Innovating on the business of innovation.
From J+E to today.
The first of 5-years’ consecutive Clutch awards (bridging J+E and MaxMedia). (Illustration by the author and Clutch.co)
A few years ago, while leading J+E' Creative’s experience design practice, I was thrilled when Clutch.co recognized our small, specialized agency as a national UX leader.
And, again, when it happened the next year.
And the year after that. 😉
Having conquered one mountain, I challenged myself anew. I took a break from J+E to build and lead MaxMedia's experience design team, an opportunity which allowed me to continue growing the business and leadership skills I've worked on my whole career. Once again, my team delivered some amazing work and—challenging though it was to modernize a 26-year-old media shop during a pandemic—I don't regret a minute of it.
But as Marcus Aurelius said, "Change is Nature's delight." And for me, it's time for a change.
And time for a bigger challenge, still.
Introducing Sharpen Partners.
JD Jordan and Mack combining over two decades of experience with some of the biggest agencies, consultancies, and brands in the US. JD was co-founder of the #1 Clutch-ranked UX agency, J+E Creative and is the author of the acclaimed novel, Calamity, and an experienced design educator and public speaker. He also like dinosaurs. (Photo by the author)
Today, I’m thrilled to announce the formation of Sharpen Partners—an omnichannel experience-design agency whose nimble and diverse team of veteran creatives use empathy and design-thinking to create exceptional solutions for real problems.
Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with countless great clients who understand the profound impact innovative experience design can have on their business. But I’ve also seen clients frustrated by the creeping scopes and swelling budgets unspecialized agencies and consultancies bring to a relationship.
The vision for Sharpen is to challenge every assumption that leads to these pain points. And to exceed every expectation for our clients regarding what an innovation-design team can achieve.
Over the next few weeks, a handful of the most talented and experienced creatives I’ve ever worked with will join this partnership and together, we’ll create the most rewarding place for problem solvers to work and thrive.
We’re veteran experience-design experts—every single one of us—dedicated to your engagement. And by offering our design teams on simple short-term, price-fixed retainers, we’ll deliver on time and on budget. We can do this because, while traditional full-service vendors remain unspecialized, bogged down with overhead, and reliant on inefficient pricing models, Sharpen is committed to focusing on what we do best on and doing it differently. Our clients will have the most painless vendor experience of their careers.
This is an ambitious vision and these are ambitious goals but I wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, if we’re not willing to innovate on the business of innovation, how can our clients trust we’ll deliver the most innovative possible solutions for them. Thankfully, I won’t be building this agency alone. I’m surrounded by a brilliant team—I can’t wait to introduce you!
Lastly, thanks to my J+E Creative co-founder Ellie Jordan’s support, Sharpen has acquired J+E Creative’s legacy. The processes and portfolio that made J+E one of the most well-recognized UX agencies in the Southeast will serve as the launchpad for Sharpen to do so much more.
So stay tuned. We’re just getting started.
Let’s get this partnership started.
We’re excited to show you how Sharpen’s premier team of creative problem solvers (with their fingers on design thinking, technology, architecture, and more) is the right team to help you. Because we do a lot more than just create beautiful, functional solutions—and that “lot more” informs how we approach every problem.
Contact us for a free remote consultation with our innovation leaders to see how we can help you and your company bring your visions to life and be more innovative than ever.
