"It really sparked after a month in a cubicle," states Happy Hour's president Kenny Gibbs about his quest to create a special design practice. "I always knew I wanted to work for myself. And I knew it would take decades before I felt I knew enough to offer our clients better service than they were used to." This 20+ years in pursuit of expertise has led Kenny and his wife—and creative director, Kristi Gibbs—all around the country. But it wasn't until Kenny was staring at a cubicle for a month before he realized it was time to hang out his own shingle.
Kenny had successfully art directed magazines, worked for small agencies in several markets, and worked on many levels of creative, design and production in all aspects of print and web communication. Some of his more recognizible clients include Macy's West, Gap, Old Navy and Old Navy Outlet, Franklin Templeton and Raygun Magazine. But that fateful day in San Francisco, with the endless rows of designers grazing in the corporate fields of drab grey cubes, he saw it.
"I realized I didn't want to be stuck in a box. I knew that I could offer people great design and a fun working relationship. So I spoke to Kristi about going out and saving the world. She said, 'Maybe later. Right now let's just start a design company.'"
So they did.
Kristi had her fine art degree from USF and was designing furniture in San Francisco when Happy Hour was born. "Kenny and I are the perfect design balance. I approach from a strong craft and aesthetic background. I love ceramics and early Renaissance painting. Kenny likes marketing statistics, technology and skulls. So when we sit down to look at each other's ideas it can be really incredible how different our creative vision is! He is worried about printing accuracy and target markets and I am picturing beautiful layouts. So when we combine the best aspects of each other's art, the end result is perfect!"
"Happy Hour is really about relationships," says Kristi. "Our pricing is based on how much we believe that we can work with that particular client. Our philosophy is that we are investing in this person and we both stand to benefit from their success. We also strongly believe business is personal. "We are people. And our clients are people. So business is not business, its personal. We strive to have fun, deliver premium design and successful marketing, and most of all – grow with our clients in the future."
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