Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Brannon.
Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My creative journey is a bit convoluted, having started as a musician (guitar) studying blues/rock then jazz at Berklee College of Music, forming the fusion jazz group Synergy in Texas, then I started writing for various national music magazines and newspapers, then got into modern art lighting design and created Lightlink Lighting (architizer.com/firms/lightlink-lighting + https://www.instagram.com/lightlinklighting) and then got into photography and she for a number of magazines and lastly became strategist/creative director for the fast-rising international Arts magazine 71 Magazine.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s all been a creative journey of learning and exploring various arts and where they intersected and of course there were challenges, business and creative. One of the main challenges is sometimes expressing the value of something you’ve created, which eventually led to the realization that everything isn’t for everyone. To each their own. For instance, modern art lighting won’t work in every home or space but its something I’ve always been drawn to, having an interest in mine century modern design and beyond.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The Art lighting I design for LightLink Lighting has won 21 ADEX awards (Awards for Design EXcellence), both gold and platinum and editor’s choice from Design Journal. The designs have also won ‘Best New Products’ from EnLIGHTenment magazine quite a few times. The light has shown at TEDx, Fiesta Arts Fair (7th top Arts show in the US), Laguna Gloria Arts fest (Austin), and many others. 71 Magazine is a ‘Magazine of the Year’ award-winning international Arts publication I am creative director, strategist and lead writer for: www.my71mag.com
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Anything we do in the public area is a risk. We’re taking a risk just showing the creative sides of ourselves. Among the risks I’ve taken with 71 Magazine include literally asking world-class talent directly if they would like to be featured in the magazine. We were at an event in San Antonio which Academy-award winning director Steven Soderbergh was attending and we literally asked his business partner if he’d be willing to be interviewed on tape/camera and we got the go ahead and did it on the spot; even ended up having drinks with him as well. So I’d say never turn down a risk where you stand to gain something of value and can help those you are connecting with – win/win.
Contact Info:
- Email: mike@my71mag.com
- Website: www.71mag.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my71mag
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my71mag
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/my71mag
Image Credits
Images 1-4 credit: Mike Brannon. Images 5-8 credit: 71 Magazine media group
