“You will always be a designer, whether that’s full time or not”

Creative Career Conundrums is a weekly advice column from If You Could Jobs. Each week their selected panel of professionals from the creative industry answers your burning career questions to help you navigate the creative journey.

This week’s question: 

“How can I build a second source of income outside of graphic design without diluting my personal brand or losing my identity as a graphic designer?

I’ve been working as a freelance graphic designer for almost five years, and graphic design is how I see myself professionally. However, my income from design work alone isn’t quite enough yet, so I’ve had two part-time side jobs over the years, each for about one day a week. Now, I’m considering starting a separate small business around minimalism and decluttering.

These other jobs and business ideas genuinely interest me, and I enjoy exploring different ways of working. At the same time, I struggle with the feeling that I should focus exclusively on graphic design, especially when it comes to my personal brand and how I present myself professionally. I worry that doing something completely different might confuse people or weaken my positioning as a designer. I don’t want to limit my income opportunities, but I also want to maintain a clear identity as a graphic designer. How can I find a balance between the two?”

Katie Cadwell, co-founder of branding studio Lucky Dip and The NDA Podcast:

I see no reason why you can’t do both. If the doomsayers are to be believed, it’s incredibly savvy to set yourself up with a plan B. There are so many motives for someone to step away from design. Economic factors like illness, burnout… boredom! My backup plan is to become a dog trainer. Some days, I almost wish I had a reason to do it.

How you spend your week is no one else’s business. All your clients care about is whether you deliver great work. You mentioned your freelancing isn’t bringing enough money in. Make sure you’ve assessed whether it could be. 

Have you kept your rates in line with what everyone else is charging? Or explored retainer and in-house clients? A new venture might also be a slow burn, so it’s worth checking whether you can increase your income before taking the plunge.

If after all that, you’re ready to pursue something new, then great. I think the examples you’ve given need two hats. It shouldn’t impact your personal brand unless you plan to sell to your design clients. I’d be tempted to keep socials separate for now. Mainly because they’re pretty different audiences. And how brilliant that you have the skills to build a new audience. You know how to create a brand, so you’ve got a head start. 

A life has many chapters, this is just one of those where you’re trying out different things. You will always be a designer, whether that’s full time or not.

In answering your creative career conundrums we realise that some issues need expert support, so we’ve collated a list of additional resources that can support you across things that might arise at work.

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