Creative Entrepreneur / Art Director / Graphic Designer
Los Angelos, CA
Q What do you do?
“I work with both new and existing brands, primarily wellness and fitness industries.”
I am a creative entrepreneur with foundational skills as a graphic designer, photographer, and digital marketing designer. Most of my work with clients are helping them figure out how to be seen and how to visually communicate their brand personalty to their customers - reaching both new and existing customer base. As a creative entrepreneur I love developing my own businesses and products that combine both function and aesthetics into the world. the challenge of marrying the two when I solve a creative problem are my favorite ones to explore and create from.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I’ve been working in the design industry for almost 12 years, mostly in-house for marketing design departments and as a creative department head at mid-range start ups. It was from those experiences where I learned the grounds of the 360 design in advertising, marketing, and sales. As much as I am fluent in digital design marketing, I have a soft spot for designing and creating things with my hands. In my freelancing work history, I became a producer for an advertising studio. where we built and design props and marketing signage for influencer marketing events, photoshoots, window displays. One of my favorite projects I got to work on was building the holiday Anthopologie store front on 5th ave, in New York City. This time working with my hands sparked a new joy in me, and it was to add more innovation and invention into my own line of work.
Then I started to prototype and launch my own products. It started with creating my own solutions in an aesthetic yet functional way. Today, when we are in a time where convenience is always at the edge of our fingertips, my appeal to design for quality, function, and aesthetics grew. One of my favorite products to be launched during this time was collaborating with En of Even Keel. I worked with and created a nail oil for her line. My role for this project was product research, ingredient research, product development, testing, graphic design, packaging, production, marketing, and sales. It is now available online as well as in Even Keel’s brick and mortar store in Gowanus.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I have both a business background plus years as an creative in the field of graphic design, art directing, and marketing. So I get the game from both sides. I understand the pain points and goals of big brands and small independent ones. If you’re a small brand, you’ve gotta hustle and you’ve gotta know where to step. I use my real life experiences to help navigate my work for myself and for clients alike.
Q What are you working on right now?
I just entered the mindset of what kind of solutions to create as a product designer. A lot of my current projects are revolving around research, and digital prototyping, and writing cases studies. It has been fun to take solutions from our 3D experiences and integrating them into our digital worlds that live in our smart products. I am even more excited as web 3.0 is coming up a lot in conversations and very curious to see how creativity and innovation will unfold there.
I am also learning more about reading astrology charts and transits and currently creating have some projects revolving around that.
I’m also taking a new project through the prototyping process; right now I am looking for fabrics and working with a local LA pattern maker to complete some first samples. And lastly, helping a client create, illustrate, and publish their own children’s books.
Q What’s your style?
My style is creating products, be like physical or digital, to be functional and aesthetically pleasing with no pop ups and ads.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I love styling and designing outfits and clothes, as well as curating interior spaces.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
my bruxism.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Definitely someone to massage my face and scalp everyday before I wake up and/or go to bed.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
To be present, like really, really live and breathe slowly and mindfully. To take my time answering questions and experiencing life. That is is okay to say, “I don’t know”. I put a lot of perfectionism pressure on myself and it really stopped me from moving forward on my own personal projects, thus causing me to bleed time and then proceed to rush things through. It is okay to take my time. It is my right to take time for myself to process. This would have saved me a lot of time and made me happier while working.
Also that it’s okay if things don’t always look like what I had drummed up in my head. No one bowls a perfect 300 when first starting out. Why should I believe that I can produce and design perfect products after one go around. We don’t alway bowl a strike while bowling, that is why they give us 10 rounds for each game, and a second chance after each bowl. Put in the work and the 300 will come, eventually. This is where quantity over quality comes to play. Get those reps in. But first, take a deep breath.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Biomimicry, I would love to learn more about the architecture and design of nature. I always find nature to be so healing and fascinating. Nature doesn’t need to research before existing and thriving. It just goes off. It just exist and knows how to live. I would love to learn more about it and incorporate it into my design practice and aesthetics and values.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My clients and I have a lot of respect and trust with each other. They are open to hearing my advice and giving me a lot of free reign to do what I do. At the same time, it’s their project so ultimately I am here to support their vision and I respect that.