Today we’d like to introduce you to Shauna Haider.
Hi Shauna, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I always knew that I wanted to be an artist. From the age of four, I was on that path, winning coloring contests and awards. During my senior year of high school, my vision of what was possible started to shift after I toured a local art school and was faced with the cost, which was way out of reach. I settled into community college, eventually working my way through a business degree instead because it felt more practical.
Once I’d finished my degree, I got an office job but felt incredibly unfulfilled and knew that there had to be a way to carve out a more creative path.
By then, I knew a handful of graphic designers and was so inspired by what they did. The pieces began to click into place and I realized that I could be creative AND earn a decent living if I was determined. I was obsessed! I applied for a spot in a graphic design program at the same community college I’d attended years before and finally felt like I’d found my true calling.
The week I graduated in 2008, I landed a full-time job at a local design studio and continued building a freelance clientele on the side. This was at the height of the 2008 recession and work was really inconsistent but I just kept showing up, taking on small projects and building out my design resume and portfolio. I didn’t have a clear, big picture plan. All I knew is that if I consistently shared what I was working on (I was active with blogging and on social media), the right people would eventually discover it.
I lived and breathed everything design-related, blogging about agency life, the freelance projects I was working on and answering other aspiring designers’ questions. Within 2 years, showing up and sharing really started to pay off, translating to freelance projects for Virgin, Nike, Forever 21 and The Wall Street Journal.
Over the next few years, I’d completed a bunch of freelance placements and worked at one more full-time studio job. 2013 felt like the breaking point; I’d been burning the candle at both ends for a really long time and it was time to go big or go home. Juggling a full-time job, freelance projects and blogging was taking its toll and I just didn’t see a way to grow my career and income if I didn’t free up my schedule and transition into running my own design studio full-time.
Branch went live in September 2013. I was lucky to carry over a handful of freelance clients from my early design days and continued building the business from there.
Ten years in, the studio is based in Palm Springs and we partner with clients remotely from around the world on branding, strategy and web projects.
Nothing about this path has been easy or expected but I wouldn’t change any of it. Every day is slightly different and working directly with clients has taught me so many lessons. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t settle after my first degree when things didn’t immediately click and continued to search out the right fit until I found my true calling in design.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about this path has been easy.
Design takes a huge amount of dedication, passion and grit to succeed. There are thousands of fellow freelancers, studios and agencies that potential clients have at their fingertips. The view from social media can be radically different from the reality. Hours can be incredibly long and as a service-based business, there’s a level of customer service and communication that needs to happen, especially as you begin charging more premium rates.
Any time you set out to work for yourself, you have to open and willing to accept the good with the bad. Being your own boss comes with an immense amount of responsibility from figuring out bookkeeping to taxes to health insurance to managing employees. The toughest part is that school and courses can only teach you so much. From there, you have to be willing to take risks, trust yourself and know that no matter what happens, there’s always an opportunity to learn and not repeat the same mistakes.
The biggest thing I can recommend is to invest in yourself and build your network from day one. I made a lot of friends on the job at my early design gigs and continued meeting new people through Instagram. To this day, I have 3 fellow design peers I meet with monthly over Zoom to talk shop, compare notes and share tips. I’ve also invested in online design courses and coaching every time I’ve hit a plateau in my business. It’s never easy making the investment but I’d rather take the risk than the alternative of looking back in a year and being in the same exact place.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I founded a graphic design studio in 2013 called We Are Branch with a focus on branding, strategy and web design for small businesses. I believe that each brand identity we create has the ability to become its own unique work of art that can really help a business showcase what makes it unique and immediately differentiate it from its competitors.
We’re different because we work from a place of putting strategy first before any design work ever happens. Our strategy process helps clients fully own what makes their business and products unique. By discovering and owning these characteristics, they’re able to stand out from their competition, completely sidestep the sea of same and chart their own path.
I’m most proud of the relationships we’ve built and the work we’ve created. Each project has taught me something new and valuable while also providing an opportunity to hone creative processes. There’s always room for improvement and life as a designer gives you the space to grow through taking on projects that both challenge and inspire you.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Drive, determination, consistency and a passion for the world of design in all its forms.
Like a lot of creative fields, graphic design is rapidly evolving and the drive to keep going even when you’re not quite sure where the path will take you is key. The drive to get out of bed and show up for another day has to be tied to a passion for what you do; doing it for the money will only take you so far before you hit complete and total burnout. If your passion is lacking, it will eventually show up in your work.
Consistency comes into play because the more regularly you show up and put yourself and your work out there, the more potential opportunities have a chance to build.
Everything is connected.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wearebranch.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearebranch/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/wearebranch/
Image Credits
Studio 5800
