Can Designers Use Their “Style” as a Bat Signal for Clients?
A conversation with Audrey Havey, Freelance Designer, Illustrator & Motion Designer - Part 1
Where did the art journey begin for freelancer, Audrey Havey? Well, it began sometime in the 5th grade, with a lot of acrylic paintings. But even later in art school, she dreaded the question of what she wanted to be when she grew up. It was never about the job, instead, it was always about the type of work she wanted to get her hands on, and that work always centered around entertainment.
Audrey: I wanted to play with anything relating to networks like Adult Swim, FX, a little bit of sports like the NBA, but more than anything, video games and esports (before I even knew what “esports” meant)."
While the path to freelancer was in her mind senior year of college, she figured it was best to gain some “professional” experience through internships and companies. She experienced both the small-scale studio life as well as the large-scale-in-house life, each having their pros and cons. But that was enough for her as she said in her own words, “I’d like to try things my own way.”
She started 2020 preparing for the wild west of freelancing, while still at her full time role as a Lead Designer. By March, covid hit and put her plan to take the leap on hold. So she stayed patient by talking to past and current freelancers about their experience, reading business books for design, listening to podcasts, doing rate and budgeting workbooks for when the time came, building that network even further by doing small side gigs, and just soaking in as much as she could.
Audrey: February 1st of 2021 was my first day of freelancing and I’ll never forget how liberated and powerful I felt that entire week. I even remember trying to make a habit of doing a weekly vlog of what I worked on that week, how I was feeling about things, what I was excited for, etc. That way, I could look back one day and admire all of the little wins, bit successes, freak outs, border-line crying over little things, uninspired days, etc. That’s such a realistic part of a freelancer’s journey, and should be acknowledged as part of what made you stronger & smarter today!
So, to TLDR it all, I decided that being a freelance designer and illustrator was the right path for me because I’ve always acknowledged and treasured my independence, and knew my work ethic & passion for all of this art gabagool would make me work harder (especially for the paycheck,) and in return, having a lot of pride in everything I do, and get to say “this is MY job.”
Finding her design style didn’t happen overnight. For her and like many artists, it felt like such a daunting task. Everyone she had studied and learned from has their own unique style that belonged to them specifically. Over time, friends and colleagues began to recognize her work, asking if she made this work or that work. This built her confidence, even when she herself couldn’t recognize the thread that illuminated the style in her work.
Audrey: Through making, making, and more making, there’s things I internally picked up over time that helped me realize what my “style” was. I truly think it comes down to noticing what kind of things you like to make in your free time, each paint stroke or type of digital brush you go to when you create something, color palette choices, finishing touches like texture, or even the subject matter you’re inspired from, etc. are all pieces of your stylistic puzzle, that we don’t even notice is happening right before our eyes.
But did this discovery of her style lead to certain work and clients? Maybe not directly, but the portfolio as a whole is what drives people and brands to partner with her. It’s the quirky, gritty, grungy, dark but fun type of work or the “kinda weird pieces with vibrant color palettes” as she describes it.
It’s been that ability to flex into other design styles and illustrations along with the yearning to learn more types of work that grants her opportunity.
Audrey: Its both a blessing and a curse I feel like, and almost having that “shiny object syndrome” where a new style/approach presents itself to me, and I’m just obsessed with that for a few weeks, and then there’s something new to play with. I always thought that was a bad thing as an artist, and honestly felt like a fraud for a long time, because I knew it wasn’t MY style.
But with that, it taught me how to draw and design in SO many different ways, and honestly how to become more observant in what makes a piece, campaign, etc. so successful in its own right. So although I can draw fun, quirky characters in pretty color palettes, I can also confidently design branding that is dark, gritty, edgy and serious. I owe it all to experimentation and just playing, not worrying about having a “style” – that naturally comes later.
This is part one of three conversations with Freelance Designer, Illustrator and Motion Designer, Audrey Havey. You can view her work at audreyhavey.com.
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