Designity wouldn’t be the Designity we know and love without the help of the amazing creatives that make up our creative community.
Designers, developers, copywriters, our community has them all and, now, it’s time to get to know one of our talented Designity Creatives just a little bit better!
Today’s blog is your backstage pass to an exclusive 1:1 interview with Illinois-based graphic designer and branding expert, Kristina F.! From a 7th grader just discovering her passion for design to a much-sought-after graphic designer, her story is one you won’t want to miss.
So, pull up a chair, and get ready to meet Kristina!
How did you get into design? What’s your origin story?
Growing up, I always loved to collect crafts and drawing and being creative but in junior high, in seventh grade, one of our classes we were lucky enough to have Photoshop.
And so we did an assignment; it was just our name with pictures behind it. But I thought it was so cool doing stuff on the computer, because I've always liked computers as well.
And so then in high school, I took all of the digital arts classes I could and decided I loved it.
So, I’ve never turned back.
Did you go to school for design?
I went to a couple, but I graduated from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.
My senior year we had a studio within the school, which was kind of cool. It was called Design Streak and it’s kind of like a mini studio.
There were nine or ten of us in it and we did real projects and technically we got paid but the money we made from our client work throughout the year was for day trips to Chicago. We rode the train there to visit a few design studios and explore the city.
What was your first creative-related job after college?
I graduated during COVID and where I lived, all the creative jobs were in person, and it wasn’t a big enough city to have ad agencies or design jobs.
So, I got a remote job through an automotive group called Dealer Inspire (now cars.com). They were originally located in Naperville, but they turned remote for COVID.
So, that's why I got an opportunity to work there. And so that was my first official design job.
What kind of work did you do for Dealer Inspire?
Their website banners. I designed sliders that would be on the website.
I also did email design and then some social media graphics as well.
How did your career lead you to Designity?
I've always done graphic design on the side and been a freelancer on the side.
Originally, I was a freelancer for Dealer Inspired too, and then I got a full-time job with them.
But after doing it for almost a year, I just got bored, I didn't feel like it was challenging. I’m glad for it because it really grew my Photoshop skills at the time, but I knew I really loved branding and developing a brand and my previous jobs were in customer service, so I also knew I loved being around people and building relationships.
I applied to Designity because I saw that you work in a group with a variety of clients, which I really was drawn to.
I also wanted to have flexibility in my life because my husband was working remotely as well, and we were growing our family. So, I just wanted the freedom of a remote job, and I thought I had a good base with the design world to try new things.
That's what really drew me to Designity.
What is your favorite thing about working at Designity?
I just love the variety of clients that I get to work with because I’m a major extrovert, I get bored easily. So, it's a lot of fun getting my brain moving in different ways.
Also working with different Creative Directors. They all have different skill sets and I love asking questions to continue growing my own skills. And sometimes, I can teach them a few things here and there. I just love collaborating. That's really what I was missing in the other roles I’ve had in the design world.
What is your favorite kind of project to take on?
I really think creating logo design and branding is so fun.
But then also being able to do social media graphics, making templates for them, and really putting their brand into action and watching it evolve and building its personality.
Creating those elements and kind of bringing them forward so that they can apply them day-to-day. I think that's one of my favorite projects. It's a lot of fun.
What are the most challenging projects? How did you overcome the challenges?
For me, I guess it's having to turn long documents or reports into something visually creative.
But I also like it because of the challenge of being able to find a way to push the brand forward and using creative thinking to create things like one-pagers or print material out of that data, and just making sure everything stays within the forms and the functions.
And sometimes for me, for sure, is attention to detail. Making sure I didn't miss any words or something in a copy and paste. But being challenging is also fun for me, to be able to move the brand forward while still being true to the brand itself.
How do you keep yourself up to date with design or tech trends?
Personally, I love reading about marketing. I also love watching YouTube videos of some of my favorite people in the space as well as podcasts and, of course, social media helps.
Also just traveling, I think that helps a lot. To just see things around you and see patterns and how things are moving and grooving throughout the world around us.
Is there any insight you can give about current design trends?
I feel like people are trying to get outside of the norm in a way. I feel like everyone was trying the same thing for a while and then everything just started blending together. So, now, everyone's finally realizing, “Okay, we can just do our own thing and be authentic to it.”
So, it's a lot of fun to see how people are just doing their own thing and discovering their true selves.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
With kids, we love traveling and spending time together. I've also been trying to focus on having more hobbies because I work too much!
So, I got back into scrapbooking and also junk journaling, which is kind of like scrapbooking. It's fun for when you’re traveling or just doing small things, and you collect random junk and journal your thoughts and reflect on it.
Junk journaling? How is that different from scrapbooking?
They’re pretty much the same. But scrapbooking is more formal, I feel like. It’s like a summary for a month or for a whole year. With junk journaling, it can be more simple.
For example, one thing I just did is me and my friend had a girls’ night out for dinner. So, I grabbed a little menu and the receipt and we took a picture of it and printed it off. It's like a journal but with stuff in it. It can be more of a day-to-day type of deal and more sporadic since it's smaller details you might not include in a scrapbook.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-2"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/63695243d096983691046ac3_Potential-Creative.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right cc-dark"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Like to work as a freelancer with consistent income?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Designity's collaborative model is designed to give you all of the perks of being a freelancer without the income instability.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="http://designity.com/creatives" target="_blank" class="c-button w-button"><strong>Join Our Creative Community</strong></a></div></div></div>
Do you have any last words of inspiration for aspiring creatives?
I think it's so easy to compare yourself to other people but don't. Just think about getting better every day.
And the other big thing is with AI and Canva and different technology. I see a lot of conversations about designers loving Canva or not loving it. I say, don't focus so much on being afraid that AI is gonna take over. Instead, use those tools to help you advance in your craft because I think a design itself is a principle, not a software.
Don’t worry about the things other people are doing, just learn about design itself, the elements of it and what makes good design versus the tools you're using.
