John also hangs his hat solidly on collaboration, relying heavily on his colleagues, friends, and family, and searching for inspiration in unconventional ways. He finds creative energy in getting outside of his comfort zone and seeking feedback from many sources. According to Gheur, his secret is being inspired by folks much better than him, traveling a lot, and being open to new ways of thinking.
When asked to share the best piece of advice he ever heard, his response highlighted the importance of being candid and forthcoming. “Never lie. If you don’t have the answer, go get it.”.
Gheur’s passion for design dovetails with his love of technology and art, melding the two together in exciting new products and designs that push the envelope and pump fresh blood into the industry. He sees the merging of fine art and computer technology as a perfect marriage that produces exceptional results. “I studied at OTIS/PARSONS School of Design with a principal focus on fine art photography,” he said. “When computers came around in the ‘90s, it was a natural progression to find passion in design and image manipulation.”
Gheur’s love of all things creative goes beyond his work as the founder of Signature Creative, Inc. He dabbles in the startup world and is currently developing a record label called Repoezessed LLC and launched an art gallery called
Show Gallery. There’s no doubt that these extracurricular endeavors allow John to stretch his creative legs and discover other design revelations in unorthodox places.
He also lauds another bastion of technology, Instagram, for being a font of inspiration. “Instagram has been amazing at the discovery of new forms,” he said. Gheur ignites his creativity by admiring the work of some of the design world’s key influencers and photographers, including Man Ray, Edward Weston, Margaret Bourke-White, and Mary Ellen Mark. He draws inspiration from fashion and the fine art world, admiring the work and style of greats such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Damien Hirst, Banksy, and Francis Bacon.
This eclectic and impressive roster of influencers has doubtlessly provided Gheur with a unique style and flair, drawing big-name clients to his well-respected design firm since its inception. Gheur also has a tried-and-true creative process that melds imagination with honing an idea and putting the work in to get it right. When asked about the steps he takes, he replied, “research, comp, review, share, do it again, refine, review, present, and produce.”
Signature Creative Inc.’s meticulous process and exacting standards produce the high-quality work that notable clients expect, but there’s another reason the most prominent players in entertainment and tech turn to Gheur and his team. The design firm has years of production experience across multiple verticals, so they have seen it all and can navigate just about any problem imaginable.
When Gheur encounters the rare dissatisfied client, he tries to put himself in their shoes and come up with actionable solutions to solve the problem at hand. “It is usually a case of a client having a stressful meeting and needing deliverables yesterday,” he said. John’s method of making it right involves listening, reflecting back the problem, and responding with a solution. It puts the client at ease and ensures them that they are being heard, taken seriously, and will have their problems addressed thoroughly.
Although John’s favorite part of the job is collaborating and building dynamic teams, he also has a sharp eye for technology. He often relies on new and proven staples, like Adobe, to make his designs shine. When asked about what piece he was most proud of, John was quick to answer. “I’m most proud of a few products we launched, Ptch - the world’s first creative way to share your pictures and video; innovations in Augmented Reality at Qualcomm; Real Appeal - United Healthcare's most successful wellness program to date. ”Gheur also highlighted his work with bringing Hollywood and the music industries into the digital age in the early aughts. “It’s been amazing to see that billions of folks have touched my work in some digital form, from Coca Cola to Harry Potter,” he said.
When he’s not steering at the helm of Signature Creative Inc., John is searching for ways to benefit his fellow sentients and mother earth, as well as putting his mind to cutting-edge startups and projects that celebrate creativity, science and innovation. He also makes plenty of time to step away from the grind and hit the waves on his surfboard and catch a few fish.
