It's Midnight and I'm up late again planning, designing, and thinking. My brain is a pin ball machine the way my thoughts hit, so many bulbs flashing and motors humming.
My eyes will close but I still see the pen, still see the ink. I wonder how long I can keep this up. Tonight I'm working on a logo graphic, finishing a jacket tech pack and optimizing my website. I am the sole owner, designer, and only employee of Midnight Special.
I wake up early sometimes to work, sometimes I stay up late. Tonight is one of the late ones. There's a red orange glow in my studio that keeps me calm as I run through my head, a world filled with clean lines and beautiful color palettes that make you want to just sit in them. I think about my mom, and what she would have thought about it all.
I hit 20K followers on IG last week and it's still going up.
2 years ago I had under a thousand, frustrated with social media and everything it required, scared of showing my process because I didn't feel good enough. Scared to push my own boundaries, to evolve.
It takes daily effort (multiple hours) to do what I do, and for that, I think you have to be crazy to be a solo designer. To not be overwhelmed by the massive world of design and where you could possibly fit in. To trust yourself to this degree that even with assured failure you won't give it up, won't slow down.
Eventually learning that there is no such thing as time wasted as long as you are pushing yourself to grow. So walk around, stare at a wall for a while with the lights low and think about something pretty to you, think visually and draw things in you mind.
Stay connected to your world and you will be given unlimited inspiration.
For tonight, here are 3 tips to starting and building a brand:
- Your artist name or brand name matters as much or as little as you choose (plenty of examples of both), but it will contribute to shaping your brand whether you like it or not. Think hard, but not too hard - and be yourself.
- For a minimum 5 days a week you need to be working a minimum of 2 hours. If you're doing under 10 hours a week your progress on design and marketing your design will be consistently below average. This doesn't need to be design work, it can be anything related to your art or brand.
- Create your story/persona early. To do this, think about what your designs do for you or even what you want them to do for you in the future. How do they make you feel? Do you feel like an action hero? Do you feel like a rock star? Maybe you feel like a futuristic princess. It's the feeling you get that dictates your design story. Once you can hone in on the feeling - you can create your brand personality.
My eyes will close but I still see the pen, still see the ink. I wonder how long I can keep this up. Tonight I'm working on a logo graphic, finishing a jacket tech pack and optimizing my website. I am the sole owner, designer, and only employee of Midnight Special.
I wake up early sometimes to work, sometimes I stay up late. Tonight is one of the late ones. There's a red orange glow in my studio that keeps me calm as I run through my head, a world filled with clean lines and beautiful color palettes that make you want to just sit in them. I think about my mom, and what she would have thought about it all.
I hit 20K followers on IG last week and it's still going up.
2 years ago I had under a thousand, frustrated with social media and everything it required, scared of showing my process because I didn't feel good enough. Scared to push my own boundaries, to evolve.
It takes daily effort (multiple hours) to do what I do, and for that, I think you have to be crazy to be a solo designer. To not be overwhelmed by the massive world of design and where you could possibly fit in. To trust yourself to this degree that even with assured failure you won't give it up, won't slow down.
Eventually learning that there is no such thing as time wasted as long as you are pushing yourself to grow. So walk around, stare at a wall for a while with the lights low and think about something pretty to you, think visually and draw things in you mind.
Stay connected to your world and you will be given unlimited inspiration.
For tonight, here are 3 tips to starting and building a brand:
- Your artist name or brand name matters as much or as little as you choose (plenty of examples of both), but it will contribute to shaping your brand whether you like it or not. Think hard, but not too hard - and be yourself.
- For a minimum 5 days a week you need to be working a minimum of 2 hours. If you're doing under 10 hours a week your progress on design and marketing your design will be consistently below average. This doesn't need to be design work, it can be anything related to your art or brand.
- Create your story/persona early. To do this, think about what your designs do for you or even what you want them to do for you in the future. How do they make you feel? Do you feel like an action hero? Do you feel like a rock star? Maybe you feel like a futuristic princess. It's the feeling you get that dictates your design story. Once you can hone in on the feeling - you can create your brand personality.