Meet Anthony Smith | Brand Strategist, Designer, Label Designer & Artist

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

Hi Anthony, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Potential = possibility. Possibility = opportunity.
Opportunity = risk + reward.

Taking opportunities to maximize potential means taking on risk, and the opportunity’s reward is most times—if not always—proportionate to the risk. With that understanding, I am able to move through life unbothered by the possibility of risk, as it is always expected.

Bravery and courage became part of my being due to my upbringing and conscious efforts to overcome fears. As a result, I have accepted that it’s never perfectly safe to speak or act in the world but I must, so I’ll just go out there and do what I believe to be necessary and valuable because if I wait, the world will continue, and possibly get worse faster. So I do, and bear whatever comes after.

I resigned from two 9-5 jobs in less than six months, with no runway but monthly bills waiting gleefully. I knew the risk was enormous but I focused on the rewards. Doing so, my time got more flexible and I was able to work with well-paying clients. Soon, my new life was pretty rewarding. After a year, I registered my first design agency called Formylus, now goes by Bold Pebble.

During the pandemic, I made a drastic positioning decision that cost me the agency for what it was. That was a failure due to miscalculated risk factors. Within a week I closed Formylus and started working on building Bold Pebble. With a new name, and almost zero brand awareness, the risk was at an all time high but I kept going.

Thing is, I’m not afraid of taking risks, I learn whether I hit the mark or not.

I decided to move out of my parents’ the moment I started Art School. With no money nor reputation, that was a risk and I did it still.

I go by the slogan “Do The Bold Thing” as it captures my proclivity to take risks.

This doesn’t mean, by any measure, that I am not strategic in my decision making. It is because of my strategic approach why I’m able to take the risks I take. Strategy allows me to see what risks are worth it and to plan my way through them in advance, having contingencies ready for takeoff at any minute.

Let’s not leave out the rush of energy that risk taking provides. It feels like winning.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have always wanted to simply help. There is nothing overly philosophical or profound about that. I just want to help. I learned that design spans across cultures while studying fine art in college, then I made the transition to design. It felt natural to start a design studio right after college too. And Bold Pebble was born. It is one of my core beliefs that service is the highest calling, and as such, my life is devoted to serving and helping humanity live more meaningfully. That is done through Bold Pebble by carefully amalgamating Design, Business, Strategy, Art, and Philosophy. This sets Bold Pebble apart.

Bold Pebble partners with “The Big League Aspirants” and helps them to establish impactful brands through daring simplicity. The Bold Pebble Philosophy is–partially–built on the principle “Focus on the little things, strip them to ultimate simplicity, then scale once sustainable.” With that underpinning, Bold People, which I will refer to as BP hereafter, offers two houses of service, Branding / Brand Strategy and Label Design.

Existing clients, partners, and collaborators come from industries like Real Estate, Food Processing and Distribution, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare / Wellness, and Custom Furniture Manufacturing. BP has made it its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to cater to the environment and encourage the same in stakeholders.

As a part of Bold Pebble’s effort to integrate art into its practice, I participate in Mural Design and Execution in an effort to unite community and client.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I prefer the out-of-town areas, as do most of my friends. We’d take a hike to the blue mountains, a chill day at Hollywell. Maybe bowling at Jamzone, then wrap it to with a beach day at Hellshire beach, in Portmore.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Jordan Peterson and his 2 most widely read books, 12 rules for life, and Beyond Order & Chris Do and his team at The Futur

Website: https://boldpebble.design

Instagram: @heyanthonysmith

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-smith-221a10a0/

Other: Business IG @boldpebble

Image Credits
Bryan Smith Photography Tiana Anglin