Steffi Lynn - Freelance Illustrator, Hand Letterer + Designer
Steffi has been creative for as long as she can remember. Art classes as a kid turned into her passion that eventually led to a BFA in Illustration, an internship at Seventeen Magazine and a successful freelance career. Today, she’s an illustrator, muralist and designer—among other artsy things. With notable clients including Sephora, Samsung, Adobe Creative Cloud, Aerie, American Eagle, Kenneth Cole, ModCloth, and Wendy’s, her work is colorful, quirky and full of catchy phrases that inspire and motivate us to live our best damn lives.
The Basics:
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Current city: Brooklyn NY
Alma mater: Pratt Institute
Degree: BFA Illustration
Very first job: Intern, Seventeen Magazine
Hustle: Freelance Illustrator, Hand Letterer + Designer
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
Ashley Devine Olinger is a small business owner who is killing it!
Favorite self-care ritual?
Taking a walk in the city, getting coffee, doing my nails
What IG account have you been binge-scrolling lately?
I’ve obsessed with cookie decoration accounts like this one!
What’s your favorite thing to do in Brooklyn?
I love walking along the water in Brooklyn and drawing on my iPad while watching the sunset, and taking a scroll through Prospect park with a coffee and a pastry.
Who would you like to live like for a day?
A welder!
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
My days are always so different since I do so many different things—from running my shop to creating murals to art installations and other client work—so it really depends on the day. But it usually starts off with dancing and coffee, then some emails and then planning my day out for errands and orders. I’ll pack orders for a few hours and then check my client to-do list and plan the projects/products that need to be ordered. Then I draw draw draw, and paint, paint, paint until the end of the night!
Have you always had a passion for design and illustration? Where did you learn these skills?
Yes! My parents enrolled me in a lot of different art classes when I was younger and I realized how much I loved creating at a really young age. I stopped going to any art classes when I started middle school, but kept creating at home in my free time! I experimented with photography, graphic design and illustration and just kept doing it until I went to college for it.
Did you always know you wanted to work for yourself? What drew you to the freelance life, and what advice would you give to a fellow babe thinking of taking the freelance route?
Definitely. I knew I wanted to be a designer or creator but I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I started taking freelance jobs I found on Craigslist, eventually freelancing for Spark Notes and interning at Seventeen Magazine. Once I got a hang of it, I started reaching out to brands and companies by cold emailing them my portfolio. I think my biggest advice is just putting yourself out there and not being scared of rejection. Be available and flexible to try new things!
Your job requires lots of creativity and an eye for unique aesthetics. Where do you look for inspiration, and how do you remedy creative burnouts?
I find inspiration everywhere. Colors out in the world, the environment and just feelings and connections. I try to change things up a lot so I avoid getting burnt out. I try to experiment with different mediums and revisit old ideas to keep my mind working in different ways.
How has social media helped grow your business? What’s your approach to navigating your online platforms as a business tool?
Social media has helped it so much—it’s such a great tool to get yourself out there. I don’t really have a game plan with social media but I do like to show a lot of behind-the-scenes and process videos with a combination of everyday life and work life. I think people really appreciate tha balancet.
How have your past professional and academic experiences and lessons prepared you for the work you do today? How have they not prepared you?
I have a very competitive personality but school has taught me to be even more competitive, more hard working, and to push myself—which can be a really good thing when it comes to bidding for jobs, making new products and being always on-the-go. However, it made me neglect other important things like being organized and slowing down and paying extra care to the details. Because I’m so eager to do more and to always be working on the next thing, sometimes I miss important things that can cost me a lot.
How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?
I think we’re trained to always compete with one another, but we need to let that go and help build each other up. Friendly competition is always great—because it pushes us to think outside of the box—but we definitely need to surround ourselves with support systems, be comfortable asking each other for creative advice, and not hide resources from others just to “get ahead”.
In the last year, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your career?
Asking. For. Help.—delegating and knowing to outsource!
What’s one thing you’re proud to have accomplished in your career thus far?
Creating a Museum!
Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
Lauren Hom is a great letterer, Amber Vittoria is a great artist and Ariel Lee’s painting style and use of color is just beautiful.
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
Don’t get stuck on one idea and one skill. Push your limits and be open to advice and new ideas. Sometimes we get stuck in this little bubble of having one style and skill and needing to stick to it. I think we need to step out of our comfort zone and challenge our brain a little!
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