Episode notes
- "New York really elevates your game.”
- “I started this business, and then I’ve made every single mistake since.”
- “There’s good money, good project, good person. You have to have two of the three.”
- “We’re specialized in working with people who care.”
This throwback conversation with designer and creative business owner Jim Nissen was recorded in Arizona in 2010. This is Part 1 of 3, released as audio from the original video interview.
At the time of this conversation, Jim was running Switch Studio, a design company specializing in magazine design. He talks through the path that took him from graduating college and starting his business on January 1, 1993, to building a studio working on publications across the country. His story includes the early projects that taught him how magazines actually worked, the evolution from Jim Nissen and Associates to Switch Studio, and the influence of Arizona’s publishing and creative community on the direction of his work.
Jim also talks about expanding into New York and why working there changed the way he approached business, talent, deadlines, and creative standards. He describes finding clients almost immediately, spending years traveling between Arizona and New York, and learning from a business culture he saw as faster, more direct, and highly skilled.
But this is not simply a conversation about design. Jim gets into what happens when a creative company grows, takes risks, gets overextended, and has to survive when the business underneath it changes. He recalls three internet-company clients going out of business in the same month, having to lay off his entire staff, and then working 100 to 120 hours a week for roughly a year to keep the company alive. That period changed how he thought about efficiency, clients, money, projects, and the people he wanted to work with.
His rule became simple: good money, good project, good person. You need at least two of the three.
Talking points:
- magazine design, editorial design, publishing, and the business of running a creative studio
- entrepreneurship, business growth, financial setbacks, layoffs, recovery, and surviving difficult periods
- choosing clients, creative partnerships, client relationships, and balancing good money with good work and good people
- New York versus Arizona creative culture, professional development, competition, collaboration, and raising your standards
- the evolution of Switch Studio, independent design businesses, deadlines, production, and building a sustainable creative career
Jim’s current work continues to center design, production, publications, and creative community. His updated bio notes more than 20 years operating Switch Studio, service on the AIGA boards in both Arizona and Los Angeles, and his role as a founding member involved in the creation and development of Phoenix Design Week.
Find Jim Nissen today:
- Personal website: https://www.jimnissen.design/
- Current business: https://commandshiftoption.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimnissen/
- This interview was conducted by Courtney Crosslin, now also known as Sisi in Brasil.
Find Sat With and my other podcasts at https://FAAFO.app.