ENTRIES ARE CLOSED | STAY TUNED FOR THE WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

Juror Spotlight

Josh Fein
Founder & Creative Director, Metafor

Joshua is a creative problem solver specializing in brand building and storytelling. His journey is driven by “a lifelong quest to impress his Jewish parents,” leading him to master the art of storytelling with rich characters and settings. This upbringing fostered a mix of comedic nihilism, a persistent pursuit of perfection, and a strong commitment to treating others as he wishes to be treated.

His experience includes crafting impactful creative work for industry giants like Disney, Starbucks, Square, and Domino’s. During Covid, he founded Metafor to harness the positives of virtual work, offering flexibility and access to top talent worldwide, aiming to foster a culture where everyone feels truly valued and respected. His innovative approach, “Brand Engineering,” bridges the gap between creativity and results, imagination and implementation, and storytelling and revenue.

Away from branding, Josh’s vibrant personality is hard to miss. Always armed with a joke and fueled by a burning curiosity, he breathes life into any conversation. He enjoys skiing, playing tennis, hockey, or golf, often accompanied by his shelties, Banksy & Dalí. His approach combines talkative enthusiasm with humor, ensuring each interaction is a unique and memorable experience. Because, “why be boring?”

What fuels your creativity?
A pinch of caffeine mixed into a big glass of ADD and anxiety. Is that a smart combo? Who knows. Future me can worry about that later. But for now the reality is my brain is always moving at 1000mph. It’s always trying to make connections or find the nuances in the everyday. Thinking never stops. Now I just have to figure out what fuel is best to get everything out of my head and into the real world!

What was your first job?
My first “job” was hustling my kindergarten class by drawing their favorite sports teams logos or mascots. No I’m not kidding. I’m from Dallas, but the Chicago Bulls had the best ROI in the 90s haha!

What’s a physical experience you’d like to bring into the digital world?
Maybe not necessarily physical into digital, but I’m really curious about anything evolving into the ar/vr universe. How will typography or branding change? What about watching a movie or browsing social media? It doesn’t have to be a flat surface anymore. Can I be surrounded by typefaces and different spatial design elements? What about watching a movie where the story is being told spatially rather than just watching a rectangular screen. There is so much on the horizon for ar/vr in the near future and I’m excited.

What areas of emerging tech & media are you interested in exploring?
If you aren’t interested in AI or spatial computing you will be left behind. Being able to utilize different AI tools has saved me an insane amount of time and resources. The biggest element I’m exploring is learning how to properly prompt these tools  – it’s the main prerequisite to being successful with ai generating – especially once it becomes more mainstream and the general public learns how to utilize it.

What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started your career?
ASK QUESTIONS. The biggest differentiator when working with a Jr vs a Sr is the senior will ask questions. This is design for clients, not art for yourself. Don’t assume. The more you ask questions, the more confident I feel. If you are stuck – ask for help. If you are confused – ask for clarification. If you are doing a monotonous task that’s taking forever – ask someone if there is a quicker way (99% of the time, there is). The quicker you ask, the quicker the project gets done, the quicker you can get onto the next project (and questions!).

What are you looking for in entries at The w3 Awards?
I would love to see entries that reframe a truth, whether it’s a weakness turning into a strength, or answering a public perception issue in a simple and visual way. “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

When you enter your work into the w3 Awards, it lands in front of accomplished jurors like Josh. The Final Entry Deadline is quickly approaching. Submit your projects by Friday, June 21st.