We recently connected with Savannah Newman and have shared our conversation below.
Savannah, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
As a freelance creative, I get this question a lot: “how did you do it? how has freelance been profitable for you for 6 years?” If I’m speaking to another designer or creative, my advice to them is usually the same: have a niche. There are so many creative agencies, designers, etc in the world, having a niche will give your freelance offering an edge. It will show potential clients why they should hire you for specific tasks, and once you knock those out of the park, you can inform the client that although this is your niche, your skillset is broad. Having a niche can also present you as a consultant once your experience grows, it shows you’re a well-versed thought-leader in your chosen category.
Savannah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
In 2018, I graduated summa cum laude from the Savannah College of Art and Design, at this point I already had two great paid Digital Content internships based in NYC, one of which was with L’Oreal. As I was searching for a post-grad job, I didn’t have as much success as I did with my internships. At this same time, Instagram had recently incorporated Giphy’s GIF search into their Stories feature, and I was loving using them. I wondered how I could get my own art on there, and quickly found and applied to be a verified Giphy artist account. This didn’t generate any income for me, but making the gifs was a fun thing to do while searching for jobs. I was making gifs in response to pop culture moments, and quickly amassed 1M views over the course of that post-grad summer. You could say the rest is history, brands who wanted their own branded gifs found my account, they hired me, and after one project I always shared I was open for more work beyond gifs.
Since then, I’ve created gifs for Honda, Lemme, Milk Bar, Lemon Perfect, and Chillhouse to name a few. I continued to expand my experience, and quickly developed a niche in design for social media: gifs, face filters, and content. While my expertise remains in the social sphere, my design skills have come in handy for other great non-digital projects as well. I helped Serena Kerrigan design the packaging for her card game ‘Let’s Fucking Date’, I designed the vinyl wall decor for the kids-playspace The Wonder, and more.
Now, in 2024 my work continues to evolve, as I was just asked to creative direct and design the branding and intro animation for PCMA Productions, where I was able to hire a team to assist me. My first project where I’ve brought on colleagues, and it was a dream.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
After growing my audience and connecting with new brands on Giphy, the networking has only grown. I am currently on retainer with 3 different clients, and have other singular projects going as well. Every single of these clients, I can connect back to some of the first clients I met through Giphy. Word-of-mouth has been my best source of clients. Typically, one brand founder knows many others, and they’ll connect you when work is needed. Not only is this a great way to source new clients, it’s also a great way to vet clients, to know they’re the real deal and up for great work. This process only works if you keep great working relationships. I try to never speak in absolutes, but never burn a bridge, your reputation precedes you.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
As I mentioned before, I started freelancing at a relatively young age (22 to be exact, I’m 28 now!) Because of this, there was some immature habits I had to shake off. One of the books I read that really helped me in all areas of my life was ‘Nonviolent Communication’ by Marshall Rosenberg. I think everyone should read this book, it’s a pivotal lesson on communication, empathy, and understanding.
Recently, a more creatively-focused book I read I think everyone, no matter their job title, should read as well is ‘The Creative Act: A Way of Being’ by Rick Rubin. It affirmed for me what I already knew to be true: everyone is creative. You don’t need to be “a creative” to be creative. Remembering this can break down hierarchies that keep creativity from thriving in corporate settings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.savannahdion.com
- Instagram: @savannahdionn
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savannah-newman-04164a116/
