Meet Levi Huddleston | Graphic Designer

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

Hi Levi, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think the most important factor in my success as a graphic designer is my desire to learn. The industry is always changing. Technology, tools, and trends are all changing all of the time, and to run a successful business, you have to keep learning and adapting. In addition to the changing landscape of design and marketing, learning about your client and their business is critical to creating lasting and effective brands. So when I get the chance to learn what makes a mushroom farm successful, the processes behind making custom springs, or how precast concrete is utilized in construction, it genuinely excites me. It excites all of the partners at Always Creative, and I think that is one of the biggest factors to not only our success, but the success of our clients and the brands we build.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After graduating from ACU in 2014, I was headed for Houston for my wife’s grad school. There were not many studios doing the type of work I wanted to do at the time, but I landed the ideal internship at Always Creative. My time there was great, and the work we did helped to form my understanding of conceptual design and client relationships. After the internship, I jumped around to a number of smaller studios, learning all I could. Some specialized in web development, and others in exhibitry design and signage. After 7 years of working in these smaller studios I took my first corporate job at Academy Sports and Outdoors as a lead designer in their marketing department. I had avoided the in-house design jobs for so long, but I loved my time there. It taught me so much about defending your work, presenting to large groups, working on large teams, and so much more.

With 3 kids, living in the burbs, working a corporate job that I loved, I never thought I would leave Academy. That is until I got a call from my old friend and owner of Always Creative. The place where I had started my career as an intern was reaching out to see if I wanted to be Partner. I have been a partner now at Always Creative since January of 2024 and its crazy to think of that full circle journey and all of the people that contributed to it along the way.

If I have any advice for young creatives, it is this – broaden your horizons and learn as much as you can. The things you learn, even in an avenue of the industry that doesn’t excite you, can help sharpen your craft in unexpected ways.

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?
We would definitely need to stop by Johnnys Gold Brick. My favorite neighborhood bar!

Eating in houston is an easy one. There is good food on every corner but some go-tos:
Teotihuacan on Airline
Les Givrals on Milam
Alladins on Westheimer

Then we have to go see an Astros game.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My journey in graphic design had a strange beginning. I originally went to school at Abilene Christian University to study Biblical Text, and growing up in a small Texas town I didn’t even know graphic design was a career path. After my freshman year, I had an internship at a church out of state that gave me a different understanding of my faith and my role in the local church, which led me away from vocational ministry. I was now left with the question – what do I study? What career path am I going to choose? It just so happened that, Mark Alvis, the person who hosted me for the internship was a graphic designer, working for a coffee packaging company. He brought home print samples, showed me his design files, and opened my eyes to a career that seemed to be a great fit for me. As fate would have it, Abilene Christian University had a fantastic Fine Arts department where I was mentored by an incredible group of professors, Ryan Feerer, Nil Santana, and Mike Wiggins to name a few. They invest a lot in their students and I couldn’t be more grateful for my time there.

Website: https://alwayscreative.co

Instagram: alwayscreative

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alwayscreativeco