Jenna LIVINGSTON

What was your very first job? 

A cashier at Reader’s Stationers in New York City.

Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails. 

I work as a creative in-house at Facebook. Our aim is to tell the Facebook brand story through TV, OOH and experiences on platform.

How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? What was there train of events that brought you to where you are today? 

Growing up as an only child gave me lots of time to be bored. I had to figure out ways to keep myself entertained. From writing contracts for a later bed time to campaigning for a dog, I was always coming up with ideas.

Fast forward to a weekend home from college at my parents’ dinner party. A friend of mine who had just graduated came and said if he could do it all over he would go to Miami Ad School. I researched the program and realized I could get paid to come up with crazy ideas. And learn how to do that in South Beach. After that it was game over.

In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant? 

I really like looking at portfolios from kids in school. There are no clients or limitations, so people can be super creative. It feels like I’m putting on uninhibited youth goggles every time I go through a new book.

If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation it required, rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be? 

For Mother’s Day awhile back I created RebootMoms.com, a site to teach Mom social media. There were video tutorials for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – and the best part was, tons of people actually sent it to their Moms. A happy Mother’s Day indeed.