Hey Friends
I hope you all are doing well this week. I am writing this newsletter from my shitty old Mac at a coffee shop near my house and it has only reinforced the feeling that I want to get a new laptop again soon.
There is something so nice about being able to work on the go and not be tied down to my desk setup. That being said I do love my work-from-home desk setup but I think I am just in the mood for a bit of a switch-up from time to time.
Anyway, let’s get into the actual topic of today’s newsletter lol.
5 Thoughts on the paradox of creating content as a designer
1. Creating content around design is fulfilling yet distracting
I love making content and it has afforded me so many opportunities both monetary-wise and experience-wise. Yet when I am in a week of grinding out videos, posts, etc I can’t help but feel it’s taking away from my actual craft of design.
I’m sure many creators who create content around their art form, career, or specific skillset feel this strange feeling at some point.
I think filmmakers or cinematographers have the most seamless integration into the content world because they are creating video still, but maybe not.
If you are a filmmaker I would love to hear your input on this.
I know this is a very first-world problem but I just wanted to share some thoughts.
“How much better of a designer would I be if all my time making videos went into progressing my skillset of graphic design?”
I ask myself that a lot.
on the contrary, I get so much fulfillment from the video stuff too so maybe it isn’t an issue and I can get proficient in multiple art forms and crafts.
the content also gets me projects so maybe I would not even have stuff to “design” all those extra hours if I had never experimented with making content in the first place.
2. I spend way too much time on the internet
This one is pretty straightforward forward but yeah.
The biggest problem I have with posting my work online or being a “creator” is that I have to be online lol.
I am so jealous in a specific way of the people who can fully disconnect and do not have responsibilities to stuff online like email, social notifications, etc.
I can obviously unplug for a little bit, but at the end of the day, I need to communicate online as part of my career.
That being said I feel like it makes me fall into the internet consumption traps even more.
I go to send a message to a client, next thing you know I spent 25 minutes watching cooking reels.
I go to check my YouTube video upload, then suddenly im 25 minutes into an episode of Bad Friends.
My goal is to aim for 80% output/creation and 20% consumption/input
some days that percentage can be flipped tho tbh and I am not very proud of that lol
so…..
Anyone who has any level of success in the internet space, how have you mitigated your consumption?
3. Pay from brand deals is at times more than design projects
This is a weird one.
When I was sitting in my 100-degree + apartment in West Hollywood working on my first ever YouTube upload in 2020, never would I have thought that the income I get from “content” would ever be close to my design career.
Now sitting here in 2024 I get at least half of my money from brand deals, YouTube adsense, sponsorships, etc.
It is such a blessing to get paid to make fun videos and engage with the amazing community of all of you and I am so grateful for the brands that trust me to speak on their products/companies.
However
When they pay thousands of dollars for a sponsored post and that is the same amount I can get from design projects that take me weeks, it’s pretty demotivating to work on the design project.
I really have to love the client, project, or type of design we will be doing these days to take on projects.
It’s not these clients’ fault either, even when they are paying well or a “fair rate” i can’t expect an individual client to keep up with the money these giant corporations pay for marketing.
So these days I’m just getting my content bag, working with clients who I genuinely fuck with their videos, and doing my fun little personal projects.
4. I have made such meaningful connections
By far the number one benefit of making content online has been the amazing designers and creators I have made friends with.
It is so nice to have a community of people to hang out with and talk to about your specific craft and interests.
I never knew how much I needed that until the original trip to Adobe in SF with some of my best design friends now.
Since then we have all chatted so much and hung out at various events, and it’s just awesome to have a network around the world of people who are dope, make cool work, and are genuinely interested in what I do as well.
I think a lot of creatives work in solidarity most of the week and quite honestly see themselves as “introverts”
While that may be true to an extent, I think it’s sometimes a defense mechanism for putting yourself out there and meeting new people.
I get it
It’s anxiety-inducing to be vulnerable and meet people in your respective niche, but I promise you, it’s 100% worth it.
Life is better with creative friends around you.
5. As my “creator” identity grows I feel my “designer” identity takes a backseat
The more I have become “known” as someone who makes content around design/art I feel less seen as a freelance designer.
I have even had people say they didn’t hit me up for a project because they thought I only made content now and not actual design work lol
that is a tricky thing to navigate because I want to grow both buckets of my career simultaneously but I think it’s hard to brand yourself and be seen as multiple things.
at the end of the day call me a designer, creator, artist, whatever
I’m just Jesse.
If you want to hear a deeper dive into this stuff and an additional perspective from a successful designer/creator online, then check out my full video on youtube with Kat below.
Other than that, much love and I’ll see you next time!
Cool stuff to check out
Fav Design of the week below
Weekly Wrap Up
Trapped Under Ice Album art concept
Thanks for reading!
I plan on keeping this newsletter free, but if you want to support, the best way is to buy me a coffee:)
Nice. I tripped when I first saw the Adobe building was right next to my school CCA when I was going for my MFA.