IN THE STUDIO WITH ARTIST JONI-LEIGH DORAN
South African artist Joni-Leigh Doran is a painter, illustrator, graphic designer and a branding maven who has worked with a diverse mix of clients including chefs, writers, jewellery designers and animal welfare organisations. We recently had a chat with her to find out more about her life as an artist and a creative entrepreneur.
IN THE STUDIO WITH ARTIST JONI-LEIGH DORAN
Hi Joni-Leigh, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! So at what point in your life did you know that you wanted to make a career out of your creativity?
Hi, Tara. Thank you for the lovely opportunity to share a bit of my story with you. I love that you’ve created this wonderful platform for female creative entrepreneurs to share resources and support one another.
Turning my creativity into a career was never really a conscious decision. I was extremely introverted as a child, but fortunately, I was blessed with a wildly vivid imagination and this resulted in many great adventures when I had some drawing materials on hand. I was fortunate in that I had unknowingly given myself a solid creative grounding as a child, which made it clear by the time I left high school that being creative was where I excelled. Ultimately, my career path happened quite naturally through simply just pursuing what made me happy.
Most of us grow up with so much pressure to make career choices that will directly affect the rest of our lives before we’re even old enough to fully know who we are or what we want from life. I believe that we start treading on dangerous ground when we force ourselves to make massive life decisions based on fear of the future and pressure from society and our families. If it were up to me, every child would have the opportunity – through play, adventure, discovery and even boredom, to find out what it is that gives them joy in their day to day lives in order to establish a sense of direction later on.
Can you tell us a bit about how your artistic career got started?
I was never very strong academically or socially, so creativity in the form of drawing and painting, even writing poetry and playing musical instruments was always my ‘safe place’. In 2003, I obtained my National Diploma in Graphic Design, a 3 year course with a special interest in photography and illustration (in those days, computers (thankfully) played a minuscule role, so everything was learned by hand). I then worked in the corporate industry for 6 years before leaving my desk job in 2009 to pursue a full-time freelance career, and from there my work (which really doesn’t feel like ‘work’ anymore) has evolved organically through pursuing the projects and clients I resonate with and who inspire me.
Your bio says you’ve been freelancing since 2009. What made you leave the safety of a full-time job and set out on your own?
I loved my time working in team environments, and it was unquestioningly important for my freelance career. I learned so much from the wonderful senior designers, art and creative directors I worked with. But I always knew that my corporate time would be limited. In 2009 I found myself working for a prominent global men’s magazine, which I loved, but the magazine industry, along with our publishers, started suffering from the global economic crisis and the increase in digital media. With the retrenchments that subsequently took place, it became an uneasy and at times tense environment to work in, where further career growth became increasingly unlikely. I knew in my heart that it was time to fly solo.
What were the biggest challenges you faced when you first started freelancing?
No money, no clients, and no clue! I had to drastically downsize my life and hit the ground running. And it was frantic.
If there’s any advice I can offer creatives who are planning to leave their full time jobs to go freelance, it would be to build up a small and stable client base first. Freelance after hours. Especially if you have dependents or are in a domestic partnership (I was lucky in that I only had myself and my golden retriever, Max, to take care of when I made this move). Work your butt off to impress your clients and charge next to nothing in the beginning, if you must. The great reference and happy client that might lead to longer term work is worth infinitely more than the few extra bucks.
Are there any challenges you still struggle with today in your creative business?
Right now, I am trying to change gears from being a graphic designer with a ‘fine art habit’, to being a fine artist with a ‘graphic design habit’. My long-term objective is to return to my first love of creating art, but I will always enjoy offering graphic design services to the clients and causes that inspire me. This is probably my greatest challenge right now since, ultimately, a girl’s gotta eat to live, so we have to put our energy into where the money is.
For you what methods have been most successful for marketing yourself as an artist and your work?
