factory and that pretty much set my path away from what most call “real jobs.”

Not your typical artist, I have dedicated my existence to command of profession. This means I have made a point to learn as much as possible about every step of the process to make myself well rounded in the business cycle. As time passed, I found that I could do more with a team and then I entered management…

Management is just like creating a painting but it requires both traditional creativity and creativity of communication. My jobs in fast paced design and marketing environments eventually lead me to where I am now. Mastering both the concept of product and messaging is the art of Brand Management. With a careful understanding of process and command of design, most people can smash out a product and get it on the shelves. Without the understanding of why you made it and how to get others to love it, your once optimistic retailers will gladly return it and replace it with your competition.

Brand Management is the key to Brand Success. Understanding all the factors at play in the whole product life cycle will separate you from the pack and keep us all doing what we love to do. Its not easy, but it sure is fun.