We were lucky to catch up with Brianna Weber recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brianna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Deep down, I’ve always known I was meant for a creative path. As a kid, I was constantly drawing pictures for people because art was something that brought me joy and I hoped it would bring others the same feeling. (My best friend still has a binder filled with drawings and doodles and art from when we were young; we laugh about it to this day.)

As I was deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life proceeding high school, it was a no-brainer that it would be in the creative realm. A family member had recently become a Graphic Designer and I thought it was such a neat career path and something I could see myself doing. I chose to pursue Graphic Design at South Dakota State University where I really dove into the digital creative space. It was the best of both worlds because although my degree focused on creative problem-solving in a digital sense, I was still able to work on the analog art side as well.

Brianna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My first ever commissioned art piece was as a junior high student. There was a framed drawing I had made hanging in my dad’s office and a client of his was in awe. He requested I do a drawing for him, and this was the first time I had been compensated for my work. This was the moment I realized that I could potentially use my craft as a career.

I’ve always loved the saying “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” and here I am doing exactly that. I work full-time as the Creative Director/Graphic Designer at an outdoor advertising company and over the past four years I’ve been slowly working on growing my side business, Design By Bri. I offer both commission art and graphic design services, but my artwork has been the most popular lately.

I typically create colored pencil drawings or acrylic paintings, however, I also work with charcoal and other mediums from time to time. My absolute favorite commissions are the ones that include pets or special moments with loved ones. When I receive these requests from people they often open up about who they’re gifting it to or why they want me to create something unique to them. I feel an overwhelmingly strong urge to create each work of art with the same attention to detail as the next. I take pride in noticing the small things; what features are identifiable to that particular place, animal or human, and what feelings I want the recipient to feel. I hope to continue growing this side-hustle into my main job one day and continue creating uniquely special works of art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is hearing or seeing the reaction from the client when they view their piece of art for the first time. I can be satisfied with the work I’ve done, but getting that validation and reaction time and time again from each client makes doing what I do such a humbling and rewarding experience.

On the design side, the most rewarding part is being the problem-solver for the client. More often then not, someone comes to me with an idea or two but unsure on how to execute it. I love finding the solution in a digitally creative way and them being happy with the results.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to create work that is authentic, thoughtful and evoke emotion, whether that is through digital media or through hand-made artwork. I think it’s important to work on every project that comes my way as if it were my own logo or painting, etc. I hope that continues to show in my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artanddesignbybri.com
• Instagram: @designbybri_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/artanddesignbybri (Design By Bri)

Image Credits
Photography by Erinn