When I started freelancing, a friend introduced me to an international freelance platform called Elance.com (now Upwork). Starting from scratch with zero clients and only my corporate portfolio to back me, my strategy to build up a solid client base was a simple one; to treat every client and project as though they were the most important thing in my life (this wasn’t hard to do because, in reality, they kind of were!). I have found that if you’re good at relationships – that is, if you’re honest, have good ethics, communicate well and deliver great work (on time!), it’s very difficult to not succeed at freelancing. Business, for a freelancer especially, is personal.
As far as my fine art career goes, I believe that what gives a piece of work it’s integrity (and, by extension, it’s value) is the lack of attachment to a sale. Creating something that is meaningful to me. Putting a message out into the world. This is easier said than done when you’re trying to put bread on the table, and is part of the reason why I am still (and in all likelihood always will) practice as a graphic designer. The people my fine art resonates with, most often tend to find my work through social media, and the use of platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have proven to be very cost-effective, easy ways of marketing my art.
We love that you do branding as well because we know that this is one area many creative business owners struggle with. When it comes to branding, what do you think the biggest mistakes are that people make?
The one thing I always try to encourage my clients to do is to keep it simple. Overcomplicated branding is not well remembered, inevitably looks cluttered and unprofessional, and gives the impression of ‘trying too hard’. Don’t use more than 2 (3, max) colours in your logo. Same story with fonts. Keep your brand name and tagline (if you must have one) short. Make it easy for people to remember you. Rather spend that extra energy on building a brand that speaks for itself through the service or product you’re delivering. Never underestimate the power of good, old-fashioned, word-of-mouth as one of your most powerful marketing tools.
The most powerful brands in the world are the simplest, most cleanly designed ones. And before you even go down the ‘branding’ road with your business? Get absolutely clear on what your product or service is (this sounds like a no-brainer, but I have seen a surprising amount of people become more fixated on their branding than their products).
Working for yourself, especially as an artist, can be a pretty lonely gig. What keeps you sane?
I love being alone, and my productivity often thrives in solitude. But this also means that isolation is something I’m susceptible to. I’ve found that a healthy way around this is to sign up with collaborative work spaces, especially when I travel. We live in the age of ‘digital nomads’ and so working while travelling can also bring with it a pretty sweet sense of community these days. Back home, I’ve made an effort to find collaborative art studios in which to work. Being around other creatives can be very energising in the right setting. I also have Max (my retriever mentioned above), who comes with me wherever I go. He is pretty awesome company, too 🙂
Do you have any words of wisdom for other artists out there who are trying to turn their passion into a career?
Be honest. Do excellent work. Deliver on time. Communicate well. If you’re not proud to showcase the project, be affiliated with the client or have your name on whatever it is you’re making, don’t take it on. See every project as an opportunity to put more of what you want to do in your portfolio. Don’t be scared to turn away work that doesn’t inspire you (it will free you up to take on the work that does). If you need to build up your confidence (and/or portfolio), start by giving your passion away for free – it’s good karma. Always give back. You will encounter resistance from people you care about. This is their ‘stuff’, it doesn’t have to be yours. It’s up to you to value your own work before you can ask anybody else to.
We love chatting with inspiring artists like yourself. Can you tell us about another female creator in your community who inspires you and why?
I’m massively inspired by my dear friend Carol Hampshire. She was a mentor in my early freelance years and taught me first-hand about generosity coming back to us through all the clients and projects she so kindly passed down to me. There really is enough work for us all in this big ‘ol world. She’s a single mother, a qualified life coach and graphic designer who had singlehandedly built herself up to be one of the top freelancers in the world when I first met her and is now a global branding specialist who creates authentic brands, designs websites and launches businesses for coaches and creatives who want to fast track their business growth. She is a phenomenally inspiring human being and someone I am immensely proud to call a friend.
Check out more of Joni-Leigh Doran’s work and please show your support!
www.joni-leigh.com
www.facebook.com/DesignerJoni
www.instagram.com/jonileighdoran
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