Charles Watlington (BFA ’02) delivered the VCUarts December Commencement address on December 9, 2023.
About Charles Watlington
Charles Watlington (BFA ’02) is a design director from Danville, Virginia who currently resides in New York City. In 2002, he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. With a career spanning over two decades, Charles Watlington has amassed a wealth of experience with prominent organizations such as Ogilvy & Mather, Collins, TBWA, Joan, The Martin Agency, MoMA, Kate Spade, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Presently, he serves as a design leader at Johannes Leonardo (JL), an independent creative agency based in NYC. There, he heads design efforts for the agency’s robust roster of clients. Notably, Watlington has been instrumental throughout JL’s 5-year partnership with Volkswagen in creating a visual identity for the brand as it continues to evolve towards a more electric future. On Oscar Mayer, a Kraft Heinz company, his pop art-like design and non-commercial style of work have helped revive the legendary brand by catapulting it back into cultural conversations. Throughout his career, Watlington’s designs have received various industry accolades including his first Cannes Silver Lion for the Red Sox: Green Monster campaign by Benjamin Moore. Other clients this speaker has worked for include The National Museum of American History, Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing Company, NY Knicks, Uber, Suntory, McDonald’s, The Hershey Food Company, NYC 2012, Dewars, American Express and more. Outside of his agency life, you can find Watlington in NYC enjoying DJing Classic Country or traveling with his wife and three daughters.
Elated audience, esteemed facility, proud parents, and, most importantly, the fine and pixel-perfect graduates of the VCUarts class of 2023, I’m overjoyed and honored to be here today, especially because this is a room overflowing with people embarking on a journey to do what they love. Talk about putting some good energy out into the world! And, it takes guts to go to art school and look at you now! Graduating! Woo hoo! And, thank you to Dean Higginbotham and the VCU School of The Arts for having me here today!
And, yes, I am Charles Watlington. A dyslexic, heavily bearded, almost-didn’t-go-to-college guy, who happens to be a hard worker, with some talent (I guess). If it can happen to me, truly it can happen to you! My secret— listen here— has been to have a positive attitude, be nice to people, and have an against-the-odds belief in myself.
It all started for me when I was a clean-ish shaven high school junior and joined my schools’ literary arts magazine called Euantes. I was let in the magazine class, because I could draw— I was really obsessed with sketching with extreme attention to detail. One of my pieces that made it into the magazine, was a portrait of Lenny Kravitz and I was ultra proud of it. It was good— still is, and it is framed and leaning against a box-maze somewhere in my parents’ basement.
Anyhow, my magazine teacher gave me a 99 as a grade for my Lenny Kravitz masterpiece. I was like, um, why not a 100? His response was “Because nothing is perfect!” This really hit home for me and drove me to just always try to work harder and harder. And, as I mentioned before, I’m dyslexia. And, when I was growing up, it wasn’t understood very well and I was in learning disability classes from 1st through 8th grade—and, honestly, I was very embarrassed, anxious, and insecure about it. So, making it into the magazine class with poets and high achievers and, then, being praised for my artwork made me feel like I was going to possibly be more than my learning difficulties.
Then, off to VCU, I went! Well, actually, there were a few bumps in my road. I am insanely lucky to be able to say that I have parents who love me deeply. A truth is that they once drove three hours to Richmond while I was on a business trip from New York, sat in their car for hours, just to say hi to me after I finished working, and then turned around and drove the three hours back home. I’m lucky to have always been loved. But, I was never encouraged to go to college. My parents grew up farmers and their highest education was high school. And, in my hometown of Danville, Virginia, most people at the time, would leave high school and then work in a factory in town. But, thanks to the encouragement I received in Euantes, I took the leap to pursue higher education and follow my interest in the arts.
