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Life and Work with Jasmine Easter

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Easter.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jasmine. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always been a creative since birth. When I was younger, I wanted to be a cartoonist, then a fashion designer, then a graphic designer when I learned that I could merge my love for technology with my love for design. I started coding MySpace layouts for me and my friends, using Photoshop to create the banners. It was fun, but for some reason – it didn’t seem realistic to become a “designer” because I was expected to be in a more serious field.

Fast forward, it was my 4th year of college, I kept having this crazy dream every single day that I dropped out of school (I was going to Southern Polytechnic State University, now known as KSU, as a New Media Arts agency) and had this creative agency named DigitalLUCY. Like, a legit storefront and everything. And no matter what I did, I kept having the dream, so I dropped out of school to pursue being a designer full-time. I had a lot of internships in a variety of fields: music, magazine, food, etc. So, I felt like I had enough experience in different industries.

At first, I believed that design was all I needed to do until I came across branding. It was like a whole new world for me. I was like, wow – I can really create a visual identity from start to finish. All of the pieces of the puzzle instead of random components of it. One of the first people who made me realize that shift was Maya Elious of mayaelious.com, through her blog. And one of the first people to give me a chance was Natasha Weston, of natashaweston.com.

I realized that could use my knowledge of design and strategy in order to help women create more powerful and impactful visual brands. So, here I am!

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?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. It’s been a PROCESS. But I feel like that’s how it is with everything in life. Right before I started this journey, I was homeless from about October 2014 to March 2015, and even though I made the leap around June 2015 – it just seemed like there were still a lot of things for me to navigate.

Figuring out the business aspect was one thing. I was an amazing designer but I was super unorganized which affected my client relationships, my income, and my everything. I had to really take the time out to figure out what is a system? How do I really define my process? How do I make sure clients are always in the loop?

I knew that coaching and classes and things like that were out there, but I was trying to make it on very little, so I had to invest either time or money. And that’s something that everyone will have to make a decision between. When you invest time, especially because you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s super easy to make mistakes.

But the thing is, mistakes are OKAY. Failing is OKAY. The only time that either of those things is a mistake, is when you completely give up. I’d also tell young women that it’s okay to change your mind. You WILL change your mind. It happens. There will be days when you think you’ve had this amazing idea, and then you’ll realize that for whatever reason, it’s not going to work out or you don’t want to do that anymore, and you have to be okay with parting ways with ideas, projects, people, whatever. Release.

Please tell us about Jasmine Easter Design Studio.
I specialize in creating beautiful brands for brilliant women through strategic design. I currently offer two packages.

The Blueprint, which includes discovery, brand development, and alignment.

The Experience, which includes discovery, brand development, alignment, and website design.

I love working the most with women who use their personal brand as a platform to create valuable content and experiences. This includes women who coach, teach, host events, and so much more! I believe there’s something special about building an authentic connection and using it to help and empower people.

In my journey and career, I think I’m the proudest of being able to articulate a client’s vision without neglecting the strategy. Each project takes lots of research about their audience, color psychology, and current business strategies in order to create a visual brand that reflects the personal style, beliefs, and goals of each individual. To me, be able to execute both without sacrificing the other is something I’ve worked really hard on.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I will say that I feel very lucky to be in an industry where women will reach out to each other, establish genuine connections, and help each other.

I connected with Micah White because she sent an e-mail out to me in 2015 asking about my experience being a college dropout. I connected with Natasha Weston because she needed a design intern in early 2015, and she’s been a mentor and sister ever since.

Same with Maya Elious, Narsha Njoya, and the list could go on. I think a lot of the online community is able to see the beauty in building connections with each other, regardless of who is seen as a leader or authority.

But, I think in general, it’s important to always give back. So, if you’re in a position to create an opportunity for another young woman, then, you should do it. Whether it be through mentorship, internship, whatever. Making yourself accessible and relatable is really important to show other women that they can do it too.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Aspen Evans of aspencierraphotography.com

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.

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