Hidden Gems: Meet Fulbright of Studio Fulbright

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fulbright.

Hi Fulbright, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a product designer and creative director from Kansas City, Missouri, currently based in Chicago. I take pride in the fact that I’m a self taught designer with no formal education in the design field. I went to college for fashion and wanted to start my own clothing line, which naturally led me to learn software like Photoshop and Illustrator. During college I taught myself how to set up an online e-commerce shop to sell my clothing. I started to fall in love with using technology to create art and decided to start my own blog that featured articles about cool people on campus and their hobbies. My blog was unique because I used graphic design to make it visually appealing rather than just plain text. These are the aspirations and side projects that helped me cultivate some of the technical skills I use as a product designer today.

When I graduated from college, I didn’t have a job immediately lined up. My goal was to work in the fashion industry, but I didn’t have a specific role in mind. I knew I didn’t want to work in retail and preferred to do something behind the scenes, possibly working on a website or in a non-store environment. I felt that my best chance at landing a job would be to relocate from Kansas City to a larger city. During my job search, I came across a graphic design opportunity for a Chicago based agency founded by an alumna from my alma mater. The application process required me to design an email marketing campaign for a local beauty company. Within the next week or so, I ended up packing my bags to head to Chicago! I spent the next few months working alongside one of the most talented designers I know on several campaigns with organizations across a variety of industries. Not only did I learn a lot about graphic design, I also learned how to navigate running a business. This opportunity allowed me to develop a strong graphic design portfolio, which eventually landed me my first full-time role as a Visual Media Designer. Shortly into my first role, I was promoted to a UI Designer, and eventually became a Product Designer, which focuses more on designing interactive experiences within a web or app environment.

When people ask me if I always wanted to be a Product Designer, the answer is yes. I always knew this was the type of work that interested me, but as a child I didn’t know the formal name for it. I grew up in a dysfunctional household where there was no structure or feeling of family, which contributed me to being a introverted and quiet kid. I didn’t have any friends or extracurriculars outside of school where I could learn to be comfortable in social settings, so I spent a lot of time daydreaming as a way to escape my day to day. I would imagine a utopia where I felt comfortable expressing my personality. I also spent a lot of time playing video games, immersing myself in virtual worlds. Daydreaming became my superpower and I also loved technology.

The practice of daydreaming helped me cultivate the art of noticing. I love to notice the small details in my surroundings and how they work together to evoke certain moods. I think coffee shops are a great example of this. Some coffee shops feel swanky and productive, the type of place where you’ll get a lot of work done. Others feel more cozy and worn in. A place to have conversations with friends. What are those small differences that affect the behavior of the patrons? The art of noticing and critical thinking go hand in hand, and these are the skills I use the most in my design practice. Product design allows me to think through different scenarios and consider which is the best experience for someone to complete a task.

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?
Breaking into the tech industry is extremely difficult, especially if you don’t have a formal education in the field. My journey into tech was non-traditional, and I spent countless hours at Youtube university to learn the necessary hard skills. The first website I ever designed was an e-commerce platform for a clothing line I started in fashion school. My idea was to create a clothing line that featured my portrait art on t-shirts. Setting up the website took a few months and was a very confusing process. I also learned how to use Photoshop and Illustrator to create mockups of my clothing. When my platform was ready to start taking orders, I only sold about 4 or 5 shirts. My first customers were my close friends and family. I kept the shop online over the summer months, but by the end of the year I had moved on to my next side project. Consistency was a struggle for me.

I didn’t feel like my hard work was going to waste, but I did feel that there was no return on the investment. Creating art is a time consuming process, and the validation of someone purchasing a product from me was extremely important to me. Instead of choosing to give up on my clothing line, I started to shift my platform to a blog. I continued to learn about design software and hone my skills. The blog featured articles highlighting interesting people on my college campus and their hobbies. It was a huge success and grew to the point where I needed a small team of volunteers to help me maintain the platform. The blog was a huge success because it celebrated others and felt like a community. Success was not defined by the number of sales.

Staying consistent is extremely important, especially when learning a new skill or starting a business. Take your time and enjoy the feeling of being a beginner. When you’re a beginner, you can make as many mistakes as you want and there’s no pressure to be perfect. Don’t rush the process, don’t hold yourself to high standards, and just have fun. I’m a little over a decade into my design journey, but I didn’t see the return on investment until after about 5 years. Speaking of consistency, I’ve been fully booked with freelance clients for the last 2 years now. I’m so glad I decided to not give up!

As you know, we’re big fans of Studio Fulbright. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Studio Fulbright is my design studio that works with entrepreneurs to develop their brand’s visual identity and connect with their target audience. Often times entrepreneurs have an idea for a business, but need help bringing it to life in the form of a brand. My process involves conducting industry research to understand what your business goals are, who your core audience is, and what problems you are trying to solve for them.

In the past three years, I’ve developed over 40 different brands with entrepreneurs. I’ve worked with both solo founders and household names in industries such as health and beauty, fashion, music, and social media, to name a few. I’ve built branding kits, websites and mobile apps, animations, package designs even billboards. It’s not an exaggeration to say my work has been viewed millions of times. Recently, I had the opportunity to design branding for a diner here in Chicago, which was a huge goal of mine as a foodie.

I take pride in the fact that I set my clients up for success post-project. Each client is given a personalized handbook of how to use their branding, the dos and don’ts, and how to your brand should appear on social media. It’s extremely important to me that entrepreneurs feel confident in presenting their business to the world after working with me. My goal is to design products that feel authentic and genuinely yours.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Creativity is a muscle and the more you use it, the easier it is to create. You shouldn’t look to creativity for new ideas or what it can give to you. Instead, give to creativity in the form of hours of work put in, messy rough drafts and half-baked iterations. No one else needs to see the behind the scenes, and don’t be in a rush to share what your working on. Romanticize the feeling of learning something new and being a beginner.

Pricing:

• Brand Development
• Website Design
• Package Design
• À La Carte Design Projects
• Pricing varies per project

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.studiofulbright.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skaterboyfulbright/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fulbrightlawrend/

Image Credits
Elise Hamilton
Kristina Rodriguez, KRod Visuals