• Jake Trussell

    Listener Maker Communicator

    “Whether designing a logo, building a campaign, producing music, or making art, I aim to create resonant experiences.”

  • Biography

    Jake Trussell is known for his work as a creative director, communications strategist, music producer, and DJ.

    He's Creative Director and Music Producer for Build Art Make Change, a nonprofit organization that builds creative programs to raise awareness and drive change in support of vulnerable communities. There, he's co-producing the Contra-ICE, compilation album with a collective of artists uniting in response to the U.S. government's mass deportation overreach.

    He's the founder of Mashit, a record label that's produced over 20 vinyl and digital releases, and has gathered fans worldwide, including legendary BBC Radio 1 host John Peel, who had Trussell mix a session of Mashit tracks. The Chicago Reader has called Mashit “Innovative … clever … futuristic.”

    As a recording artist and DJ, he's released 50+ records, composed film scores, and performed worldwide. Boston Magazine called him an “alchemist of sound,” and XLR8R Magazine a “pivotal figure” for his innovative recordings and DJ style.

    Trussell is currently producing HopesAndDrums, an interdisciplinary project combining music, writing, visual art, and other media. Their work has been featured in Spanish, German, and Italian print magazines and exhibited in Spain and the United States.

    Previously, Trussell was Director of Marketing and Communications at Intuit Art Museum, where he welcomed audiences to explore the work of artists who've developed a sustained practice outside the mainstream art world. He also served as Vice Chair of the Arts and Business Council of Chicago.

    For most of the 2010s, he was Creative Director at Chicago’s economic development organization, chaired by the Mayor, where he successfully positioned the city as a top global business destination, #1 for business investment for seven consecutive years.

    He earned a BFA in Interrelated Media from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, a generative AI prompt engineering certificate from IBM, and an innovation certificate from IDEO U.

  • Philosophy

    Create Resonant Experiences

    Listen

    to gain understanding

    Make

    using appropriate media for the project

    Communicate

    work that engages audiences

  • Did You Hear That?

    100 Years of Popular Music… In 2 Minuites

    When Trussell presented at 20x2 — an event where 20 people from various walks of life are asked the same question and given 2 minutes each to answer in any way they choose — the question was, “Did you hear that?” The results could take any form, from spoken word to music to film. Trussell presented an overview of 20th-century popular music genres squeezed into those 2 minutes. Here's a video of his presentation. He also wrote an article that takes a deeper dive into the subject and features a Spotify playlist.

  • Press

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    “Chicago producer Jake Trussell has developed a gift for extracting the DNA from an eclectic variety of pop subgenres.”

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    “Trussell said … the new initiative will sustain Chicago’s vibrant artistic community by building a brand that highlights the city’s history and future.”

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    “ChicagoMade … returning to [SXSW] to promote the city's offerings for the third time in three years … will host a daylong networking event … said Jake Trussell, Creative Director at World Business Chicago.”

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    “World Business Chicago Creative Director Jake Trussell Talks Side Hustles, Brands, & Job Creation”

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    “Jake Trussell … a prime mover … frequently spins around [Chicago] at clubs like Lava & Subterranean, hosts a radio show on WLUW, [and runs] his own Mashit label.”

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    “For the past 10 years, Jake Trussell has been a pivotal figure in Boston’s electronic music scene”

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    “A remix of [M.I.A.'s] text-flirt anthem U.R.A.Q.T. by Boston’s Jake Trussell, a/k/a DJ C, has been licensed by XL Recordings”

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    Review of The Strangler's Wife by Cul de Sac (Featuring Jake Trussell): “Positively georgous.”

  • Selected Writing

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    The Sound of Chicago: Where Creativity Meets Innovation

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    How to Attract the Brightest Tech Talent? ThinkChicago

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    Black Music in Chicago: 100 Years of Innovation & Influence

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    Elevating Creative Economies

  • More Writing

    Mood Bling

    Thoughts on music in the liminal space between the underground & the mainstream, where no genre is off limits as long as there's magic

    Design Innovation

    Thoughts on human-centered design, creativity, and the process of metabolizing complex ideas into resonant experiences

  • Drop a Line

  • Thoughts

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    While many organizations have become adept at designing great customer experiences that lead to strong brand affinity, there are far fewer as skillful at creating this level of resonance with their employees, even though companies with a focus on employee experience tend to outperform their competitors … Read on

     

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    Black music not only defines the American canon but in one form or another it has dominated global popular music for the past 100 years. Chicago a major global platform for that immense creativity for the past century and its role as a hub of Black musical innovation continues today. … Read on

     

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    To innovate is to alter established practices by introducing new ideas. It’s fundamentally creative, but it’s also a science. So why and how do we innovate? … Read on

     

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    Refreshed positioning and identity shed new light on the who, what and why. … Read on

     

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    Designing and developing an application for mapping optimal business locations … Read on

     

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    The New York Times piece “Why Do Kids Love Terrible Music” underestimates kids’ ability to develop their own complex musical tastes. … Read on

     

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    How Does the Creative Economy Impact Economic Development? … Read on

     

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    Meaningful brand interactions can forge positive relationships with customers. This is amplified when employees also feel good about their company. … Read on

     

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    Retirement sounds nice, but what if you love your job? How might we deviate from the social norms around aging in the workforce in order to shift from the industrial age into the knowledge economy. … Read on

     

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    what is it about Chicago that generates so much creativity and innovation. After all, this is the city that gave birth to both the zipper and the skyscraper; the city where Ferris invented his Wheel; the city where the mobile phones we all carry around were first designed. … Read on

     

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