500 Degrees Burning Questions: Jonathan Hyatt Interview

Beyond the innovative digital, print and experiential content we produce, what truly sets 500 apart is our incredible crew. In our ongoing series of team chats, we’re giving you a look at some of the terrifically talented folks who call 500 home. This time around, we’re hitting the canvas (in more ways than one) with senior art director, Jonathan Hyatt.

Jonathan is originally from Frankfort, KY, and has been designing professionally for 16 years. Here at 500, he designs and provides art direction for promotional materials such as menu board pieces, in-store signage and limited-time offers. He also produces content for email and social media marketing. Recently, Jonathan took some time to artfully craft answers to our Burning Questions.

500: How and when did your interest in art develop?

JH: It started out as a hobby for me when I was a kid. I used to illustrate characters on the old rudimentary software Microsoft Paint before I learned the wonders of Adobe Illustrator.

500: Not sure if our homework is accurate on this, but…were you a professional wrestler at one point? If so, then…whaaat?

JH: Ha! Yes, you’ve done your homework correctly. One of my first gigs as a graphic designer was for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, KY. OVW was World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) official talent camp for prospective professional wrestlers at the time. I worked on their website, promotional materials and merchandise. So, while I was starting out my career as a designer, I also trained to be a pro wrestler and worked TV shows for the local promotion. I wrestled for three years and had a nice little stint as a pro wrestler under the name “Tommy McNaler.” I went 11-6 and even won the OVW TV championship, defeating the former WWE superstar, Joey Matthews/Mercury! It was a wild and wacky time for sure, but I eventually decided to focus on my design career. So, I retired from the ring and went back to school about ten years ago.

500: That’s incredible! Well, it goes to show that folks here at 500 come from every background. What was your journey like after school?

JH: Well, ever since graduating, I’ve been honing my skills as a graphic artist. I bounced around the east coast a little, from Kentucky to Arkansas to Florida and now Ohio, working as an art director. I moved to Ohio to be closer to family, but I also got super lucky and found a great gig with 500. I love the team I work with, and the culture here feels like home to me. I particularly enjoy working in the quick-service restaurant space because I love food! Perhaps you could say the beautiful food photography we produce soothes me (laughs). That’s really my favorite part of the job—being on set and shooting food photography. That’s always a blast and creatively challenging in many ways.

500: Challenging in what ways?

JH: Being on set can be unpredictable, and that type of work is a huge shake-up from being at your desk sketching or building layouts. It’s a different creative exercise and it’s collaborative, which I think is what I love most about it. It’s not just me working to make this shot look beautiful. I’m part of this huge team of creative professionals, and we’re all applying our different specialties to make this work.

500: What is your process for approaching and working on a project?

JH: It can vary depending on the project, but in general, I like to take in all the information and kind of meditate on it. That usually means I walk away from it for a while to let the thoughts simmer in the back of my mind while I take a walk or do a chore or some other type of quick autopilot type of task. My mind kind of races while I do that, and ideas naturally come to mind. I can daydream on them before I go back and start to do a rough sketch. Nothing too detailed, just a base idea of the project and go from there. Then I’m off to the races. But I take a break and walk away again every so often just to give my mind a break and reset. That helps keep the ideas fresh and allows me to solve problems efficiently.

500: Well, the wrestling talk was entertaining. Let’s see if we can’t uncover a few more fun facts. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

JH: Assuming I’m stuck on a desert island here, with nothing but an old Walkman that could only play one song? Hmmm…probably “Eye of the Tiger,” so I could do a Rocky montage and get really buff and fearless. I’d need that song to motivate me to build a raft and get the heck off that island and back to civilization so I could listen to all the other great music there is to offer on Spotify and the world wide web!

500: What is the best movie of all time and best TV show of all time?

JH: “The Godfather.” Watch the TV show “The Offer.” It’s about the making of “The Godfather,” and it’s great. It’s not the greatest TV show ever, though; that’s “Breaking Bad.” I THINK. And my favorite film is actually “The Dark Knight” because I’m a huge Batman nerd.

500: What’s one totally irrational fear that you have?

JH: I don’t think I have an irrational fear that’s stayed with me, but I certainly remember some of the silly ones I had as a kid. Especially old cartoon scenes that I thought were scary. For instance, does anyone remember The Boogieman from “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon in the ‘80s? If I see a clip of him now, I realize that dude was NOT scary at all. But when I was a kid? I was jumpin’ under my covers!

500: What is your favorite hobby?

JH: Drawing, I think. I used to draw all the time as a kid and all through school. And it’s part of my job to sketch and come up with ideas. I’ve been trying to brush up on my old drawing techniques lately just for fun and it’s been awesome, especially with great tools like Apple Pencil and the Procreate App.

500 (in our best wrestling persona voice): Jonathan, you are a rock star, brother! We are so stoked you could take the time to jump into the ring with us to wrestle with a few Burning Questions! YEAH!

JH: Thanks so much for the kudos and spotlight. I love 500, and I love our team! I’m honored I can be part of this team with all of you wildly talented people