Meet Abby Feder

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abby Feder. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Abby, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I often get inspired for my web design projects by viewing different mediums of storytelling and creativity. That can be books, museums, television shows, movies, or concerts. Seeing how artists across disciplines represent or communicate things in different forms – really gets at the core of how we as individuals see the world. How does one capture the essence of something in a different medium?

For example, every year the De Young Museum in San Francisco puts on an exhibit called “Bouquets to Art” where florists pick a piece of art from the museum’s collection and create a floral arrangement inspired by that piece. I love this show! It’s fascinating to me to see how differently each floral artist approaches it. Some clearly focus on the colors, some on recreating shapes, and some on making a similar layout. They use different types of flowers and textures to evoke the same emotions or styles in the artwork like expansiveness, seriousness, or whimsy.

Similarly, when I create a website for an author, I have to figure out how to express the feel of their books visually — to take the worlds that they’ve built and invite visitors in with my design.

Another thing that sparks my creativity is thinking about how to communicate or represent something in the simplest form. In a drawing, how little detail can you add and still communicate that this is a person? On a website, how can you use a handful of colors to create a mood? I’m fascinated by color theory, and love the part of the design process where I get to explore what color palette will create the right feel, help guide visitors to the desired goal, and will have my client excited to share their new site!

When I’m feeling stuck, delving into both other people’s creative work and my own — like drawing or painting — helps me tap into different aspects of design and creativity.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I have a one-person web design business based in San Francisco, CA. I create custom Squarespace websites for companies, small businesses, and individuals who want a strong online presence that really reflects who they are and can grow with their business.

I also provide marketing and graphic design services, so that my clients can have a cohesive platform and feel confident, calm, and intentional about their branding. I love working closely with clients across diverse industries, including education, law, academia, the arts, and business, to deeply understand their needs, create customized solutions, and help them move their work forward.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Learning broad entrepreneurial skills, not just the technical/specialized skills I need for my work, has been invaluable in being a solo entrepreneur. Prior to going full-time with my business, I worked at a non-profit that provides resources and classes for small businesses in my area. I took advantage of the opportunity to take some of those classes and learn about business planning, finances, and marketing.

Another important piece of launching (and growing) my own business is building up a network. That job was a great way to start getting involved in the small business community, and I’ve continued since then by getting involved in other local organizations, like my neighborhood business association.

I would also say that getting to know and trust yourself is really important, and is an ongoing process. There is so much business advice out there, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed and to fall into trying to replicate how other people do things. There’s a lot of value in seeing how other people operate, but at the end of the day it’s your business, and it’s only going to work if you build it for yourself, not for someone else.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I would love to collaborate on websites with folks who specialize in other parts of the process — such as copywriters, photographers, brand designers, and SEO specialists. If you’re interested, send me an email at [email protected] and let’s chat!

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