By the age of 8, David Wingard was already cultivating an interest in advertising.
He paid close attention to TV commercials, admiring the creativity involved and became especially loyal to products with impressive packaging.
One commercial for Zips shoes excited him so much that he begged his mother to buy him a pair, even though they had to drive all over Jacksonville to find them.
In the commercial, the kid put the shoes on and all of a sudden, Wingard said, “He was running fast and jumping over fences.”
But when little David put on his “magical” shoes, nothing happened.
He was disappointed, but also intrigued. It was then he realized “it was storytelling.”
He learned another lesson as well: “It’s a letdown if the ad doesn’t live up to the promise.”
Wingard always knew he wanted to pursue a career in advertising.
In 2008, he launched Wingard Creative, as a one-man design shop. He now has a team of 15 full-time employees, who specialize in a range of services, including brand development, graphic design, website design and development, public relations and digital marketing.
Wingard has many clients in the arts and culture, restaurant and hospitality, and insurance and financial services industries.
This month, Wingard Creative received the Judge’s Award from the American Advertising Federation in Jacksonville for a video on the Museum of Science & History, part of the museum’s rebranding effort.
The company won numerous other ADDY awards, including gold for work with MOSH and silver for campaigns with Bustasnacks popcorn packaging company, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and Intuition Ale Works.
“From the beginning, I wanted to show that even though we were small, we could win awards,” he said. “I learned you didn’t have to be a large agency to produce great work.”
Wingard grew up in Jacksonville, so he has focused on working with area businesses, destinations and organizations.
He graduated from The Episcopal School of Jacksonville and studied advertising at the University of South Carolina before coming back to Jacksonville to take his first job as a graphic designer at Kreinest & Associates .
He left that small shop to become art director at Burdette Ketchum and Associates, which he said prepared him well for launching his own business.
Wingard started out in a one-room office in the Five Points Theatre building, which turned out to be a great location because as his company grew, he moved to larger spaces within the building.
He had seven employees by the time he left in 2012 to move to the company’s current location on the fourth floor of the Raymond James building. It’s a bright and open office suite with a panoramic view of Downtown and the St. Johns River.
Since his goal was to work with local clients and companies, one of Wingard’s first projects in 2008 was for the Five Points Merchants Association.
To shine a light on the Five Points brand, he developed a logo and launched a yearlong ad campaign in Folio Weekly, with the tagline “Five Points — It’s Different.”
The area has a variety of merchants, including a tattoo parlor, fashion boutiques, a liquor store, antique shops and a movie theater. So the campaign “was a mash-up” of all of them, Wingard said.
Five Points grew, which was fun for him to see.
“We moved in and saw its potential and then we saw it reach its potential,” he said.
When Wingard Creative moved to its current home in Brooklyn, he was able to watch that neighborhood grow as well. And he became involved in its resurgence in much the same way.
In 2012, Brooklyn was an area with a once-bustling past but a sleepy present. The 220 Riverside apartments, restaurants and Unity Plaza had not broken ground.
Wingard Creative researched the area’s history and, with the help of Jacksonville historian Wayne Wood, discovered that a trolley line once ran down Riverside Avenue.
Based on that and historic photos provided by Wood, the company created the logo for Brooklyn Station, a new shopping center on Riverside Avenue that Wingard has a view of from his office. His company also developed the logo for Unity Plaza.
Wingard said he’s enjoyed giving the neighborhood “an identity and a symbol of who they are.”
He also has liked working with area organizations and destinations that are important to making Jacksonville a great place to live.
Early on, he did work for the St. Johns Riverkeeper, creating a 170-page “Get Your Feet Wet” river guide that won a silver ADDY award. The Cummer Museum became a client in 2010 and Wingard Creative helped it with a rebranding effort that began in September 2014.
MOSH launched its rebrand in January. The museum has long been perceived primarily as a destination for children, Wingard said, but it is now reaching out to all ages.
Its tagline is “Curiosity Welcome” and his company designed a logo that incorporates a system of icons within the letter “O” of the MOSH name.
The “O” now has an evolving identity and can become a ship’s wheel or an orange or a sun or a compass or whatever, depending on where it is being used or for which exhibition.
Wingard, whose title is chief creative officer, credits his employees with the company’s success.
“I have a good eye for talented young designers,” he said. “I got lucky, hiring some very passionate people, more talented than I could ever be.”
He also hired client Christopher Ball in 2010 to be CEO. Ball was selling his furniture business and they became friends.
“And since I am a creative guy,” Wingard said, “I needed a business guy.”
Natalie DeYoung, the company’s director of communications and public relations, said Wingard and Ball “balance each other out because David is the creative genius and Christopher is the numbers guy.”
She said the bright, open office atmosphere, where even the private offices have glass doors, is the perfect place to work given the type of work they do.
It’s also rewarding to work with the kind of clients who are helping make Jacksonville a better place — “a cooler place” — to live, she said.
Wingard said his company will continue to grow strategically.
“Christopher makes sure that when we make a new hire, it’s sustainable,” he said. “We want to be really good at connecting brands to community, online or in our own backyard.”