A Tad Brilliant
A young boy running through the corridors of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri sounds like a made for tv character’s moment. With his Dad as an illustrator and designer for 42 years at this firm, it’s clear that bumping into creative professionals in many disciplines shaped the fabric of Tad Carpenter’s affection and affinity for graphic design. Yes, Tad was that little boy turned into a creative force.
Honoring his father Stephen Carpenter during his keynote address at Meet the Pros 2024, he gave him a nod of gratitude “It was a huge gift that my Dad understood creativity.”
Carpenter posed a rhetorical question, perhaps to frame his presentation and the relevance of design “How can we work and design better, than through our experiences as human beings together. Are we spending our lives doing what is important to us?”
Visual Candy And Eye Appeal
Brain Punch was the title of his keynote, on day two of this annual event for college students interested in the fields of advertising, marketing, and communications. To would-be creatives and designers in the crowd, he offered “no designer really understands their process. My creative process feels like a punch in the face but inside my little brain.”
Carpenter Collective is a collaboration between he and his wife Jessica, offering design, visual storytelling, and brand identity. He and his wife love to create things for ma and pa startups to Fortune 500 companies out of their Crossroads Art District offices in Kansas City. During his presentation, visual after visual cascaded the audience as he shared photographs of their work.
Their designs have appeared with brands ranging from Sonic and Macy’s Department stores to Boulevard Brewery and their beer museum, including branding the Shuffleboard Bar at the top of this building. Eager tourists are greeted with visual appeal and eye candy to arouse their senses and quench their thirst.
He counts among his portfolio dozens of children’s book illustrations and book jackets, serving as both a prolific designer and product creator for his personal line of signature items. Carpenter noted, likely with a smile, that his mom simply called him an artist.
Routine Builds Design – Creative Muscles
Carpenter urged aspiring designers and advertising students to build a routine of placing their ideas on paper. “Talk to yourself as you will speak to clients.” He encouraged the future professionals at the Funny Bone Comedy Club to remember what they loved to do when they had a minute as children. He wanted to make the group think about what they naturally desire to spend time doing, then translating that to their career.
As a third grader, Carpenter won a contest for the Kansas City Chiefs in designing the season tickets. Years later, he returned to work for the team in a creative capacity.
Carpenter also advocates finding a passion project to become a calling card for you. Give yourself permission to be creative and focus on the process over perfection. Making time to create something for himself on Sunday mornings has refreshed his creative juices and been a source of joy. Over the last nine years, his project Sunday Suns has evolved into both a product line and a time to refresh his passion for design and life.
Design Philosophy
“Design is at its best when you collaborate, when you design with someone you love. You create something special.” A rug project made with his mother Becki, a fiber artist, remains a favorite piece in his home.
For Carpenter, growing up with Hallmark creative professionals as babysitters was a conduit to his life’s work as a designer and storyteller. Nurturing that creative spirit has led him to design for clients in Kansas City and internationally. His keynote reminded his audience to foster the spirit that originally led them to their love affair with creativity.
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www. carpentercollective.com is the online home for learning more about the married couple that inspires each other to collaborate with a range of firms spanning household names like Old Navy, Coca-Cola, Target, and Ray Ban.
