On today’s market, he’s one of the funkiest graphic designers who everybody is — or will be — fighting for. Jelsen Jargon has already proven his off-the-wall style working with Pepsi, Vitamin Water, Brown Girls Burlesque and Dunkin Donuts. Let’s slow down and chat with the inspired and inspiring Jelsen Jargon.

TRACE: What inspires you?

Jelsen: Hmm. Everything inspires me. “Input Dictates Output” is my saying. In general I just try to keep my eyes and ears open; try to take in as much as possible.

Traveling’s a big deal. I wish I could travel three months out of every year — at least. The more perspectives in my back pocket when approaching a specific problem the better I can solve it.

I’m also a fan of riding the subways of any city. It’s such a great rotation of interesting content; the sounds, the colors, the languages, the pace…the way people interact with with each other — gotta love it.

T: What would be the ultimate client you would like to work with?

J: I’d love to collaborate with oodles of folks, but if I had to pick one industry to work in for the remainder of my career it would have to be a community and grassroots organization — ideally in an African (diaspora worldwide) community. The opportunity to contribute to the further advancement of my people via graphic design is just about the coolest win-win scenario imaginable. I couldnt possibly think of anything better than that.

T: What’s “cool”?

J: Honestly, I’ve never been too good at staying on top of the ‘current cool’ in anything. My family didnt get a television until I was about eleven or twelve so when kids talked about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at school I had NO reference to what they were talking about. I was the ‘…what’s a Thunder Cat?” kid at the lunch table.

Like, lunch box art was what I’d see first, and then the actual show.

T: How did you become a graphic designer?

J: I wouldn’t say I’m a ‘classically trained’ designer; I first pursued a marketing degree, then sort of switched to graphic design at a community college (I was so lazy I failed the same illustrator class back-to-back) before dropping out and finally heading to a portfolio school for art direction in advertising where I then re-switched over to graphic design. I got a chance to study in Hamburg, Germany and this was hands down the most valuable three months of my academic career. I then had an 11-week internship at a large ad agency in NYC. They hired me out of school. I’ve never graduated anything past highschool.

T: So far what is the work you have been the most proud of?

J: My proudest work doesn’t exist yet! The moment a project’s completed and all the client’s high-fives are done I eagerly move on to the next. Each time, I try to make the next gig better than the previous.

T: And finally, three adjectives to describe your art to a blind person?

J: That’s a tough one. Well, how about, “…this poster here would taste like cotton candy, and this logo’s so sexy you’d fuck it, and this other poster would sound like a Jimi Hendrix/Donald Byrd collaboration.” Yeah.