“What Is okPANTS?”

Illustrator. Branding consultant. Graphic designer. Content creator. Artist.

My nickname is Pants, a name bestowed upon me ~20 years ago at art school. The name would follow me into the real world for the music industry; where I cut my teeth at a string of day jobs as an illustrator and graphic designer. Adults would pay me money and call me Pants, and at that point I figured the name and I had become one for life.

In 2008, out of a notion that I had more to give as an artist than 40 hours a week for someone else; I waved good-bye to salaried day jobs and went freelance full-time. In an effort to launch a simple and unique URL to promote my business and host my portfolio, I secured “okpants.com”. 

A name should be the least interesting part about you. It’s what you create and how you connect with people that matter.

I would love to tell you there’s a deeper meaning here behind the name okPANTS, but that would be lying. It manages to fold my nickname into it and that’s about it. I did not spend days and weeks crowdsourcing opinions on it. I made the decision and executed. I knew it worked, and I marched forward confidently with it.

In that sense the name okPANTS spells out my philosophy on art, branding and design: Keep it bold, simple and leave them intrigued. Don’t destroy the beauty and intrigue of an idea by over-thinking it, just move forward with it happily. Nothing less, nothing more.

That’s been my approach since day one and it’s not changing any time soon.

Thanks for paying attention to me.

Photo: Lee Sechrist

FEATURED CLIENTS

Sole Collector Magazine
Island Records
Cleveland Marathon
Hasan Minhaj
Wyatt Cenac
Fall Out Boy
Complex Magazine
New Times Publishing
American Greetings
Casio G-Shock
Gallery1988
Josh Gondelman
Sole Collector Magazine

Detroit Pistons
Complex Magazine
New Times Publishing
American Greetings
Casio G-Shock
Gallery1988
Josh Gondelman
Detroit Pistons
Island Records
Cleveland Marathon
Hasan Minhaj
Wyatt Cenac
Fall Out Boy