Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Romersa.
Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started with the Sims, and a rash decision that ended up being one hell of a gut instinct. I played the Sims, not how you’re supposed to play the game, but by cheat code “Motherload-ing” my way to wealth solely for the purpose of designing houses. I worked my way through the town designing home after home, then abandoned the families to live out their simulations. I was convinced my entire life that I wanted to be an Interior Designer right up until the moment when I had to pick a major in college and placed a big fat checkmark next to BFA: Graphic Design.
Going through the design program at UTC was nothing but validating for the way I had been trying to communicate my entire life. I attended a math and science magnet high school where I was taught to communicate with numbers and equations, while all along my brain really wanted to use shapes and colors. I finally had the language and tools to understand the lens with which I saw the world through, and finally understood why I hated the Food City logo so much.
Endless hours in the studio, one dirty chai latte addiction, and a commemorative tattoo later, I graduated with a great group of designers who set the tone for my desire to work as part of a collective. I graduated with one freelance job thanks to a professor designing for a local soccer team, and a full-time job at Whole Foods. The next few years, design was only something I did when a friend of a friend reached out, or if something fell in my lap- never because of anything I sought out.
After working the entire pandemic, I decided in December 2020 that it was a better time than any to quit my incredibly stable job to pursue design as a career. At the time, I didn’t know if that decision was an act of self-love or self-sabotage, but now, I only wish I had made it sooner.
After a month of redesigning my website and a bad case of imposter syndrome, I decided to establish myself on Upwork since I was basically at ground zero. It took several months of excessive applying and saying yes to every job possible in order to build credibility and get to a profitable place. Although I had put in the work and had more or less “made it” to the successful side of the platform- I missed working with other creatives and missed the critiques even more. Turns out, I just wasn’t cutting it in the work socialization department, and it took working by myself to realize that in order to be happy working in the field, I needed to work with others.
That desire to work collaboratively led me to a managerial position for a local roller skating company, and I’m back to having freelance as a side dish instead of my main. I have no doubt that one day I’ll find the balance of design and camaraderie all in one job, and love that there are so many options in the field. Catch me in a few years working for a small studio with big personalities- using design to make a difference and help this world however I can.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve dealt with since receiving my BFA has been my internal struggle with the restricting definition of “success” in the field. It felt for so long like the only option after graduation was to work full time in a Design position, and anything less than that was a “failure”.
I used to feel nervous about running into old professors where I would inevitably have to admit that I wasn’t currently working on anything, or holding a Design position. Like all their instruction and guidance was for not, and my value as an artist and designer was marked solely on my current output of work…
When I stopped freelancing for the first client I had out of school, I felt that same sense of failure, and was haunted for awhile with the idea that because it ended it was automatically “less than” this (hypothetical) eternal state of success. As if, since it ended, it was a failed job, when really it was perfect for the time it lasted and the lessons it taught me.
This hypothetical success isn’t encouraging or inspiring, and I now value each project I complete for what it is and find happiness in the fact that I learn and grow from each one.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Although I enjoy working on a variety of projects and have experience with illustration, packaging, and publication design, I find myself working mostly on branding and visual identity projects.
The first jobs I got on Upwork were logo and branding jobs, and I easily fell into that niche on and off the platform. I highly value variety, and branding jobs allow me to design a broad range of materials with all kinds of subjects.
My OCD loves nothing more than to make a brand look cohesive and clean with logos, website graphics, printed matter, and often merchandise. Brand style guides are also my absolute favorite document to design, so any project that requires one of those is a win for me.
I rely heavily on vector illustration for my designs, and my style carries over the warmth and attentiveness I practice in every aspect of my life. Dulcet colors, soft shapes, and unconventional fonts often define my designs and set them apart from others.
I try to be conscious of the effects and impressions I leave on others, and understand the power design carries. Design without function, after all, is just decoration, and I work to ensure that what I create only improves and uplifts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Although I don’t rule out that I have experienced luck in my lifetime and on my path as a creative, I think I owe the success I have achieved more to others in my life who have uplifted me than I owe it to luck.
If there was luck involved- it was luck that I have always been surrounded by people who care about my happiness and want to see me thrive. My parents, professors, and colleagues have all uplifted me and helped me get to where I am today. I owe it to my studio mates for the honest critiques- to my professor who got me a job right out of school- to my friends who trusted me with design work, and connected me with other clients…
To all my people- I am lucky for you indeed.
Contact Info:
- Email: carolineromersa21@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.cromersadesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohmydarlingcaroline/
- Other: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01c84063c8fa81bbbd
