Bobby Gillespie
“Innovation is creativity
with parameters.”
Bobby Gillespie, strategy and creative director of Propr and the author of the book, Build Your Brand Like You Give a Shit, studied animation at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, Multimedia at La Salle University, and Graphic Design and Writing at the University of Baltimore. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he has lived in Baltimore since the end of 2006. He founded Propr in 2014.
Bobby’s expertise lies in his ability to align clients’ vision for their brand with business goals and to develop powerful concepts that are simple in execution yet complex in concept—building brands aimed to empower and perform for marketing and business development teams. He is the facilitator and chief provocateur of Propr’s powerful Brand Strategy Workshop, a major piler in Propr’s ability to deliver empowering and high-performing creative results.
In past roles, he has served as creative director for an e-commerce and inbound agency, senior designer for a boutique design firm, graphic designer for a higher education marketing firm, art director and senior designer in the beer business, and team lead and web designer way back in the early dot-com era.
Bobby and Propr have won numerous awards for their website work. He served on the boards of the Baltimore chapters of the AAF and AIGA. He was an adjunct graphic design faculty at Stevenson University and UMBC.
His book, Build Your Brand Like You Give a Shit, was published in 2022.
Education
- Master of Arts
Publication Design
University of Baltimore - Bachelor of Arts
Design Art & Multimedia
La Salle University - Specialized Associates
Animation
Art Insitute of Phila. - Alumni Scholar
Goldman Sachs 10k Small Businesses
Books
Podcast Interviews
Interesting Things
Bobby likes to test his mettle and is an avid runner, hiker, and weight lifter. He’s completed four marathons, one 50k, numerous ten milers and half marathons, obstacle course races, and one triathlon. He won third place in his age group at the Atlas CrossFit Games, finished the grueling Maryland Appalachian Trail Challenge, hiked Mt. Mitchell in about five hours, completed numerous burpee challenges, including a burpee 5k, and had a 16-month run streak ended by Covid in 2023. His current run streak of running > one mile every day outdoors is over 60 days, coupled with body weight and barbell training.
Bobby’s second book is in the works, following up on his first book this complementary followup book is focused on building a brand that can perform, scale, and win.
