Today we’d like to introduce you to Derin Lindsey.
Derin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started designing at the age of 19. I volunteered to do a flyer for a theater production that I was in, in college. I placed my name at the bottom of the flyer design and the greeks and staff at my college (Alabama A&M) started reaching out for design work. Eventually, months later in April 2011, I created a Facebook page and this talent has grown into a career. I was a sophomore in college at the time and due to financial difficulty, I had to drop out but I continued to design. I eventually landed a job as a designer for a law firm, where I started as an office assistant but was promoted less than a year later to a designer.
On Last June I was terminated and I decided that I wouldn’t apply for another job, and that I would take a leap of faith and pursue my craft full-time. I’m skipping around but after designing for the first four years, I developed a passion for events and wanted to educate locals on branding and marketing their brands and businesses. At the time, I don’t think I was fully knowledgable myself in the field but I had a passion to learn and grow and network. Two years later I got into social events. I believed I enjoyed the branding, and decorating side of events a lot lol.
But this year I told myself as a solo entrepreneur that I wasn’t going to just stay in my city, but I would take my events on tour. So I launched Marketing & Millennials Tour 2020 in January in Atlanta. I plan to take it to Houston next in March. Aside from graphic design and events. I started a clothing line called Another Clothing Line in September of 2019, and I started a blog titled Black New Orleans in June of 2018. I’m also apart of a podcast titled Black Ambition. It is my goal to educate and empower people to be the best versions of themselves. My motto this year is Connect, Collab and Create.
Great, 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?
The struggles were learning customer services. How to deal with different clients, attitudes and age groups. But also learning boundaries, when to be available, when to enforce my company policies.
Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I’m a graphic designer, most people know me from my clean design style. It’s very eye-catchy and refreshing. I love that people can tell my work apart from others. I specialize in brand campaigns.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I would say getting a Compaq desktop computer. I remember creating greeting cards, and cd templates and redesigning funeral programs that I saw at church. I guess this is probably where my love for design began (and didn’t even know it).
Contact Info:
- Website: www.derinlindsey.com
- Email: info@derinlindsey.com
- Instagram: derin.lindsey and derinlindseyevents
- Facebook: derinlindsey
- Twitter: derinlindsey
Image Credit:
Rare Sighting Photography, Capturing The Miracle Photography
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