Today we’d like to introduce you to Sylvester “Bakah” Abakah.
Bakah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always been a creative, but never had a defined or specific creative lane. When I was little, I was fascinated with the ability to take an empty space and fill it with anything you desired. But I didn’t know until I was much older than being able to create is a part of our DNA. God created each of us to create, we just may not know what area we are gifted in.
My creative journey actually began with music, poetry, and art. I loved drawing anime characters (dragon ball z, etc.), but never fully committed to defining my skills. I eventually found myself writing poetry in high school, and even had a few pieces published. But my first love was music. I was the guy in art class beating on the desk with two pencils making the beats for the guys freestyling. This eventually led me to becoming a music producer, rapper, and engineer.
Since I didn’t fully commit to art, I wanted to dive all the way into music…and, so I did from 2005 – 2008. At the beginning of 2008, I began serving on the music production team at my church to further cultivate my skills. And through serving, I learned audio engineering and continued to define my “sound” as a producer.
Fast forward to 2013, my wife and I received a call to start up a young adult ministry at our church, World Changers Church, called SHiFT (College and Young Adult Ministry). The first thing we focused on at the beginning was our branding. I had no real concept of branding but had a really good friend (and eventually graphic design mentor), Cliff Herndon, who created our initial branding for SHiFT. He not only created our logo and identity, but he also helped us establish who we are as a ministry. But I was not aware of how much of an impact the ministry would have on my life and professional career.
Cliff definitely set me up and aided in changing the trajectory of so many things in my life. Although he created our initial branding and identity, he also pushed me to develop my eye for design. He created our graphics for the first 4-6 months as ministry, but let me know on the regular that I would take over and be the designer. I laughed, but he was so serious. So in 2013, completely out of nowhere, I became a Graphic Designer. I was literally thrown into the water and forced to swim. This was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
So now in 2019, I am a full-time freelance graphic designer and creative director of Hakaba Design LLC. And I am blown away at how God continues to reaffirm that He created me to create.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth road? Nah! Lol, I will say that it has been a developing road. Lol! One of the first things I had to deal with as a graphic designer is valuing my time. I remember one of my first clients contacted me to create a logo for them. I had a logo special (introductory special) at the time for $125 for a logo. What I thought would be a quick process, to get my feet wet, became my first headache. I typically like to create 3 logo designs for a client to select from, but this first client…I ended up creating almost 12 different logos! They had no idea what they wanted and anything I created, “wasn’t it”. For $125!! It felt like I was spending all of my time on this one client. And I almost gave up designing based on this one client. And the worst part, they aren’t even using the logo!! SMH! Praise God!
So I had to learn quickly that as a designer, it’s more than a service. It’s my time. So now, my pricing is completely based on my time. Not the time it takes to create, but the time required to keep me away from my family and something else that I could be doing. My time is my most valuable asset, and I could be doing anything else. So to take time away from hanging with my wife and daughter to assist you with your vision is not a small thing. And my time is very valuable.
My other struggle was putting myself out there. I tend to play the background alot. So being intentional and shamelessly promoting what I do as a creative is necessary. But it took YEARS to get to this point because there was so much focus on how I will be perceived. And I didn’t want “the audience” to get a false perception of my character. I guess I felt that it was a bit self-absorbed to promote myself, which is weird because no one is responsible for promoting you.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am the proud owner of Hakaba Design, a creative and graphic design studio in Atlanta that specializes in communicating the ideas of our clients. We are most known for our clean designs. I believe that design should feel good. It shouldn’t overwhelm the eye, and it should inspire everyone that comes across it.
Our primary focus is branding and logo design. I believe that a logo is the wedding dress of your company. It should be valued. It should be esteemed. But it shouldn’t be responsible for the entire ceremony. What I mean is, I have had some clients to contact us about a logo design, but they had a false perception of what a logo actually is. It’s simply an identifiable, memorable mark. But it’s not your brand. It’s a piece that represents it.
I’m most proud of our honesty as a company and the impact we make on our clients. We believe that your time is valuable and we don’t ever take it lightly that we are entrusted with bringing your ideas to light. I don’t care if we are creating for someone well known or unknown; they all are treated with the same appreciation. I was raised in the Chick-fil-A culture, so it truly is my pleasure to help.
What sets us apart is our communication and integrity. I’ve had too many clients give me their graphic designer horror story experiences. And truthfully, it annoys me! I feel that there should always be a mutual respect in business. I don’t work for you, I work with you. So hearing the stories of designers taking six months on a logo, or never being able to exceed the expectations of a client, and clients feeling that they wasted their time is a bit disheartening. As creatives, we have a responsibility to protect the integrity of what we do. Clients pay for your insight, experience, and perspective, not your BS.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Of course. I am a native ATLien! Being able to navigate through my creative journey here is so dope! I don’t believe that there are any hindrances based on location. When I first started out as a designer, I lived in Conyers. Were my clients in Conyers? No! Now that I live in Smyrna, are my clients located in Smyrna? No. My clients are all over the country. I feel that if you would like to start a career as a freelance graphic designer, you should just start where you are. The only time that location matters as a designer is if you are looking to work onsite. But even then, having transportation and the ability to work wherever you are removes the limits. My advice is just to build your portfolio. Show your work. No one knows what you have to offer if you never offer what you have.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HakabaDesign.com
- Email: hello@hakabadesign.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/iambakah and www.instagram.com/hakabadesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hakabadesign
Image Credit:
Hakaba Design
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
