Creative Profiles: Joy Barnett is a griot on the road less traveled
Freelance creative director and copywriter
Brand&Culture’s new series, Creative Profiles, offers a portrait of the bold, innovative and deeply human leaders shaping the industry. In each post, creatives peel back the layers to share what drives their passions, challenges, a-ha moments and the unique wisdom they’ve gathered along the way. We hope these profiles inspire you and the next generation.
Let’s go way back: What was one of your very first jobs, and what’s a lesson from it that you still use today? Starting out as a junior copywriter at a small, local agency, the biggest lesson I learned was that being visible is half the battle. My ECD there once told me that he didn’t know what I did besides “drink coffee and laugh.” I thought it was a bad joke. He later promoted my intern to copywriter ahead of me. I learned then and there that I might not be able to control leadership’s motivations, but I could definitely make myself impossible to overlook.
If your career was a book, what would the title of the current chapter be? Sowing Season
What’s a piece of unconventional wisdom or a personal philosophy that’s been your secret weapon in this industry? Leap and the net will appear.
You’ve done so much cool work. What’s one project that really sticks with you, and what made it a game-changer for you? I am so proud of my work writing and building a Stubb’s BBQ Sauce Alexa skill. At the time, Alexa skills were still an untapped technology among most brands. It felt like a privilege to be among the early creatives to utilize it, and to ultimately create one of the world’s first and only audio/digital interactions with a Black mainstream brand owner.
We all hit creative walls. What’s a time you were really stuck, and how did you finally find your way through? My secret to working around creative walls is to go back to the product. So often, we’re too close to the brief, the client, or the office politics, and the product gets lost. I like to step away from the screen and back into the product experience. Drink the beer. Use the cookware. Watch the program. Stop being the creative for a minute, and be your audience.
What’s the one part of your job that, if you could, you’d do all day long? I like building decks more than any copywriter should.
Beyond the work itself, what’s a value or a cultural ideal you want to see more of in the industry? There’s enough work for everybody to get their hands dirty. No more favorite sons.
Where in the world do you feel most inspired, and why? On a road trip. There’s nothing but possibility ahead and I’m the master and commander.
Name three books you’d recommend to anyone, anytime. “Black Futures,” “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” and “The Picture of Dorian Grey.”
Connect with Joy Barnett on LinkedIn.
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