You’ll likely recognize Timothy Goodman’s monochromatic, pop art inspired designs that grace everything from alleys in Paris to Chipotle to-go bags. His graphic art blends type and imagery to form visual roadmaps of his mind and emotions. Celebrated for his bold style and kindness-fueled messaging on Instagram (@timothygoodman), this artist wears his heart on his sleeve with positive vibes and promotion of inclusivity.
With over 165,000 Instagram followers, partnerships with everyone from Samsung to Uniqlo, and street art from New Orleans to San Francisco, Timothy is in a highly in demand creative. He’s done wall wraps for Netflix and created designs for the New York Times. In partnership with @amelielamont, Timothy began the initiative @peopleofcraftmanship to showcase awesome artists of color (like fellow Spark Style Maker @monicaahanonu) and provide more visibility to often overlooked communities. He routinely redirects jobs and speaking invitations to this forum when it’s apparent there’s a lack of diversity or representation taking place.
If you’re a fan of comic-style art, positive vibes, or stickers, check out the collection Timothy has created for Adobe Spark. Featuring a range of playful characters and his signature mural style, these templates will bring a feel good party to your feed. Be sure to tag @timothygoodman when you post his templates to share the love!
Learn from Timothy’s Socially Just Media Strategy
For all these reasons, we wanted to learn more about his creative world and his best social media practices. Fortunately Timothy took time out of his global work life to talk with us about being a good human on the internet and creating art.
What inspires you to create and how do you describe your style?
I always try to create work that is driven by an idea. The need to express myself is the main thing that drives me. This is probably why I’m known for at least three completely different creative pursuits: my freestyle murals and illustrations, my text-based murals and my IG writings, and finally the social experiments I’ve created. I want to make work that is meaningful to myself and others.
Personal behavior drives so much of what we make. The reason I started drawing large-scale, freestyle murals and illustrations so quickly is because I’m inherently impatient. I don’t like to labor over my art. I’m also an obsessive person, so the need to fill the canvas with drawings and words is really all I know to do. Early on, I followed these behaviors, and these qualities started to inform and form my voice and my style. I also love to be performative. The showmanship of drawing live in front of an audience brings me a lot of joy. I have just continued to develop these behaviors over the years.
Any tips for others who want to use social media as a positive outlet?
Starting dialogues that then inform my work has been an important way for me to use social media. Therapy, white privilege, relationships, and politics are some of the topics that are important to me. Starting these dialogues with my audience on social media has helped me create and co-create projects such as People of Craft, Friends with Secrets, Memories of a Girl I Never Knew, and Build Kindness not Walls.
How do you grow community on Instagram?
Social media has undoubtedly helped my career. It’s imperative to use social media anyway you can when you work for yourself. The more you share, the more visible you are.
To grow your community, it all has to start from the work. Make and talk about the things that are important to You. Not because you’re trying to fit in, or be performative, or because you think it’s something someone wants to hear. Focus on your craft and your own unique voice first, and then think about how it all fits into the weird world of the internet. Don’t get me wrong, social media will definitely inform you and your work sometimes, but it must be organic or people will pick up on that.
This collection is a part of the Spark Style Maker series, where Spark members get exclusive access to unique design ingredients and assets from emerging creatives and tastemakers.