Behind every great work, is no one woman, but a team of great women. These next few weeks, I want to highlight the women behind the scenes who work hard everyday with me. Linh isn’t just someone behind the scenes of Team GreyLayers, she’s one of my best friends. It’s hard to find friends who can easily work in business together. That’s why she’s special! A great designer and a hard working graphics guru, she’s someone you’d want to learn about.
At a young age, I played around with different design programs and I didn’t realize it was something I could make a career out of. After realizing my hobby had great potential, I worked really hard on a portfolio, and got accepted into a prestigious art school in New York City. It turns out, I actually had an eye for design so I kept up with it.
I always feel pressure as a designer. SVA was a difficult school to get into, and I always felt like I had something to prove. Rolling Stone, Condé Nast, and New York Magazine had fun teams to work with, but knowing that I was designing something for hundreds and thousands and possibly millions to see was a bit nerve-wracking. No job I’ve had was ever “easy” and I’ve always worked hard to get to where I was.
Although work takes up a huge amount of time because I eat, sleep, and breathe design, I make sure to spend some time to work on myself. I grew up playing sports, but when I went to college, art school didn’t have athletic programs. Now, I make sure to incorporate both into my life. I love finding time to work on my personal designs and being able to work out because being active gives me a break from sitting at a computer all day long.
Taking care of our bodies is important because it plays a huge part in our health, both mentally and physically. Personally, if I don’t find time to work out or even meditate, I become anxious and stay up late overthinking things I have no control over. People separate the mental and physical states all the time, but I think they’re connected. If you’re mindful about your actions, you’ll know exactly what your body is feeling and what it needs.
After seeing the #AerieReal billboards in NYC, I felt an instant connection as I am all about body positivity, no matter the shape, size or color. Playing sports and staying active was never really something I did to look a certain way but rather to feel strong and healthy. Seeing that billboard was empowering to know that we’re all being represented!
For young girls dreaming to be Graphic Designers, keep doodling, sketching, drawing or whatever helps you to stay creative! Being a very introverted and internal thinker makes it a little difficult for me to express myself sometimes, but if you can find a way to get it out on paper or anything else that is not inside your head, it will help keep those creative juices and imagination flowing. Whether it looks good or not, as long as you continue getting your stuff out, you’ll continue to express yourself and accept it no matter how good or bad something might be. I don’t think there are bad ideas- they’re just ideas that need to be worked on or they are ideas for something you haven’t thought of yet. Make sense? Oh and have fun!