So, after improving my grades in a local community college, I was proudly accepted into and then graduated from VCU with honors. Ya’ll don’t need to hear my advice about how to make it through college, thankfully. But, I will mention that I was painting-major bound and Professor Kristin Caskey saw one of my first paintings in her AFO class and said “have you ever thought about being a graphic designer?” And, I am in debt to her for guiding me down that path because it has given me a glorious, decades-long career. And, thank you to my parents for expecting me to pay for my college, so, now, I am really good with watching money– find a way to do that folks!
So, then, fast forward to my move to NYC. It was the incredible retired VCU professor John Malinoski who urged me to move there. The scope of my imagination still didn’t yet encompass dreams like a move to The Big Apple; but, I took his advice, packed up my things and thought, “I’ll give it a year!” My parents drove me up to my first apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. And, when we pulled up to my new address my father said “I’d rather be moving to jail!” And he definitely meant it — it’s fancy there now but it 100% wasn’t back then!
But, I settled in, made connections, started job searching; and, my wife reminds me that when I had my first interviews in NYC, I had made buttons for the interviewers with my goofy face in the middle surrounded by the order to “Choose Charles!” Thankfully, they did– the subject of their job-offer email reading “We Have Chosen Charles!” So, believe in yourself folks, because, why not? As we can see daily, life is short so don’t waste time with doubt. Choose yourself!
The first job that chose me was at Ogilvy & Mather, the Brand Integration Group- a group run by Brian Collins, a creative genius! There, I worked on redesigning Coca-Cola & Miller High life. And, right away, I was placed with mentors who would change my life, and I was very open to it. I then went on to work at various companies from Jazz at Lincoln Center to Kate Spade, to MoMA to The Martin Agency (in their NYC Office) to TBWA and now currently at Johannes Leonardo.
And, I must mention, that I’m certain that a hot topic amongst all the graduates must be the scourge of AI eliminating jobs and creativity. My advice is to use it to your benefit (things that took me hours and hours now take just minutes). But, don’t trust it completely! Do you think AI would have dreamt me up as the image of a commencement speaker? Yet, here I am!
Regarding my designs, my most recent large campaign was The Volkswagen ID. Buzz (The new electric bus) in which I created the entire design concept. I currently work for a company that aims to be edgy whenever possible. But, I knew that Volkswagen was looking for something classic and iconic. And, I was proud that they went with my idea for the US launch.
So, here is the part of the commencement address where I give you advice that you can tattoo on yourself when you get your first post-graduation paycheck:
Firstly, If you are able, take up running. It’s the best thing that I have ever done for myself. I ran the NYC marathon in
2016 and I continue to join other races when I can. Running is largely a type of meditation, which we all need for our
mental wellbeing.
Next, if you are able and want to, have three children and feel like your mind will explode several times a day from the screaming and fighting. And, be cool with it. And, especially make sure that one of them is a professional child actress who will, with hope, one day buy you a mansion from “Selling Sunset.”
Thirdly, If you have a spouse one day, my wife says her advice would be that the dirty clothes go inside the hamper and not on the lid. This will bring your household one step closer to kumbaya.
And, now a plug for my side gig: I have to tell y’all about how I spend most of my time, outside of advertising which is as a Classic Country DJ, called DJ Moonshine. I have a massive collection of old 45 records and I have been DJing around NYC for 15 years. And, now, my fellow business partner, DJ Prison Rodeo, and I started a monthly event called “Honky Tonkin’ in Queens.” I use my design background to create our event posters— which have definitely helped to immediately make the event legit and recognizable. This year we have had eight sold out shows with crowds of over 500 people and are organizing more events with over a 1000 people in the new year in NYC and beyond! So, I recommend finding your passion outside of your career, as well. Because, you never know what could become successful and fulfilling.
As a reminder, as you travel into this wide world as adults looking to make your way in it, stay positive, don’t be jerks, and believe in yourself. Look closely at my wild beard and remember that if I, Charles Watlington, can make it, you, by golly, will make it! Congratulations graduates and thank you!