Check Out Simon Carr’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Simon Carr

Hi Simon, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey to owning a creative design agency started at a young age. I grew up in southeastern Kentucky where I was exposed to art and storytelling at a young age. This created a strong interest for me in all things creative. I’m an artist at heart and spent many years drawing, painting, composing music and writing poetry.

Sometime in the mid 90’s I taught myself how to write code so that I could talk about video games online. That led to a successful (even popular) website that had several part-time writers. That was around the time that I realized combining my love for design and new-found technical abilities could be a legitimate career path.

Fast-forward a few years – I relocated from Kentucky to Nashville in 2007 and landed my dream job on music row. On music row I was working for a company that designed and built websites for major entertainment groups. I got to do work for Counting Crows, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban and Beyonce among others. In 2009 that company was acquired by Ticketmaster and shut down. Losing my dream job hurt, but the very next day I started working for myself full-time. Almost 15 years later, I can confidently say that working for myself is the real dream job.

The first couple years of working for myself was challenging and I experienced a lot of burnout. Eventually I figured out how to manage client projects and moved into an office space and brought on other designers and developers to help grow the business. As the business grew, we rebranded to be known as DesignUps. During this time my agency’s design work was being recognized by other people in the industry and I was nominated to be an international design judge for Awwwards and CSS Design Awards.

Today I am still putting my creative talents to use as the design director and founder of DesignUps. DesignUps is a Nashville based full-service design agency that focuses on web design, development and branding. Over 15+ years in business, DesignUps has had amazing opportunities to work with the Ryman, CMT, MTV, Cracker Barrel and others.

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?
Starting my business in 2009 was an eye opening experience. On one hand I felt incredibly lucky to find almost immediate success. But on the other hand, I was working 12-hour days and not doing a good job of managing the projects I had lined up. The biggest challenge for me in the early days was working from home. It was great at first, but after weeks of barely leaving the house I realized the situation was not great for my health or productivity.

Changing locations can be tough as well. My company has had to move between 5 different locations. It comes with the territory of being in Nashville and the expansion that has happened. We moved from West Nashville to the Marathon Building and then to Houston Station where we stayed for 7 years. The creative community in Wedgewood Houston was amazing during this time, but as we watched Fort Houston get torn down to make room for SoHo House, we knew the neighborhood was changing forever. Sadly we had to leave Houston Station. After a short stay at the Shoppes on Fatherland in East Nashville, DesignUps has made it’s way back to Wedgewood Houston again – this time at the Nashville Warehouse Company.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
All of my creative energies are funneled into my business. As the design director of DesignUps my work involves design for interactive (web design, UX / UI design) as well as branding (logo design, style guides, brand strategy). My company also builds the code for all our interactive designs. This mostly involves web development, coding for WordPress, Shopify or other e-commerce platforms.

I would say that I am most known (around Nashville) for the work my company did for the Ryman Auditorium. Several years ago my agency was hired to create an all-new website for the Ryman. At the time the website was very dated, and frankly it was just bad. We turned things around and built a website that brought them into modern times. Working with the Ryman was a great experience – as a musician myself, I’m always on the lookout for clients who’s work overlaps my interests.

What sets me apart? I think it is that I am not afraid of challenges. I really like the quote “the obstacle is the path”. As part of my professional work I take a lot of pride in finding unexpected solutions.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books: “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg. This book is literally life-changing. It was recommended to me by a friend years ago and the lessons in the book have stuck with me. The book talks about how powerful the habits we form are in relation to our actions. The author has lots of great examples including marketing research for products and personal experiences. It’s the type of book that makes you think differently about your daily actions and patterns of behavior.

One of the biggest things that helps me in terms of personal growth and motivation is travel. I have been fortunate enough to visit some amazing places over the last few years. Some of my recent trips have included travel to Europe, Hong Kong, China and South America. Every time I go somewhere new it changes my perspective. Experiencing cultural events and customs allows me to be a more thoughtful and empathetic person and designer. Visiting Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was a trip that had a huge impact on me. The beauty of Brazil and the passion of it’s people stuck with me.

Being outside in nature is the ultimate life hack for me. Something about walking -nthe different scenery really helps to get me out of my routine and think a bit differently. As a society we spend so much time looking at screens, I find a huge benefit to being able to disconnect from all of that when I am in nature.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://designups.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designups/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designups/
• Twitter: https://x.com/designups
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@designups