When it comes to design, not all work is equal. Earlier this year I set up the Graphic Design side of my business as a separate entity. Grey Card Creative was born out of necessity and a desire to give the two sides of my creativity a separate identity, because, as I have learned, not all design work is made equal.
Designing for others versus designing for passion
I love my job. Being able to make a living from designing things makes me incredibly happy, but not all design jobs are make equal.
Grey Card Creative allows me to bring in the cash, pay the bills and allthe other necessities life throws at you.
When I design for Grey Card clients, I design with them in mind, their business, their requirements, their passion, their desires. The image they want to project, the persona they want to show off, the service they want to offer to their clients.
None of my job as a graphic designer is about me, and that's exactly how it should be.
I put myself in their shoes, I want to show off their business in the best was possible, even if sometimes that means talking them out of a bad idea!
I create logos, business branding, social media presence, websites and marketing material. I have to become their business in order to do my job, and that's just fine.
I love graphic design, it allows me to utilise and hone my skills in Adobe Illustrator while I design, and that it amazing.
So why is it different to surface design?
When I design for Primrose and Mabel, I design for me, for my passion, for pure pleasure and to express my inner feelings, desires and interests. Every bit of design work that comes out under the Primrose and Mabel name comes from my heart and soul. There is a bit of me in every brush stroke, every pencil sketch, every line drawn. There's a spark of creativity and consideration in every colour choice, every slight rotation of a motif, every placement of every element until the pattern is 'just right'.
And that makes it such a different experience to designing for another person. And it's why I love it so much.
