Looking over my diary, I can clearly note the sharp rise in my productivity level when my creativity is carved out in a routine. Let’s just say the times when I've noted simply ‘work on illustration tomorrow’ have yearned less than impressive results. Allow me to break down how I've crafted a creative routine that works for me.
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Art, Pray, Love: On the Unexpected Benefits of a Residency + 6 Tips to Make It Worth Your While
I forgot how much I needed other people. On a soul level, the residency kind of saved me. I had no idea that what I needed most was feedback and collaboration, not more hours logged at a desk.
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Illustration by WNW Member Yifan Wu
Taking Ownership Over How Your Designs Are Implemented: The Underrated Art of Following Through
“One quality I always look for when interviewing designers is the ability to get their concepts implemented in the final product as envisioned during the design phase. Basically, I want to know: did your ideas actually ship? I’ve noticed that designers who succeed share certain underlying skills and approaches.”
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Asking Not Asking #21: To Keep Going or Not
“I decided to give freelance a go after the contract ended and I assumed work would just come in. But the truth is, it hasn’t. Every month I tell myself this is it. If I don’t get more work, I’ll start applying to companies and take a break from freelancing. But I don’t want to do that. I want to keep working for myself and really build something I love.”
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All photography by Geoff Levy
Engagement In the Grid: 3 Ways Creative Professionals Can Approach Their Instagram Feeds
“Just because you’re unsure how it will be received on social media doesn’t mean that the seed of the idea that’s scratching at your soul doesn’t have a home. Instagram isn’t a parameter for your art; it’s a visible publication platform.”
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Illustration by WNW Member Tallulah Fontaine
Selling Your Soul: Can Artists Consciously Work with Big Brands?
I am constantly searching for the alignment of the truest truth between myself and the brands I service. Where can I celebrate synchronicity? ... As small businesses, we can’t solve these brands’ idiosyncrasies, but we can anchor our messages to the values we support. Can we find a way to bring impactful work into existence for someone that wouldn’t be reached otherwise?
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Header Illustration by WNW Member Rachel Denti
How to Find a Mentor Anywhere
People of great wisdom and conviction know: I’m not ready for it. This has yet to deter me from seeking out mentorship from friends, motivational speakers, new age philosophies, and books. No one has outwardly consented to mentoring me, but I find myself privately cataloguing their advice and experiences so that I can apply it to my own life.
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Illustration by WNW Member Jamie Polancic
More than Hands-On Experience: The 3 Goals of an Internship
You’re an intern. You are not expected to know everything. They already know you’ve got enough of the skill set they need because they hired you. But now is the time to fill in your knowledge gaps. The company may use different software than you’re used to. Ask them how to use it. You may be unclear about a part of the project you’re working on. Ask for clarification."
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Asking Not Asking #18: Freelance Life is Like A Drug
“Freelance life is like a drug. The just not knowing what might be possible around the corner can be addictive and exciting. But it can also be hard to know just when the time is to move on. To know when it’s over. You just don’t know. There’s always a maybe/possibly hanging around out there. It makes it hard to commit to something else, something more solid, something more stable.”
Read MoreAsking Not Asking #17: The Girl Who Got Lost in the Fire
“I’ve tried side projects, going on art-dates with myself, taking self-care days. I’ve tried making up small projects just for me, but I can’t seem to find the motivation or passion to do it. I feel trapped in this illusion of freelance because I constantly feel I can do it better, do more, do things differently, but every time I have some time off, I feel paralyzed and tired.”
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Illustration by WNW Member Yifan Wu
The Case for Copying: Ideas to Beg, Borrow, and Steal
“Discussions surrounding copying are pervasive, i.e. 'DON’T DO IT,' but few safe spaces existed in which to explore. As with the topic of safe sex, how can we as a community expect to arrive at healthy decisions if abstinence is the only option?”
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Illustrations by Michelle Mattar
Mission Uncomfortable: Embracing the Breakups & Breakthroughs of Creativity
I wasn't following up on my own work – which is awkward to say, but I don't think the majority of people in this industry do. My old style was to hand it off and hope for the best, largely because the deliverables were designed for that. Lately, I don’t hand off and hope.
Read MoreAsking Not Asking #16: Searching for Fulfillment
“Options I am considering: 1) Go back to school to get an MBA in Marketing and do…marketing?…somewhere? 2) Leave and start my own photography and design studio. Options I’m definitely NOT considering: Staying where I am. I’m so ready to jump that I can feel the wind in my face.”
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Illustration by BarsRsind
The Freelancer’s Guide to Working with Editors: What 4 Editors Want You To Know
Now that I’m a freelancer, I find myself back [to] learning how to best communicate with editors, anticipate their needs, and generally try to read their minds. So I invited four editors to tell me everything there is to know about their jobs in the hopes of demystifying it for myself, and for freelancers everywhere.
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Asking Not Asking #15: Waiting to Be Seen
“I want to be heard and be part of bigger things, alongside better people. Yet any new attempt is met with another refusal...How can I be heard? How can I make you see me? How can I contribute?”
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After Winning the Publicity Lottery: A Reflection on Rebranding, Momentum, & Creative Purpose
The second children’s book I wrote and illustrated landed me on The Today Show, CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, in Wired, Glamour, and hundreds of other media outlets. At age 29, the firestorm flurry of publicity that ensued provided unprecedented ground to stand on—the first solid evidence, proof to myself, of my professional capabilities.
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Artwork by Liisa Kruusmägi
Deadlines, Clients and Other Workplace Hazards: 11 Creatives on How to Cope (Pt 2)
We ask 11 creatives to share their strategies on how to deal with the emotional minefield of receiving criticism, scrolling through Instagram, and being creative when you don’t feel like it. Take a deep breath, grab a CBD latte, and read on.
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Artwork by WNW Member Sam Rowe
How To Stay Productive as a Creative When Your Phone Stops Ringing
The phone stops ringing from time to time. Here are a few ways Working Not Working creatives stay productive during those stretches. No one approach is better than the other, but all will serve you well when the next call inevitably comes in.
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Asking Not Asking #13: Comparing Myself
Sometimes I’m proud of where I’m at and other times I feel so behind, like all of my friends and peers are further along because they make more money or they have jobs at well-known agencies. I’m in my late twenties and I want to feel like I’m making progress. Starting a business feels like starting over.
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