Meet Justin Velasquez

We were lucky to catch up with Justin Velasquez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My mother and my sister. My mother was the strongest woman to ever grace my life. I looked up to her even if she was shorter than me! I think what keeps me pushing forward in life and not giving up on my career and my dreams is the fact that my mother always believed in me to do greater things in this world. I know that as I get older, I’ll always continue to value and appreciate the things she’s done for me and my family.

My sister is also a great example of resilience. Over the years, her health has diminished yet she continues to perceiver and strive to be better. She has days where she just doesn’t feel her best but she continues to get out of bed and push onward because in a sense, I inspire her to continue going on.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a Freelance Graphic Designer which is just a Graphic Designer but I have no boss, I am my own boss! I usually work on my own projects when I can and then pitch it to some companies to see who would want to buy some of my designs as well as being hired by individuals who are looking for some professional grade work done with a twist!

What makes freelance work fun for me is tackling each project with a personal touch. I love being able to lead a project and come up with creative and new ideas for my client that they themselves probably didn’t think of but it just comes with the service.

Last time I got to speak with your team I had just recently started working with SHEIN on launching some of my designs on their website and thankfully, I’ve been doing a lot more work for them ever since! A lot of my designs have been a big feature on their website and I’m happy to say that my work is now being more globally available than ever before! It’s great to read reviews and see people appreciate my designs for what they are, which are always cute, colorful, inviting, and eye catching.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Consistency, practice and passion. These were the big three for me. If you’re truly passionate about your career and chase your goals, they won’t seem so far fetched in the long run. Getting to where I am in my career was no small job but in the long run I worked hard and practiced consistently till I chased what I wanted. To this day, I’m still going after new goals and coming up with new ideas and for me, nothing can really be achievable unless your consistent and passionate about what you want to do!

I think my advice for everyone trying to get into graphic design is just trying to make something different or new. Make a logo, study motion graphics, design a font style, work on a project you’ve been dying to start, and just practice. Practice makes perfect!

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I personally am the type of person who likes to be well rounded in a variety of skills. When I was studying graphic design, I also focused on having a background in motion graphics so that I could be well versed in both of these fields. I do practice graphic design more now and I would say that’s my greatest strength but at the same time if I needed to make a video or promotional material for a client, I can always just get it done on my own.

I think a good thing to do though is to practice a software you’re unfamiliar with. That’s a HUGE opportunity that you could be missing out on because it makes you more valuable in terms of your skill set. If I don’t know how to make something but another designer does, they’re more likely to get the job. It’s important to brush up on design techniques and refresh your mind with the wide range of software available. So again, practice is VERY IMPORTANT!

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