Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Green.
Hi Liz, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m currently a Designer full-time at an agency and also do freelance design and hand-lettering on the side, working for clients such as Mellow Mushroom, Snapchat, and Cartoon Network. I’m a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a BFA in Graphic Communications. At my full-time job, my focus is on UI/UX and visual design, but I also have experience in print and traditional marketing design. Being able to work in both fields of illustration and visual design has been incredibly rewarding because I get to creatively express myself in multiple ways. I’ve always had an interest in art and design since I was a kid. During my middle school years, I would often be found decking out my Xanga blog with avatars and banners and glittery animations that I made myself, and this continued through high school with Myspace and learning about customization with HTML and CSS for the first time.
I also loved doing all sorts of other creative things, like painting (including that time I painted a mural on my bedroom wall (Sorry Mom!)), drawing, jewelry-making, and photography to name a few. However, I didn’t fully decide to pursue it as a career until I was partially through college and taking my second course as an Accounting major. Concurrently, and during my indecision about what I wanted to do in life, I was working part-time at a pizza joint and would frequently do the promotional chalkboard drawings, illustrations, and social media managing for the restaurant. I started to realize I wanted to use these skills of mine professionally, and I wanted my career to be something I was whole-heartedly passionate about. So, because of how much I enjoyed being creative, I felt like Graphic Design was the best route for me to take instead. I am so glad I made the switch!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It actually has been relatively smooth for me, all things considered. As I mentioned before though, I absolutely struggled through indecision about where I wanted to take my career, but it all fell into place so naturally after that. Everything just clicked as soon as I made up my mind. Don’t get me wrong though, it took a lot of hard work to get to where I am now. In college, after my classes were done for the day, I’d go home and watch endless tutorials and walkthroughs on design. I was so determined to succeed in a field that many people deem ‘frivolous’ and get my foot in the door of an industry that was seemingly hard to break into. I did not want to be a starving artist, not only to prove it to myself but everyone else who wants to pursue a career in it! I’m a firm believer that if you work hard for something, you can achieve it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Liz Jones Designs LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I absolutely love my freelance side hustle. After my full-time job, I switch gears and do all my illustration and lettering work, with a sprinkle of design work here and there. It’s basically my 5-9 job. I also do my personal lettering projects and post them on social media, which is how most clients have found me. I’m just proud that I actually get to do what I love to do in my spare time for people — there’s really nothing more liberating than that. My goal is to one day set up an illustration/design studio and be my own boss full-time.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Probably that I came super close to doing something completely unrelated to art as a career — I was almost an Accountant!
Contact Info:
- Email: lizgreendesigns@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lizjgreen
